Through Pearl, Hester Prynne, and Arthur Dimmesdale's interactions with nature in The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne admits that the transcendental belief in the connection between man and nature exists and suggests one's spiritual purity, but adds that the connections between man and nature sometimes result in helping the sinner on the path to achieving salvation and the individual gaining wisdom and compassion, while at other times the sinner receives a corrupt knowledge that leads to weakness and ultimately destruction, death and damnation. Therefore, the consequences of sin present a paradox because the channeling of sin into salvation results in wisdom, compassion, and strength; conversely, sin can also lead to suffering and eventual destruction, death, and damnation. Through Pearl's interaction with nature, Hawthorne describes how the transcendental connection between man and nature alludes to one's spiritual purity and whether salvation will be achieved, also illustrating that if on the path to salvation, individuals gain wisdom, strength, and compassion , one side of the sin paradox. In “A Forest Walk,” Hester attempts to capture the sunlight, but “the sunlight is gone” (Hawthorne 144). Yet, the sun does not flee from Pearl but rather becomes “glad with such a playmate” (Hawthorne 144) because as Ralph Waldo Emerson writes in “Nature,” “The sun lights only the eye of man, but shines in the 'eye and heart of the child' (Emerson). In this case, Hawthorne undeniably espouses this vision brought forth by Emerson and the Transcendentalists because Pearl, nothing “but a child” (Hawthorne 144) embodies and welcomes the light of the sun. In fact, Marjorie J. Elder acknowledges this notion by saying that “the sun sympathizes… in the middle of the card… to achieve salvation and for the individual to gain wisdom and compassion, while at other times the sinner receives knowledge that leads to weakness and finally to destruction, death and damnation. Works Cited Cirlot, J.E. "Sun." A dictionary of symbols. Trans. Jack Sage. 2nd ed. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2002. 317-20. Print.Elder, Marjorie J. Nathaniel Hawthorne, Transcendental Symbolist. Ohio UP, 1969. Print.Emerson, Ralph W. “Nature.” Boston, 1849. Project Gutenberg. Network. April 2 11. Grodzins, Dean D. "Nature." Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism. Ed. Wesley T. Mott. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1996. 132-34. Print.Gura, Philip F. American Transcendentalism: A History. New York: Hill and Wang, 2007. Print.Samson, M.D. “Landscape Aesthetics.” Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism. Ed. Wesley T. Mott. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1996. 97-99. Press.