The relationship between the pearl and nature in The Scarlet LetterIn Nathaniel Hawthorne's work, The Scarlet Letter, nature plays a very symbolic role. Throughout the book, nature is integrated into the storyline. An example of this is the character of Pearl. Pearl is very different from all the other characters because of her special relationship with nature. Hawthorne personifies nature as being sympathetic towards the sins against the Puritan way of life. Hester's sin causes nature to accept Pearl. It is first necessary to examine how nature is identified with sin against the Puritan way of life. The first example is found in the first chapter concerning the rosebush at the prison gate. This rosebush is located “on one side of the gate, and rooted almost at the threshold”(36) of the prison. Prison is naturally the place where people who have sinned against the Puritan way of life dwell. Then Hawthorne suggests that the roses of the rosebush "might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner on his entry, and to the condemned criminal on his exit to his doom, as a sign that the deep heart of Nature might have pity on him and be kind to him" (36). This clearly indicates that nature is kind to the prisoners and criminals who pass through the prison gates. Hawthorne reinforces this point by suggesting two possible reasons for the rose bush's genesis. The first is that "he had simply survived the austere desert..."(36), while the second reason is that "there is good authority for believing that [the rosebush] grew under the footsteps of Saint Ann Hutchinson..."(36). In Hawthorne's words, it seems that he is emphasizing the second reason because he is suggesting that there is "made...... middle of paper ... the banishment of the little girl from Puritan society, she was thrown into another way of life and her savagery and peculiarity are the direct product of her banishment Works cited and consulted: Aym, Richard Nature in The Scarlet Classic Noteshttp://www.gradesaver.com. /classicnotes/titles/thescarletletter/fullsumm.html, 2002.Brown, Bryan D. "Re-examination of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. http://www.usinternet.com/users/bdbournellonie.htm. March 1, 2002. Clendenning, John. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” The World Book Encyclopedia. 2000 ed. Griswold, Rufus Wilmot. “The Scarlet Letter.” The Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors. Ed. Charles Wells Moulton. Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith Publishing, 1989. 341-371. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The scarlet letter. New York: Penguin Books USA Inc..., 1996.