Abstract

    The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is an 1850 romantic work of fiction set in 17th-century Puritan Boston. It is considered to be his magnum opus. It tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an adulterous affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity.
There are many symbolisms used in the story, characters as well as objects. This study is carried out to interpret the transformation of the main character Hester’s symbolism to help readers further appreciate the unique and symbolic glamour of the novel. On the basis of understanding Hawthorne and this novel,this thesis illustrates the symbolisms of Hester in different states of her life, which transform from negative to positive ones, and then analyzes the reasons for the transformation and Hester’s rebirth.

Key words:   Hester’s symbolism  transformation  The Scarlet Letter
 
摘 要

纳撒尼尔•霍桑的《红字》是以17世纪清教盛行的波士顿为背景的浪漫主义小说。这本小说被认为是霍桑的代表作，故事讲述了女主人公海丝特•白兰婚外情生下女儿后认真悔过重获有尊严的新生活的故事。
这部小说大量运用了象征手法，赋予人与物强烈的象征意义。为了帮助读者更好地鉴赏和领略小说独一无二的象征魅力，本文对主人公海斯特的象征意义的转变进行了解读。在了解霍桑和这本小说的基础上，本论文阐明海斯特在不同时期，象征意义由消极向积极方向的转变，并分析其象征意义转变的原因以及海斯特的重生。

关键词：海斯特的象征意义  转变  《红字》

1 Introduction
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is an 1850 romantic work of fiction in a historical setting of 17th century, and it is considered his magnum opus. As time goes by, the originality of this work and its rich meaning are gradually discovered and admired by readers.
The novel itself tells a story of how Hester transforms from adultery to a new and active image to others. The Scarlet Letter is written by a mediocrity. It's easy to become a superficial legend of love affair, or at best, can only be written a protagonist who fight against adversity. However, Hawthorne is a deliberate writer. On one hand, he is under the influence of puritanism, without getting rid of “original sin” , “sin” and “conclusion” , but from the guilt of the family, in turn, to the Puritan, the autocratic rule of distressed effect.