1. "Pearl kissed his lips. A spell was broken. The great scene of grief, which the wild infant bore a part, had developed all her sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father's cheek, they were the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy and sorrow, not forever do battle with the world, but messenger of anguish was all fulfilled." (page 229)
- From here it is clear that the minister's honesty moralized the elf-like Pearl's wild personality. There “was certainly a doubtful charm, imparting a hard, metallic luster to the child’s character (166)". Pearl cannot fit the society before because she did not understand the sorrow and sympathy which the world has. This is why Hester wanted Pearl to have "a grief that should deeply touch her [Pearl], and thus humanize and make her capable of sympathy” (166). Pearl’s defective personality was completed when she kissed on her dying father’s lips and her tears fell upon her father’s cheek. She finally understood what his father was struggling with; therefore, she grant him her kiss, which symbolized her forgiveness and love for him- and those are exactly what Dimmesdale ever wanted in the past seven years. There is a fulfillment in Pearl's tears - to herself, and to her father.
- This is not only a story about redemption, but also a story about truthfulness and forgiveness. As Hester had said, "In all things else, I have striven to be true! Truth was the one virtue which I might have held fast, and did hold fast, through all extremity" (175), she has been honest along the way - she wears the scarlet letter on her bosom; take good caring of the living shame of her sin, Pearl; and revealed Chillingworth's evilness to Dimmesdale under the pressure of Chillingworth's threaten. On the contrary, Dimmesdale has been living under his saint-like mask for seven endless years, although he wants to be truthful and to be forgiven by God. In the forest, Dimmesdale forgave Hester for covering Chillingworth's true identity for the past seven years because he loves her and she was being honest to him. This is an impulse and inspiration to Dimmesdale himself. He thought if he can be truthful, maybe God will forgive him, like he has forgave Hester. Dimmesdale thinks God loves everyone, even the ones who have sinned, because "He is merciful" (229) - just like how he loves Hester. The connection between these two truth-forgiveness scenarios made Dimmesdale believes that truthfulness can bring self redemption.
1. zenith - 1> the point on the celestial sphere vertically above a given position or observer
2> a highest point or state; culmination (dictionary.com)
Ex. "Within the church, it had hardly been kept down; beneath the sky, it pealed upward to the zenith." (223)
2. necromancer - 1> one who practice magic or sorcery
2> one who practice divination by conjuring up the dead (WordNet® 3.0.)
Ex. "Others contended that the stigma had not been produced until a long time subsequent, when old Roger Chillingworth, being a potent necromancer, had caused it to appear." (230)
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