《红字》中a的多重象征意义.doc

《红字》中A的多重象征意义

The Multiple Symbolism of A in The Scarlet Letter

摘  要

　　　霍桑是十九世纪美国著名小说家，并被认为是象征主义大师。《红字》是他的代表作，也是美国文坛上享誉世界的佳作。小说以17世纪的波士顿为背景，讲述了发生在女主人公白兰身上的复杂的爱情故事，反映了在清教主义思想占统治的社会里，人对感情禁锢的反抗。在《红字》中，霍桑大量运用了象征手法，并对不同人物进行了细致的心理描写，显示了其高超的小说功底和非凡的心理洞察力。象征，无疑是《红字》的主要表现手法。小说巧妙的运用一个普通的字母A作为主线，贯穿始终，并在不同的人物身上赋予了它不同的象征意义。本文探讨了红字A随着故事情节的发展反映在不同人物身上的多重象征意义，以此来赏析小说中的象征主义艺术手法。

　　　　　

　　　关键词： 霍桑 《红字》 字母A  象征主义 

Abstract

　　　Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804~1864)，an American novelist in the 19th century, is a master of symbolism. The Scarlet Letter  is his representative work, which is also an excellent American work in the world literature. With Boston in the seventeenth century as background in the novel, the author tells us a complex love story happening on the heroine Hester Prynne, which reflects the rebellion within an emotionally constricted Puritan society. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses a lot of symbolism, and makes his keen psychological analysis of different characters, which reveals both his superb craftsmanship and the powerful psychological insight. Symbolism is an undisputed main technique of expression in The Scarlet Letter, and Hawthorne uses a simple letter A as the main line to go through the novel from beginning to end and endows it with different meanings on each character. This paper tries to explore the multiple symbolic meanings of A on different characters as the plot develops, in order to appreciate the use of symbolism in the novel. 

　　　　　　

　　　Key words: Nathaniel Hawthorne; The Scarlet Letter; letter A; symbolism

Contents

摘   要 ii

Abstract iii

1 Introduction 1

2 Synopsis of The Scarlet Letter .1

3. A Brief Account of Symbolism 2

4. Symbolic Meanings of A in Different Characters 3

4.1 Hester Prynne 4

4.2 Arthur Dimmesdale 6

4.3 Roger Chillingworth 7

4.4 Pearl 7

5. Conclusion 9

Bibliography 10

The Multiple Symbolism of A in The Scarlet Letter

 Introduction

Nathaniel Hawthorne is the first great American writer of fiction and a master of symbolism. Human soul is the central subject of his major works, and the early Puritan history in Boston Massachusetts, especially his own family story offered the background for those works. In those works, he revealed his criticism of life, including The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, Twice-Told Tales, Mosses from an Old Manse, The Blithedale Romance, The Birthmark, and so on. And