"Her final employment was to gather sea-weed, of various kinds, and make herself a scarf, or mantle, and a head-dress, and thus assume the aspect of a little mermaid. She inherited her mother’s gift for devising drapery and costume. 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! The child bent her chin upon her breast, and contemplated this device with strange interest; even as if the one only thing for which she had been sent into the world was to make out its hidden import."
Being a mermaid goes back to freedom. Being a mermaid is like being bird where they're able to do what they please, they are free to do what they want. Pearl made herself a scarf, and a headdress as a costume, and considered that to be a talent like her mothers sewing. When i think of green i thing of friut and except for green fruit when fruit is green it is unripe, like apples or bananas. The green letter A can symbolize unripeness (Pearls young age) as for her still being too young to know what it truly symbolizes. Green also has to do with nature, because most nature is green.
The mermaid idea is good, but unripe fruit? Do you really think that is what Hawthorne was getting at? Green does symbolize youth, innocences, nature, and magic. Try and apply these - do they all work? Or do only some work?
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