In addition to preparing the way for the dramatic and crucial interview to come between Hester and the governor, this chapter displays Hawthorne’s imagination in developing Pearl’s strange nature and the scarlet symbol. Like a symphony with variations, the assorted scarlet references in this chapter add to the richness of the letter’s meaning.
Hester comes to Governor Bellingham’s house because she has heard that people — particularly the governor — want to deprive her of Pearl. Once again Hawthorne shows his disdain for the smug attitudes of the Puritans. They reason that their “Christian interest” requires them to remove Pearl — the product of sin — from her mother’s influence. If Pearl is “capable of moral and religious growth” and perhaps even salvation, they see it as their “duty” to move her to a more trustworthy Christian influence. Hawthorne chides these self-righteous Puritans and likens their concern to a dispute in Puritan courts involving the right of property in a pig.
Hawthorne also designs this chapter to advance the reader’s knowledge of Pearl, both in appearance and actions. She is constant motion with “rich and luxuriant beauty.” Her actions are full of fire and passion. When the Puritan children fling mud at Pearl, she scares them off. She is an “angel of judgement,” an “infant pestilence.” Once her fire is spent, she returns quietly to her mother and smiles. Her actions seem to be preternatural behavior in such a young child. Her scarlet dress, a product of Hester’s imagination and needle, seems to intensify her “fire and passion.” Pearl’s scarlet appearance is closely associated with the scarlet letter on Hester’s bosom, and Hawthorne continues this relationship as the novel unfolds.
