Chapter Sixteen
Entry Twenty-Nine
Pearl asks her mother if she does not get an "A" stuck on her chest like Hester does. Until now, she thought it would be a normal development. Hester avoids answering this question and sends her back to play.
“Will not it come of its own accord, when I am a woman grown?”
"Run away, child,” answered her mother, “and catch the sunshine. It will soon be gone."
Considered superficially, she uses the sunshine as an excuse so she doesn't have to tell the truth or even make something up (to lie). But there could be a deeper meaning in it. The sunlight represents freedom and happiness. By sending Pearl there, she wants her to get out of the darkness before she gets caught in it. But the little girl has to hurry because there will be a point in life when it gets too late to escape from it.
This is another loving action from Hester. She wants Pearl to have a better life than hers is
Good interpretation here. Will Pearl get caught in it? She oblivious escapes it by the end of the book, but there are other women who get caught and who ended up coming to Hester for council. Perhaps here is a beginning. Pearl at the end is entwined with gold, but no "A".
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