Dragons Teeth and Martyrdom: A Reader's Reaction to Chapters 5-8

In Chapters 5-8, Hawthorne continues with his lengthy yet eloquent prose, thickening the plot that has only just developed in the previous four chapters. Through them, we begin to see how Hester and Pearl's relationship grows, how Hester deals with her exile, and finally how some of the characters are driven by the seven deadly sins.

At the start of the chapter, Hester is released from jail. She decides not to move away from the area, deducing that as Boston was the place of her sin, it should also be the place of her punishment. She describes her choice to remain as the act of a martyr, which I thought was a silly description.  A martyr is someone who dies for her beliefs and/or religion, and is often seen in a positive light. The belief that Hester is fighting for is to freely sin, and in a society like the Puritan one she is living in, I doubt that it will ever be seen in a positive fashion. If this is her true intention, to become a martyr, it is a horribly weak reason for her to stay, suffering their abuse in hopes that one day they will admire her for the pain that she had been dealt. This leads me to look further in the text for another reason for her to remain, and thanks to Hawthorne's penchant for explaining nuances that careless high-school readers would miss, an ulterior motive is seen. Her reason of course, is not entirely what was stated earlier. Though she says that she will stay in order for her to be punished by her sins, she also stays so that she can sin as well. On page 74, Hawthorne writes:

"There dwelt, there trode the feet of one whom she deemed herself connected in a union, that, unrecognized on earth, would bring them together before the bar of final judgement, and make that their marriage altar, for a joint futurity of endless retribution" (Hawthorne 74).

From this, we can see that Hester's true motive is to stay with Dimmesdale. She feels that she is connected to him in a marriage that the puritan earthly world has yet to understand. It draws a parallel with The Awakening, in which Edna sheds off her marriage (made for pragmatic and social reasons), to start new relationships (based off of emotion and passion) shunned by society. She believes that the relationship between her and Dimmesdale is the only real one she has, and that god will be able to see what the earthly people cannot, that their relationship is the real and righteous one, and not the one she has with Chillingworth. By using the words "endless retribution", she believes that she will get the ultimate revenge on the Puritans who had persecuted her when, under the eyes of god, her infidelity is justified. Of course, these are only her own inside thoughts, and it seems as if she is making some hypothetical situations that even she does not entirely believe. She tries to shove them off her mind, knowing that is not godly to think in this way, but in the end, the description of her thoughts gives away everything, showing that her sinful nature is able to come out on top. Her love for Dimmesdale is described as a serpent - something we have described to resemble sin in the biblical sense - that creeps out of her heart to plant these feelings into her mind. Furthermore, the gusto with which she seizes these thoughts, described as passionate and desperate joy, shows how her sin of lust is ultimately driving her to make the decision to stay. This passage also raises questions about the relationship between Dimmesdale and Hester. I had always thought of it as a "one night stand" kind of deal, much like how cheating is viewed in today's popular culture; however, if Hester is willing to stay in Boston solely for him, they must have a much deeper and serious relationship.

Since she has chosen to remain in Boston, Hester moves into a cabin on the outskirts of the town, and begins to make a living as a seamstress, weaving and embroidering cloths for various occasions. As this chapter occurs a few years after the events of the previous few, Pearl is three years old, and has begun to walk and talk. The chapters delve into how the two live in exile and how they deal with this social confinement. Both deal with general scorn and enmity from those around them, and Hester feels like she is living with a wound, the scarlet letter, that opens every time someone new looks at her. Pearl, on the other hand, is unable to live the life of a normal christened child, as she is avoided by all the other children of her age. She is feisty and aggressive, and often shows her anger about her situation to the world, leading the townspeople to dub her names like the imp-child, etc.

Pearl's character is very unique, and a break in the plot should be inserted here to talk about her. She, under Hester, has had an unconventional upbringing. Unsure how to parent a child with such strong a mind, unflinching to both the "mile" and the "frown" tactics of parenting, Hester decided to let her develop as a free spirit, going about things on her own will. Her personality can best be described as fairy-like, in her dancing movements, her capricious and teasing nature, and her ethereal voice and appearance. Throughout these chapters, it can clearly be seen how much Hester cares about her, testament to why she named her Pearl. She is Hester's only treasure; however, it can also be seen how Pearl tortures her and acts as a burden. This leads me to my second discussion point, that of how Pearl is her true punishment for her infidelity. Pearl is the living embodiment of her sin, and because of that, causes her much pain.

" The singularity lay in the hostile feelings with which the child regarded all these offspring of her own heart and mind. She never created a friend, but seemed always to be sowing broadcast the dragon's teeth, whence sprung a harvest of armed enemies, against whom she rushed to battle. It was inexpressibly sad -- then what depth of sorrow to a mother, who felt in her won heart the cause! - to observe, in one so young, this constant recognition of an adverse world" (Hawthorne 87)

By feeling the brunt of the exile caused from Hester's mistake, Pearl is unable to have a proper childhood, and has to live a life filled with hatred, anger, and wrath, a sinful life. I really love the description of her planting dragons teeth, creating an army to fight a battle against those who have made their lives miserable. She understands, at the ripe young age of three, the evil cruelties of the world, and that she has to fight for herself and her beliefs. No child deserves to be haunted by those things at such a young age, and so she serves as a constant reminder to her mother of what she had done to the person she loves the most, causing her to feel ashamed and guilty of it. The connection of Pearl and the scarlet letter is seen no more clearly than when mother and daughter go to Governor Bellingham's "castle" to deliver an embroidery. Hester dresses Pearl in a crimson red outfit, perfectly matching the scarlet patch on her bosom, ultimately bridging the two. Both serve as sources of her pain and guilt, and remind her of the life caused by the consequence of her actions.

Personally, one of the gossamer threads that came through showed up at the end of the reading, when Governor Bellingham threatened to take away Pearl from Hester. Though Hester had managed to keep her composure through most of the conversation, her restraint completely broke down when she realized her prized possession, Pearl, was seriously in jeopardy. She became impassioned, pleading to Dimmesdale for support, and let all her emotions loose. I connected this moment in the novel to the Grammy's, which I had been watching the night before. Specifically Kanye. Kanye West is notorious for speaking up against Grammy winners when the results don't go his way, like he did to Taylor Swift in 2009. He did it again this year, when Beck won the award for Best Album, instead of Beyonce, whose album he helped produce. In his disappointment/anger at losing his prized possession of the Grammy, Kanye let his emotions loose, even though he knew that it was classless and disrespectful, and went up to the stage to pretend to steal the award away from the winner. Later, he even went on a rant in front of the media of how Beck didn't deserve to win. Just like Hester, Kanye can't keep his composure when what he cares for is on the line, and ultimately speaks his feelings because of it. Or because he's just Kanye.