Chapter Eighteen
Entry Fifty
Hester and Dimmesdale realize that it's the "A" what is making Pearl act so hostile. Arthur, overwhelmed by her strong and unexpected reaction begs Hester to calm Pearl anyhow.
"Save it were the cankered wrath of an old witch, like Mistress Hibbins,” added he, attempting to smile. “I know nothing that I would not sooner encounter than this passion in a child. In Pearl’s young beauty, as in the wrinkled witch, it has a preternatural effect. Pacify her, if thou lovest me!”He associates Pearl with a wrinkled witch so he interprets her supernatural look not in an elfish-fairy way but as a creature that rules over black magic. She scared him by reacting so strangely because he never lived her, he basically doesn't know her. Her presence is nothing he is used to and therefore he doesn't know how to deal with it. Is that a solid fundament for a goof father-daughter relationship?
Dimmesdale is scared of her - as much as some men are scared of becoming fathers. What is interesting here is the inversion of youthful passion compared to the aged witch. It's interesting since it seems to convene ancient knowledge. It could also be just a child throwing a fit.
ReplyDelete