Let $L$ be a linear operator on $L^2(mathbb R^n)$ generating an analytic semigroup ${e^{-tL}}_{tge0}$ with kernels having pointwise upper bounds and $p(cdot): mathbb R^nto(0,1]$ be a variable exponent function satisfying the globally log-Holder continuous condition. In this article, the authors introduce the variable exponent Hardy space associated with the operator $L$, denoted by $H_L^{p(cdot)}(mathbb R^n)$, and the BMO-type space ${mathrm{BMO}}_{p(cdot),L}(mathbb R^n)$. By means of tent spaces with variable exponents, the authors then establish the molecular characterization of $H_L^{p(cdot)}(mathbb R^n)$ and a duality theorem between such a Hardy space and a BMO-type space. As applications, the authors study the boundedness of the fractional integral on these Hardy spaces and the coincidence between $H_L^{p(cdot)}(mathbb R^n)$ and the variable exponent Hardy spaces $H^{p(cdot)}(mathbb R^n)$.