Hester sees Pearl with a seaweed “A” on her chest, and asks her child if she knows what the letter means. Pearl connects the letter to Dimmesdale, but that is all she knows and when Pearl inquires her mother for the real reason Hester wears the letter. She answers, but apparently not to the likings of Pearl because on their way home she asks multiple times looking for an answer that Pearl deems correct. But the child did not see fit to let the matter drop. “Two or three times, as her mother and she went homeward, [...] Pearl looked up, with mischief gleaming in her black eyes. ‘Mother,’ said she, ‘what does the scarlet letter mean?’” (178). She continues to question her mother throughout the night, even though Hester never answers. Pearl does not fully understanding to drop the subject until her mother tells her to “hold thy tongue” (178). However, Pearl questions her mother looking for an answer Hester dismisses. When Pearl questions her the first couple times, Hester ridicules Pearl telling her it is a silly question to ask that there are more things for a child to put interest into. Regardless, Pearl’s continuation of questioning Hester brings out her true sassiness. Her rudeness is not just limited to her mother it continues on to Hester’s lover,
Hester sees Pearl with a seaweed “A” on her chest, and asks her child if she knows what the letter means. Pearl connects the letter to Dimmesdale, but that is all she knows and when Pearl inquires her mother for the real reason Hester wears the letter. She answers, but apparently not to the likings of Pearl because on their way home she asks multiple times looking for an answer that Pearl deems correct. But the child did not see fit to let the matter drop. “Two or three times, as her mother and she went homeward, [...] Pearl looked up, with mischief gleaming in her black eyes. ‘Mother,’ said she, ‘what does the scarlet letter mean?’” (178). She continues to question her mother throughout the night, even though Hester never answers. Pearl does not fully understanding to drop the subject until her mother tells her to “hold thy tongue” (178). However, Pearl questions her mother looking for an answer Hester dismisses. When Pearl questions her the first couple times, Hester ridicules Pearl telling her it is a silly question to ask that there are more things for a child to put interest into. Regardless, Pearl’s continuation of questioning Hester brings out her true sassiness. Her rudeness is not just limited to her mother it continues on to Hester’s lover,