摘要

    《红字》是纳撒尼尔·霍桑的代表作之一，是19世纪美国著名的浪漫主义小说。霍桑总是把自己的作品当做一部浪漫史而不是小说。丰富的象征意义的运用是《红字》最突出的艺术特征。它被称为美国历史上第一部象征小说。作者以鲜红的“A”为线索,通过女主角海丝特的悲剧，揭露了在新英格兰清教徒殖民统治期间的社会地位。本文通过分析一系列的意象、人物、红字“A”的象征意义揭示了象征主义的艺术特色和隐含意义，能使我们更好的理解这本书的主题。

关键词：清教；象征主义；红字
 
Abstract

“The Scarlet Letter” is Nathaniel Hawthorne's master work. It is one of the most famous American romantic novels in 19th century. Hawthorne always regards his own writings as romance rather than novels. Symbolism is the most outstanding artistic feature of The Scarlet Letter. It is called the first symbolic novel in American history. The scarlet “A” is set as a clue, through the tragedy of heroine Hester, which exposes the social status during colonial rule of Puritan in New England. This paper reveals the artistic characteristic and the implied meaning of symbolism in this book. Through the analysis of characters, objects and the scarlet letter “A”, we can better understand the theme of the book.

Key words：Puritan; Symbolism; The Scarlet Letter