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hand, Mr. Dimmesdale's cowardice and inability to acknowledge his mistakes remind one of the weaknesses of Adam in the Garden of Eden. About Mr. Dimmesdale's agonies, Hawthorne writes: "The sufferer's conscience had been kept in an irritated state, the tendency of which was, not to cure by wholesome pain, but to disorganize and corrupt his spiritual being" (168). An enemy, Roger Chillingworth who is the husband of Hester Prynn and a representative of Satan, "under the semblance of a friend and helper, had availed himself with the opportunities thus afforded for tampering with the delicate springs of Mr. Dimmesdale's nature" (145).

This suffering was necessary not only for the redemption of Mr. Dimmesdale's soul but also for the redemption of Pearl. Mr. Dimmesdale's redemption depended on his ability to acknowledge his guilt before the community. When Hester refused to name her partner in adultery, Mr. Dimmesdale begs her to reconsider because he does not have the strength of character to name himself. Even watching the community's reaction to Hester does not strengthen his character or help him to open his lips. Without the constant aggravation from Roger Chillingworth, Mr. Dimmesdale could have forgotten or even denied to himself his role in Pearl's birth.

In this tragedy of epic proportions Pearl is not a child but an embodiment of the scarlet letter. Hester sees her as a sprite of Nature, echoing the world around her. In contrast, the community sees Pearl as a child of Satan. Hester knows this child is her punishment, but also her joy. When the community tries to take Pearl, Hester says: "God gave me the child! . . . She is my happiness! she is my torture, none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a million-fold power of retribution for my sin?"(100).

Hester has done her duty by Pearl. She loves her, teaches her, clothes her, and ultimately gave birth to her, but Pearl is not quite a part of this world. She belongs to a realm that Hester can not reach. However, this is the realm Mr. Dimmesdale can touch, but only through repentance and redemption. When he stands on the scaffold in the middle of the night with Pearl and Hester, Mr. Dimmesdale shows only a shadow of true repentance. Pearl seems to understand this and asks the minister: "Wilt thou stand here with mother and me, to-morrow noon-tide?" Mr. Dimmesdale answers negatively but does promise

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