Pearl, the Mother of the Unborn Child

The discipline of the family in those days was of a far more rigid kind than now. Hester prynne, nevertheless, the lonely mother of this one child, ran little risk of erring on the side of undue severity. The frown, the harsh rebuke, the frequent application of the rod enjoined scriptural authority were used not merely in the way of punishment for actual offences, but as a wholesome regimen for the growth and promotion of all childish virtues.