Abstract:

Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the greatest romantic novelists and short story writers in the United States in the 19th century. The Scarlet Letter is his masterpiece. Its background is about the colonial time of America two hundred years ago but reveals the cruelty of the social code, the deception of religion and the hypercriticism of morality at that time. The heroine, Hester Prynne, is considered by many scholars as the new-born feminist soldier who suffers a lot. She tortures in the pains of the contradiction between the reality and her dream, living at the edge of life but struggling for her life. This thesis will make a detailed analysis of the character of the heroine and her independent spirits from four aspects: an introduction to the author and the novel, the intention of creating Hester, the original image of Hester and the image as a sinner, aiming to comprehensively analyze how her independent spirit presents itself in the novel.
   
Key words: intention; original image; independent spirits; the spirits of independent
   
摘要：

纳撒尼尔•霍桑，是美国19世纪影响最大的浪漫主义小说家和心理小说家。长篇小说《红字》（The Scarlet Letter）是他的代表作。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。《红字》中的女主人公海斯特.白兰,很多学者都把她解读为是经过苦难的磨炼后获得了新生的女权主义战士，海斯特在理想和现实的矛盾中煎熬着,生活在边缘地带,经过命运残酷的打击，但仍旧不屈不挠。本篇论文将从四个方面着手，从该作品的基本介绍、创造白兰这样一个角色的意图、白兰代表的原始形象以及作为罪人的这样一个人物等方面系统分析《红字》中女主人公备受屈辱而又充满反抗精神的生活，综合论述白兰的独立精神是如何在小说中得以体现的。

关键词：意图；原始形象；反抗精神；独立精神

1. Introduction
1.1. A brief introduction of the author and the novel
Nathaniel Hawthorne is an eminent American fictionist and a central figure in the American Renaissance. When it comes to his writing style, Hawthorne has made great contributions to both American and world literature. As an American writer, he is the first one to define his works as Romances. He wrote four romances which add abundant content to the literary world. He is known as the representative of the Romantic period in American literature.  He has created a lot of thought-provoking works. The best-known works of Hawthorne include The Scarlet Letter (1850) (It is his masterpiece, which is a critical and popular success.) and The House of the Seven Gables (1851).