浅析红字中的象征主义手法.docx

浅析红字中的象征主义手法.docx

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浅析红字中的象征主义手法

AnAnalysisofSymbolisminTheScarletLetter

By

TangGuaiguai

UndertheSupervisorof

ZhuLiping

SubmittedinPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirements

FortheDegreeofBachelorofArts

EnglishDepartmentSchoolofForeignLanguages

LanzhouJiaotongUniversity

June2015

摘要

纳桑尼尔.霍桑是美国19世纪浪漫主义小说家.处在美国文艺复兴时期的霍桑，崇尚民主与自由,而同时又不能完全摆脱心灵深处清教思想的束缚。

因而他既是一个清教势力的批判者，又是清教思想的继承者。

《红字》是霍桑长篇小说的代表作。

其突出的艺术特色是其丰富的象征主义，因此被称为第一部象征主义小说.小说中各种事物的象征寓意都呈现出多义性、系统性、和隐晦性。

本文拟从小说红字“A”,这一贯穿全文的意象，主要人物的名字以及场景描写等这三方面来探讨其多重的象征主义。

通过分析作品中的各种象征主义来揭示作者的创作意图,从而更好地理解小说的主旨。

第一章主要介绍了霍桑和《红字》及相关研究，并简单解释了象征主义及其作用。

主体部分分为三部分，第一部分分析红色字母A随着故事情节发展而具有的不同的象征意义即通奸—痛苦—能干—天使。

第二部分详细阐述了四个主要人物名字的象征意义，美丽直率的海斯特，孤僻忧郁的丁梅斯代尔，冷漠无情的奇灵渥斯，以及女孩珠儿。

第三部分主要对作品中描述的意象的象征意义具体分析。

结语部分总结全文。

关键词：

霍桑；《红字》；象征主义

Abstract

NathanielHawthorneisafamousAmericanromanticnovelistinnineteenthcentury.AsinAmericanRenaissance,Hawthorneadvocatesdemocracyandfreedom,butatthesametime,heisboundedandcannotcompletelygetridofthedeepinfluenceofPuritanism.Therefore,heisacriticofPuritanism,andisthesuccessorofPuritanism.TheScarletLetteristhemasterpieceofHawthorne’slongnovel.TheprominentartisticfeatureofTheScarletLetterisitsrichsymbolism;thereforeitiscalledthefirstsymbolismnovel.Thesymbolismmeaningsofallkindsofobjectsinthenovelshowthepolysemy,motility,andevencontradictory.

Thispaperwillexplorethemultiplesymbolicmeaningfromthescarletletter“A”,thenamesofthemaincharactersandobjectsthatdescribedinthenovel.Throughtheanalysisofvarioussymbolisms,wecanrevealthecomposingintentionofauthor,andbetterunderstandingofthenovel'stheme.Thispaperconsistsofthethreepartsincludingintroduction,mainbodyandconclusion.

TheintroductionpartmainlyintroducesHawthorneandTheScarletLetterandtherelatedresearches.Themainbodyincludesthreeparts.Thefirstpartchieflyanalysesthedifferentsymbolicmeaningofthescarletletter“A”thatchangeswiththedevelopmentofthestory.Thesecondpartexpoundsthesymbolicmeaningofthefourmaincharacters’names.BeautifulandcandidHester,unsocialandgloomyDimmesdale,coldanddetachedChilingworthandsunnygirlPearl.Thethirdpartmainlydescribesthesymbolicmeaningoftheimagesthatwritteninthenovel,suchasprison,scaffold,androse-bushandforest.Thefinalpartisconclusion.

Keywords:

Hawthorne,TheScarletLetter,symbolism

Contents

ChapterOneIntroduction

1.1IntroductiontoNathanielHawthorneandTheScarletLetter

NathanielHawthorneisafamousAmericannovelistandshortstorywriter.HeisthemostimportantAmericanromanticrepresentativeinthelatenineteenthcentury,andalsooneofthegreatestnovelistsinthehistoryofAmericanliterature.Hawthorn'sworksbelongtoromanticismor,morespecifically,darkromanticism.ManyofhisworksareinspiredbyPuritanNewEngland,combininghistoricalromanceloadedwithsymbolismanddeeppsychologicalthemes,borderingonsurrealism.Histhemesoftencenterontheinherentevilandsinofhumanity,andhisworksoftenhavemoralmessagesanddeeppsychologicalcomplexity.Hispublishedworksincludenovels,shortstories,andbiography.HislaterwritingsalsoreflecthisnegativeviewoftheTranscendentalismmovement.

TheScarletLetteristherepresentativeworkofNathanielHawthorne’slongnovel,whichfocusesontheperformanceoftheauthor’sthoughtandartisticfeatures.Whenthisbookwaspublished,itachievedasuccess.HawthorneusedsymbolismwidelyinTheScarletLetterandmadefourmajorfigurestogetherskillfullywiththeonlyword“A”.Theuseofsymbolisminthestoryisfullofmysterythatenrichestheideologicalcontentoftheworks,andalsoincreasesthenovel’sartisticcharm.Itleavesimaginativespaceandinfiniteaftertastetoreaders.TheScarletLetter’sbiggestsuccessistheskillfuluseofsymbolismandtheexcellentcontrolability.Hawthorne’srichanduniquesymbolismopenedasymbolicnovelasanindependentliteraryvarietyprecedent.Hawthornebecameoneoffoundersofmodernliteratureofsymbolism,alsomakesthescarletletterbecamethefirstAmerican’scross-borderbook,andwontheworldreputationinliteraryworks.

1.2LiteratureReview

NathanielHawthorneisoneofthemostinfluentialAmericanromanticnovelistsinthenineteenthcentury.BecauseofHawthorne’smoralambiguity,hisrichvisualimagination,hisdeepexplorationofthedreamscapesofindividuals,communities,andthenation,andespeciallyhis“powerofblackness”asMelvillecalledit,hisworkskeepintriguinggreatinterestsandhugepassionofthecriticsofdifferenttimesanddifferentperspectives.

TheScarletLetterisconsideredasoneofthegreatestworksinAmericanliterature.Thereasonswhyitissofamousarethatitsambiguousconnotations,delicaterepresentations,mysticalimaginations,thrillingmoralimplicationsaswellasitsambiguousattitudetowardswomen.Criticsstudyitfromdifferentanglesandlevels,butallthecriticsgavethehighestevaluationtoTheScarletLetter.Inrecentyears,therearemanydomesticandforeignacademicatticswhicharewritingthescarletletter,forexample,Bianjunhasstudiedthepsychologicaldescriptioninthescarletletter;YangXiaomeihasanalyzedHawthorne’sambivalentattitudetowardswomeninthescarletletter;JinXiaoweihasstudiedHawthorne’sChristianthoughts,andsoon.

However,anotherattractionisHawthorne’sskillfuluseofsymbolisminTheScarletLetter.Symbolismisoneofthemostimportantwritingskills,whichendowstheconcreteimageswithabstractmeaningtoenlightenthereader’simaginationandtoexpressadeepermeaning.Ifwewanttoexplorethedeepersignificancethroughthesurface,itisnotasimplething.Itmustinvolveinmanydisciplinesandtheoreticalproblems,sothispaperwillstudythesymbolismofTheScarletLetter.

1.3SignificanceoftheStudy

TheScarletLetterisNathanielHawthorne’srepresentativework.HawthorneusedskillfulsymbolisminTheScarletLetter,whichmadeTheScarletLetterbecamethefirstsymbolicnovelintheworld.Hawthorneexpressessuperspace,andsupermaterialfor"anotherworld"throughthesymbolismthatconsciousnesscannotachieve,andputtheinfinitemeaninginthefinitethings.

Thispapermainlyanalyzesthesignificancesymbolicmeaningofthescarletletter“A”,themaincharacters’namesandtheobjectsdescribedinthenovel.ThroughthestudyofthesymbolismofTheScarletletter,itcannotonlymakethesymbolismsignificanceofcharactersclearertothereaders,butalsoshedlightonthesymbolicsignificanceofobjects.Atthesametime,thehistoryoftheAmericaatthattimewillbeclearlyshowntoreaders.Andthen,itbroadensreaders’horizons.BytheresearchofthesymbolismoftheScarletletter,itwillprovideanewviewtoreadersaboutsymbolism.IthelpspeopletofurtherunderstandHawthorne’sopinionandhisotherworks.Italsohelpspeoplelearntouseskillfulsymbolismintheirownwritings.Meanwhile,readerscanfindthethemesofthenovelindifferentaspects,andthenunderstandthenovelcompletely.

ChapterTwoTheSymbolicMeaningoftheScarletletter“A”

Symbol,akindofartisticcreation,mainlydependsonthespecificthingstoexpresstheabstractmeaning,inordertoinducethereader’simaginationandassociation,soastoachieveanideologicalrealmtoaffordmuchfoodforthought.Itrangesfromthemostobviousandsubstitutionofonethingforanother,tomassive,complexandperplexingcreations.Characters,names,scenesandeveneventscanbeusedsymbolically.

Inthe19thcentury,withthefastdevelopmentsoftheeconomy,Americanhassteppedintoanewstage,whilethetraditionalPuritanismstillinfluencedthoughtsofpeople.Furthermore,19thcenturyisalsothetimeofculturerenaissance;theTranscendentalismandtheMysticismareverypopularatthattime.InfluencedbyPuritanism,TranscendentalismandMysticism,Hawthorneismotivatedtomakeamuchdeeperexplorationonhumannatureandcausehisambiguityandconflictsininnerheart.Ononehand,herealizesthatthestrictPuritanismdestroythefreedomandhappinessofpeople,ontheotherhand,hecannoteradicatethetraditionthoughtssuchas“originalsin”fromhismindsincehewasborn.Suchstruggleandconflictsmakehimfeelambiguousandconfusedaboutlifeandworld.Hecannotfindagoodwaytochangethisworldandrevealhisideal;asaresult,hechoosessymbolismtoshowhisplightanddilemma.Thereasonwhyhechoosesitisthatsymbolismcanmakehisintentionhavemorethanonemeaning,sothathecanrevealhiscontradictorythoughts.

“A”hasrichsymbolicmeaningandmysterycolor,anditalmostappearsineverysceneofthisnovelandlinkseverycharacterskillfully.ItissewnonHester'scoat,carvedonhertombstoneafterherdeath,mysticallytattooedonDimmesdale’schest,evenmiraculouslyappearedintheskyduringthedevelopmentprocessofthestory.Thescarletletter“A”hastherichestsymbolicmeaninginthenovel.Butthesymbolicmeaningof“A”isnotimmutableandfrozen;itwillchangewiththestorydevelopingandtheanther’sbasisonthepoint.NowIwillanalyzethesymbolicmeaningfromtheromanticangleofmodernpeople.

2.1Adultery

Thescarletletter“A”isasymbolofadulterywhenitfirstappearsinthestory.“A”isthefirstletterintheEnglishalphabet.“First”is“origin”,firstlyitmeansbeginning.AccordingtotheChristiandoctrine,“origin”meansdegenerate,anditistheoriginalsinthatnoonecouldavoid,anditisalsotheoriginaldegenerationofhuman’sancestors.Inthiswork,thescar