Abstract

Nathaniel Hawthorne has always been regarded as a master of symbolism. In many of his works, Hawthorne creatively employs symbolism to present themes, among which, “The Birthmark” is a typical one. With a brief introduction to the definition of symbol and symbolism as the beginning, the thesis intends to analyze a lot of symbols used in the short story from the aspects of settings, characters, and title with the purpose to reveal the role of symbolism played in the story.

Key words: Nathaniel Hawthorne, symbolism, “The Birthmark”, role

摘  要

纳撒尼尔·霍桑一直被认为是象征主义大师，他的许多作品都创造性地用了象征手法来表现主题，其中《胎记》体现了其娴熟的象征主义写作技巧。本文结合象征和象征主义的概念，试图从象征性的场景、人物和标题的角度来分析象征主义在小说中的体现，并由此得出象征手法在揭示小说主旨方面所起的作用。

关键词：霍桑；象征主义；《胎记》；作用

1. Introduction
1.1 Nathaniel Hawthorne and his works
Known as “American Shakespeare”, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804—1864) is one of the most excellent and highly-honored novelist and story-writer in the American Romantic period, who has a positive and lasting influence upon western literature. He was born in Reihan Salem, New England, the earliest colonial establishment of the pilgrims, which was long-term shrouded in Puritan socialist's shadow. Most of his works are full with a Puritan color of reflection and pessimism due to the fact that Hawthorne spent his childhood and youth time there, and was deeply influenced by Puritan socialist. In 1836 Hawthorne held an office in customs office, and published two volumes of “Twice-Told Tales”, since when he started to use his own name. During the 3 years after marriage a collection of short stories—Mosses from an Old Manse was finished, which is particularly noted for “Young Goodman Brown” and “Rappaccini's Daughter”. Hawthorne lived in an old house named Wayside, next door neighbor to Emerson and Thoreau in 1846.