Abstract: Nathaniel Hawthorne is considered to be one of the most influential American romantic novelists in the 19th century. The Scarlet Letter is Hawthorne’s masterpiece which earns him international fame and secures his position in American literary history. This thesis is intended to make a research on Hester’s rebellious thoughts and actions to explore the feminist consciousness embodied in her by applying feminist critical theories and methodology, and study the causes for Hester’s tragic fate, so as to point out the real reason. Feminist criticism is women-centered criticism, dealing with female images, female value and so on. This paper is composed of five parts. The first part is the introduction. The second part is summarizes the literary research at home and abroad. The third part introduces the theoretical basis of the paper. The fourth part detailed analysis of Hester’s rebellious behaviors and thoughts, and study the root of Hester’s tragic fate. The last part is the conclusion. It is hoped that this paper will help people comprehend Hester’s spirit and image better and give the reader a general understanding of Hester’s tragic fate.
Key Words: Hester Prynne; Feminist consciousness; Feminist criticism; Rebellion; Fate

摘  要：纳撒尼尔•霍桑被认为是19世纪最具影响力的美国浪漫主义小说家之一。《红字》是霍桑的代表作，使他享誉世界并确立了其在美国文学史上的位置。本文旨在运用女性主义批评理论和方法研究海斯特的反抗思想和行动来探索女性意识在其身上的体现，以及研究了海斯特悲剧命运的原因，从而指出真正的原因。女性主义批评是以妇女为中心的批评，关于女性形象、女性价值等方面。本文分为五个部分，第一部分是绪论，第二部分总结了国内外研究现状，介绍了本文的理论基础，第三部分详细分析了海斯特的反抗行为和思想，第四部分研究了海斯特悲剧命运的根源，最后一部分是本文的结论。希望本文能更好的帮助人们理解海斯特的精神和形象，并给读者对海斯特的悲剧命运有一个大致的了解。
关键词：海斯特•白兰；女性意识；女性主义批评；反抗；命运

Nathaniel Hawthorne has been considered to be one of the greatest American romantic writers in the 19th century and his reputation has been on the increase ever since the publication of his masterpiece The Scarlet Letter. It depicts the society as it actually was at that time. Moreover, it has also has been considered as a reflection of women’s problems at that time. Some of his contemporary writers were his first critics such as Henry James, he sang highly of Hawthorne and regarded him as “the greatest of the New Englander”, “a literary artist rather than a preacher or a propagandist” (Sampson, 1970:796).
Hawthorne lost his father in his childhood, from his mother’s sufferings, he learned the women’s marginal status and the women’s tragic living environment in patriarchal society. So he generated sympathy for women. The Scarlet Letter embodies his feminist consciousness sufficiently, and Hawthorne’s feminist consciousness reflected in the portrayal of the heroine Hester in The Scarlet Letter.