In this paper I argue for a reading of Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” as an American origin myth that places Pearl as the pivotal figure of interpretation: I claim that she signifies a nascent America grappling with the guilt of a “broken covenant.” Placing Pearl’s story alongside other historical narratives–such as those surrounding Winthrop’s “Model of Christian Charity” and those interpreting the Salem witch trials–I argue that reading American myth against narratives in American history can bring into relief certain tropes dominant in American religious and historical discourse and the ways in which these tropes are both reified and undermined in fiction.