《紅字》中A的多重象征意義

The Multiple Symbolism of A in The Scarlet Letter

摘  要

　　　霍桑是十九世紀美國著名小說家，并被認為是象征主義大師?！都t字》是他的代表作，也是美國文壇上享譽世界的佳作。小說以17世紀的波士頓為背景，講述了發(fā)生在女主人公白蘭身上的復(fù)雜的愛情故事，反映了在清教主義思想占統(tǒng)治的社會里，人對感情禁錮的反抗。在《紅字》中，霍桑大量運用了象征手法，并對不同人物進行了細致的心理描寫，顯示了其高超的小說功底和非凡的心理洞察力。象征，無疑是《紅字》的主要表現(xiàn)手法。小說巧妙的運用一個普通的字母A作為主線，貫穿始終，并在不同的人物身上賦予了它不同的象征意義。本文探討了紅字A隨著故事情節(jié)的發(fā)展反映在不同人物身上的多重象征意義，以此來賞析小說中的象征主義藝術(shù)手法。

　　　　　

　　　關(guān)鍵詞： 霍桑 《紅字》 字母A  象征主義 

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