"As the last touch to her mermaid's garb, Pearl took some eel-grass, and imitated as best she could, on her own bosom, the decoration with which she was so familiar on her mother's. A letter,-the letter A,-but freshly green, instead of scarlet!"
-Page 155; 2nd paragraph
This is Pearl trying to be older. Like any young child, she idolizes her parent in everything she does. Pearl wants to be just like mommy when she grows up. But what Pearl doesn't know is that her mother isn't just any other mother, she's and adulterer. Pearl thinks that the 'A' on Hester's bosom is something that she will pass on to her.
Pearl is smart with the color she uses. She uses fresh green while Hester's is scarlet red. This can relate to the rose in the first chapter. The flower, the top of the rose, is red, in full bloom, is what everybody notices first. The stem, freshly green, holds up the beautiful flower. The flower comes from the stem, so Pearl is the stem, and she is saying that she is ready to be the flower. She is ready for her 'A'. Of course the scarlet letter is not hereditary, nor should it hope to be passed down to her.
Pearl is smart with the color she uses. She uses fresh green while Hester's is scarlet red. This can relate to the rose in the first chapter. The flower, the top of the rose, is red, in full bloom, is what everybody notices first. The stem, freshly green, holds up the beautiful flower. The flower comes from the stem, so Pearl is the stem, and she is saying that she is ready to be the flower. She is ready for her 'A'. Of course the scarlet letter is not hereditary, nor should it hope to be passed down to her.
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