Abstract and Key Words

Abstract: The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850, is a novel written by American romantic novelist--Nathaniel Hawthorne in 19th century. The novel takes the American colonial era of two hundred years ago as a theme, but it reveals the cruelty of Social Code, religious deception and moral hypocrisy in the development of capitalism of America in the 19th century. By using Freudian theory, this article aims to discuss the psychological changes of Pastor Dimmesdale in different periods, analyzing and revealing the causes of his psychological change to give a better understanding to readers. This thesis mainly uses personality-based theory of the subconscious. In Freud’s view, the personality is constituted of three parts: ego, the I and superego.

Key words: The scarlet letter; Freud; analysis of psychology

摘要：《红字》是19世纪美利坚合众国浪漫主义作家霍桑的长篇小说，发表于1850年。小说以两百多年前的殖民地时代的美洲为题材，但揭露的却是19世纪资本主义发展时代美利坚合众国社会典法的残酷、宗教的欺骗和道德的虚伪。本文运用弗洛伊德的理论讨论《红字》中牧师丁梅斯代尔在不同时期的心理变化历程，分析并揭示人物心理变化的原因，给读者以更好的理解。本文主要运用以潜意识为基础的人格学说。弗洛伊德认为人格由本我、自我和超我三部分所构成。

关键词：红字; 弗洛伊德; 心理分析

1.    Introduction
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s masterpiece The Scarlet Letter is not only a household name but also of profound influence. Hawthorne is the most influential romantic novelist of the nineteenth century. In his book, he depicts three heroes. All of them are full characters, featured by fresh, simple plot, deep contradictions and nuanced psychological description, making it a “psychological romance” of American romantic fiction. It is a true love story based on the background of New England colonies in North America in 1642-1649. Heroine Hester Prynne was married to a doctor, old Chillingworth. When Chillingworth was shipwrecked, Prynne thought he had died in the tragic event. In solitude, Prynne fell in love with the Reverend Dimmesdale and gave birth to a daughter Pearl. Then Prynne was punished in public, wearing red signs of adultery “A”. But unyielding Prynne refuses to tell the child’s father. Later her husband Chillingworth was safely backed to New England, and concealed his identity. When he found that Prynne’s lover was Dimmesdale, he began to torment the young priest endlessly. Ultimately, Chillingworth was ruined because of his paranoid revenge; Dimmesdale was both physically and mentally destroyed; only Hester bravely faced the future, ready to go to Europe with her daughter to start a new life.