The Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter_英语论文

摘要

纳撒尼尔·霍桑是美国19世纪浪漫主义文学中最出色的代表作家之一，因各种娴熟而高明的写作手法在世界上享有盛誉。《红字》是霍桑的杰出代表作，也是一部家喻户晓的长篇小说。其中颇具艺术特色的思想内容和写作手法始终是人们品评的焦点。本文将对小说中的象征主义进行深入的剖析和研究。什么是象征主义呢？笼统地说，象征主义就是将具体的实物赋予抽象的概念以便激发读者丰富的想象力。《红字》中的象征主义具有其自身的特点。首先是多义性。随着情节和人物性格的发展变化，小说中鲜红的字母A、人物的形象以及各种场景无不表达出作者的独具匠心。其次是系统性。霍桑设置了各种自然景象并赋予它们神秘的象征意义，构成小说网状的象征体系，将小说巧妙地编织在一起。

本文将分为五个部分，第一部分是对霍桑和象征主义的总体介绍。第二部分是对小说中的主要象征物红字A的分析，红字A与海斯特有着密不可分的关系，因此，在不同的时期，红字A 具有不同的意义。第三部分是对小说中的主要场景—森林、蔷薇丛、监狱所蕴含的象征意义进行了探讨。第四部分是对四位主人公形象、名字的象征意义的分析。最后一部分先总结了论文的主要内容，然后揭示了在小说中霍桑通过使用象征手法无不体现出他思想中的清教主义。

关键词：红字 象征主义 纳撒尼尔·霍桑

Abstract

Nathaniel Hawthorne, who is one of the most splendid writers of American Romanticism in 19th century, is known for his experienced and excellent writing techniques all over the world. The Scarlet Letter is Hawthorne’s representative work and one of the most famous full-length novel. The ideological contents, artistic features and writing techniques of the novel have been extensively attended by most scholars both abroad and at home all the time. This thesis will research deeply the symbolism of the novel. But what is symbolism? Speaking in general terms, it refers to a kind of writing skill of literature which endows the concrete images with the abstract meanings to enlighten the readers’ imagination and thinking. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne always uses the symbolism flexibly and systematically. With the development of the plot and the images of characters, the scarlet letter A, four main characters and some natural surroundings have their symbolic significance. Hawthorne also arranges all kinds of settings and mysteriously endows them with symbolic meanings, which form the retiform system of symbolism and knit all parts of the novel together. 

This thesis falls into five  chapters. The  first  chapter  introduces  Nathaniel Hawthorne and the symbolism by and large. The second chapter analyzes the symbolic meaning of the letter A which is indissolubly linked with Hester’s image. Therefore, the letter A has its own different symbolic meanings in different periods. The third chapter concentrates on symbols of the settings, such as the forest, the rosebush and the prison. The forth chapter discusses the symbolic meanings of the four main characters. The last chapter summarizes contents of the  thesis  and then reveals the Puritanism of Hawthorne’s thoughts.

Key Words: The scarlet letter; Symbolism; Nathaniel Hawthorne

Contents

1  Introduction 1

2  The Symbolic Significance of the Scarlet Letter A 2

2.1 The Original Meanings: Adultery, Alienation, Alone 2

2.2 The Changing Meanings: Able, Admirable, Angel 2

2.3 The Final Meanings: Amazon, Arthur 3

3  The Symbolic Meanings of Different Settings 5

3.1 The Forest 5

3.2 The Rosebush 6

3.3 The Prison 6

4  The Symbolic Meanings of Four Characters 8

4.1 Pearl: Symbol of Sin, Love, Rebellion and Purity 8

4.2 Hester Prynne: Symbol of Beauty, Passion and Independence 9

4.3 Arthur Dimmesdale: Symbol of Cowardice and Hypocrisy 10

4.4 Roger Chillingworth: Symbol of Cold, Merciless and Evil 11

5  Conclusion 13

Bibliography 14

Acknowledgements 15