摘　要

纳撒尼尔•霍桑是美国伟大的浪漫主义小说家。他的作品受到众多评论家的推崇。《红字》是纳撒尼尔•霍桑最杰出的代表作，集中体现了他的思想意识和艺术特色。在这部作品中他巧妙地运用了象征主义手法来加强作品的艺术效果。整篇作品包含了很多意义深远的象征，其中最重要的要数红字“A”的象征意义了。它不仅以各种各样不同的形式出现，而且其象征意义也不断变化。本文试图分析红字“A”在作品中对主要人物的象征意义来加深对这部经典作品的理解。
本文通过三个部分来分析《红字》。第一部分简要介绍霍桑及其作品在美国文学中的地位，以及《红字》在国内外的研究状况。第二部分从字母“A”对海斯特的象征意义入手，此部分可分为4个小章节。第一章主要介绍红字“A”对海斯特的象征意义,此处“A”象征通奸，爱情，能力和天使。第二章主要介绍字母“A”对齐灵渥斯的象征意义，“A”代表令人厌恶的人。第三章介绍字母“A”对但梅斯代尔的象征意义，“A”代表痛苦。第四章介绍字母“A”对珠儿的象征意义，此处的“A”是代表激励希望。第三部分总结全文，字母“A”对不同人物的不同象征意义。

关键词：《红字》；象征主义；字母“A”

Abstract

Nathaniel Hawthorne is a famous romantic American writer. Many readers and critics have given high credit to him, for he is not only a prolific writer but also is known for his novel The Scarlet Letter He uses a lot of symbolism in the book to light the theme. There are many symbolism which have deep meaning especially the scarlet letter＂A＂. It occurs not only in different forms, but also different meanings. This paper attempts to understand the book through studying the symbolic meaning of letter＂A＂for main characters.
This paper is structured into three parts.First part is the introduction starting with the tremendous influence of Hawthorne’s works in American literature, in which the paper talks briefly about symbolic meaning for main character.In the scend part, the author will state the symbolic meaning of letter＂A＂for each character. It can be divided into four parts. Firstly,symbolic meaning of letter＂A＂for Hester. The letter＂A＂stands for adultery, amour, ability and angel. Secondly, symbolic meaning of letter＂A＂for Chillingworth. Here the letter＂A＂stands for abomination. Thirdly, symbolic meaning of letter＂A＂for Dimmesdale. The letter＂A＂stands for agony. Fourthly, symbolic meaning of letter＂A＂for Pearl. The letter＂A＂stands for aspiration.In the last part, the author will make a brief conclusion of the paper.，the symbolic meaning of  letter  ＂A＂is different for each character.
 
Key words: The Scarlet Letter; symbolism; letter＂A＂

1 Introduction
    The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850s. From then on, it makes the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne known all around the world. He was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, to a family and local history provided much of the material for his work. The Scarlet Letter is one of his most famous works. The story opens with Hester Prynne standing silently on the scaffold in the middle of a town square in 18th Century Boston. Hester holding her small child in her arms, with a scarlet letter A on her chest, is publicly on trail for adultery.