What does Pearl's wild nature symbolize in chapter 18 of the Scarlet Letter?

Pearl is exactly what the name means. She is Hester's treasure. There is a sense of irony in that the town feels that Pearl is an unholy bastard child who shows signs of oddness and perhaps darker themes. Pearl is, in fact, a free spirit who brings a sense of innocence and light to this dark community. Where the community is introverted and constrained, Pearl represents a wildness of spirit unencumbered by the unnatural strict laws of the Puritan community. Pearl is a result of two people who are actually in love. She is the one thing in Hester's life that shines and keeps Hester reason to withstand the abuse inflicted upon her.