“Will he go back with us, hand in hand, we three together, into the town?”
Looking for control and a unified family, Pearl asks her mother if Dimmsdale will go back into town with them. In the forest were she has played amongst creatures before, Pearl begins to resemble a creature herself. In past discussions we have went over Pearl's animalistic traits.
Why does this matter? Because it is the center of the abstract symbolism that surrounds Pearl as a whole! We see Pearl in Hawthorne's eyes: an innocent girl born as a symbol of sin who, unlike most Puritan children, refuses to conform. In my opinion, Pearl does not conform because she realizes that she will never be good enough in the eyes of Puritan society. Although a pearl is shiny and perfect, Pearl is broken due to the absence of her father. Although I believe that she has known all along whom Dimmsdale is, she cannot become completely human until Dimmsdale admits that she is in fact his daughter. Because the acknowledgement has not yet been made, Pearl will continue to stay broken. She refuses Dimmesdale's kiss because he continues to abandon her and she refuses to feel love to someone who cannot show it back.
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