In Chapter VII of "Scarlet Letter," Hawthorne develops his symbolic "A" with imagination: The scarlet A, unimaginative symbol of itself is magnified in the breastplate as well as in Pearl, the living symbol of Hester's sin. Pearl herself is developed more in this chapter; her capricious nature is obvious. In fact, she is almost fiendish in her appearance in the breastplate and in her cruel insistence that her mother look into the reflection that exaggerates the letter "so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance."
Wishing to distract Pearl from this cruel reflection, Hester suggests that they walk in the garden where Pearl espies the rose bush:
Pearl, seeing the rose-bushes, began to cry for a red rose, and would not be pacified.
Her mother seeks to quiet her by telling her that there are people approaching. Pearl "scorns" her mother's attempt to quiet her, giving "an eldritch [unearthly] scream," and then quiets down because she is excited by the appearance of the magistrates.
The single red rose outside the prison door in Chapter I is symbolic of Hester and her passionate nature. Now, in Chapter VII, the rose reappears as a symbol of the passionate nature of Hester's child Pearl.
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