In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Pearl serves as the “apple of Eden”. She is plucked from the hands of God in heaven and sent to the mortal world as a baby “to make out its [the scarlet letter’s] hidden import” (155), causing Prynne and Dimmesdale to face their consequences. Pearl functions in the story on three levels: as a real child, as a continuing symbol of Prynne and Dimmesdale’s adultery, and as an allegorical figure sent to torment the sinners and direct their actions. Only Dimmesdale can “ripen” her into the woman she needs to become. Otherwise she will continually serve as a representation of th