霍桑《红字》中的象征主义

《红字》中A的象征主义的文献综述摘要:纳撒尼尔·霍桑是十九世纪美国伟大的浪漫主义小说家。

作为一位伟大的浪漫主义小说家，霍桑对象征主义手法的运用可以说是独具匠心。

他擅长用特殊命名法刻画人物以突出作品的主题。

其代表作《红字》便集中体现了这一特点。

在这部作品中霍桑对特殊人名和字母A的象征意义的运用，使作品蕴含多重寓意和多元主题。

女主人公的名字白兰蕴含着美丽、激情、轻率、欲望灵魂净化以及对人性的研究等意义。

丁梅斯代尔的名字含有“一个犯了通奸罪的人因性格怯懦把罪恶隐藏在阴暗的心中”之意。

齐灵沃斯的基本寓意是“恶棍、复仇和冷酷”。

白兰与丁梅斯代尔的女儿的名字珠儿有“珍贵、美好与纯洁”等人性善的内涵。

字母A的含义随着主题的发展而发生变化，作品以字母A开始又以A结尾，它不仅以各种各样的形式出现，而且其象征意义不断变化，从“通奸”到“有能力的”甚至“天使般的”，这诸多变化交织了人性的矛盾、冲突、善恶的转换，罪与罚宽容和爱，可谓意义丰富。

从每个人物凸显在书中的行为及心理主线来看，红字也许蕴藏在每一个人的心中，但关键在于罪恶面前人们是怎样对待的。

关键词: 红字；“A”；象征主义一、红字A的多重释义红字A是贯穿全书的主线,也是最为典型的象征。

在小说中红色的“A”出现以频率之高让读者不禁在读完小说后仍继续深思。

从“某一种标记”“A”出现在文中近150次之多。

这个红字到底象征着什么意思呢?可以根据故事的情节先后顺序,简单地用一条情节发展线索来解释:apple(象征原罪,恶的根源)——adultery(通奸)ashamed——alienation (疏远)、abnormal、abandon -------able(能力)、affection(慈爱)——angel(天使) -------admire（敬佩）、awakened （觉醒）。

在故事开始,当红A字第一次出现在众人的眼前时,它精工细做,人为地赋予光彩和奢华:“它聚集了海丝特衣着唯一,但最合体的装饰品所带来的效果”,它的光辉如同“随划过黑暗的清教徒社会的一缕耀眼的光”。

论《红字》中的象征意义作者：项真珍黄小星来源：《语文建设·下半月》2014年第05期摘要：《红字》是美国历史上第一部以象征主义为题材的小说。

在其作品中，无论是红字“A”，还是人物形象塑造，或者是场景的创设，都体现出了明显的象征手法，具备独特的象征意义。

本文从象征角度出发，探析在小说中的各种象征手法，以实现对于作品的再次解读。

关键词：《红字》象征手法引言在霍桑进行《红字》文学小说创作的过程中，在人物塑造、情节设置、语言表达方面都表现出明显的主观想象色彩，字里行间都可以感受到人物的情感，意识，思想和态度，好像是以各个人物的意识活动来进行作品创作的。

这样的手法被称为象征，这也是《红字》作品的重要特色。

一、象征手法的概况从理论上来讲，象征是文学创作的艺术手法之一，是以具体事物为媒介引起读者的各种联想。

也就是说，抓住事物之间的独特联系，在具体形象体的协助下，实现抽象感情、思想、心态的表达。

这种文学创作手法，往往使得其文章立意更加深刻，更加含蓄，耐人寻味。

象征手法是一种古老的艺术手法，在无数的文艺作品中都可以看到这样的手法的使用。

对于霍桑来讲，作为那时期的浪漫主义作家，在受到神秘主义观点熏陶的同时，也积极尝试使用象征手法，并且发挥主观能动性，将象征手法中渗入自己的感情艺术，使得整个《红字》中呈现出大量的象征主义。

二、《红字》中的象征主义（一）内容梗概故事发生在十七世纪中叶。

海斯特·白兰是一个年轻漂亮的少女，却嫁给了一个畸形的年长的罗格·齐灵渥斯。

后来罗格被捕，海斯特与年轻的牧师阿瑟·丁梅斯代尔相爱，并且生下了女儿珠儿。

事情败露之后，海斯特被判处通奸罪，要求其在胸前佩戴红字“A”，其原配丈夫回国之后得知此事，就千方百计地去折磨阿瑟·丁梅斯代尔。

最终，人们看到海斯特·白兰的美德而原谅了她，而阿瑟·丁梅斯代尔也当众承认了自己的罪行并死去。

（二）《红字》中的象征意义霍桑《红字》中的象征手法众多，整个文学作品中都渗透着明显的象征意义。

论《红字》中的象征主义的运用文献综述专业：英语师范班级：11级(1)班作者：柴保玲指导老师：胡红霞摘要：霍桑的成名小说《红字》描绘了17世纪新英格兰的社会风貌，暴露了在请教主义统治下的社会黑暗。

这部小说体现了作者高超娴熟的写作手法，尤其是象征手法的运用，赋予读者对文章深层次的思考与联想。

本文客观公正地归纳了有关的《红字》中象征主义的分析研究现状，并且指出了相关研究的不足之处，点明了本选题的研究意义。

关键词：红字；象征主义；“A”；霍桑“象征”是文学创作的一种艺术表现形式，它借助具体形象来表现抽象意义，将无限的深意寄于有限的事物，从而给读者营造出无穷的联想和想象空间。

纳撒尼尔·霍桑是十九世纪美国伟大的浪漫主义小说家。

作为一位伟大的浪漫主义小说家，霍桑对象征主义手法的运用可以说是独具匠心。

《红字》中霍桑很好地将自己多义、模糊、矛盾的创造思想寄寓象征这一文化创作手法中，赋予了各种主体以丰富的象征意义，强调了象征主义的内在精神性。

象征手法的运用，使得他的作品在今天仍具有强烈的感染力，并在文学史上处于永久不衰的地位。

整篇作品象征主义手法贯穿始终。

其中，最重要的要数红字“A”本身的象征意义。

它不仅以各种各样的形式出现，而且其象征意义不断变化，从“通奸”到“有能力的”甚至“天使般的”。

此外，小说中四个主要角色：海斯特，丁梅斯代尔，齐灵沃尔斯，珠儿也都有其各自的象征意义。

小说描述的景物和场景，例如监狱，森林，玫瑰花园等等也都寓意深刻。

本文正是从这几方面着手，探究作者在小说中对象征主义手法的巧妙运用。

笔者主要通过网络（主要是中国知网）、书籍、报刊等各种途径，查找了将近60篇相关研究评论，根据自己的兴趣方向和对这一论文的想法对这些文章加以筛选，选出了20篇有直接参考价值的论文进行研读。

通过中国知网，笔者发现在早期中外评论家主要是从海斯特的性格、心理、她的命运悲剧为主题，从社会和时代出发解析苔丝悲剧命运的原因。

象征手法在《红字》中的运用摘要：象征是文学创作中一种常见的表现手法。

霍桑在小说《红字》中充分运用象征手法，别具一格，独具匠心，使读者很容易理解小说中的人物、事件和情节。

关键词：象征；霍桑；红字a中图分类号：i3 文献标识码：a 文章编号：1009-0118（2011）-10-0-02一、引言象征主义作为一种文学流派，出现于19世纪末至20世纪30年代，是欧美现代派文学的一个重要分支。

但象征主义作为一种文学创作手段，则很早就在诗歌及小说中运用。

现代象征主义诗歌的代表人物艾略特说过，诗人应为他的思想和情感在现实世界中找到“客观对应物”，即象征物。

总结以上几种说法，可以说象征是借助于现实世界中的具体形象或事物，如色彩、声音、动植物等等来间接地寄托作者思想与情感的文学创作手段。

由于不是对客观事物作直接、简单的描述，而是通过暗示、隐喻等手段引起读者的联想，所以象征往往具有多义性与不确定性；由于象征可以引发读者丰富的联想并具有多重含义，这样就赋予原来平常的事物以巨大的艺术力量，这也许正是象征艺术的魅力所在。

早期的象征主义文学在题材上多侧重描写个人幻影和内心感受，极少涉及广阔的社会题材。

但十九世纪美国最著名的浪漫主义小说家霍桑经常使用象征手法和浪漫主义想象来突出强调他试图描述的社会问题。

二、《红字》与象征主义霍桑的小说在思想内容和艺术手法上都独具一格，他把严肃的道德和历史内容与卓越的艺术表现形式巧妙地结合在一起；把天赋的想象力与高超的语言技巧融为一体。

霍桑深受加尔文清教思想影响，同时美国浪漫主义时期盛行的神秘主义和超验主义在他脑海中留下了深深的烙印。

这种浓郁的文化背景形成了他对社会的怀疑态度，他逐渐意识到清教主义对人性的极大压抑和束缚，它剥夺了人们追求幸福与真爱的权利。

然而，他却无法完全摆脱这种思想的影响，这种环境决定了他的写作风格，并成就了他象征主义大师的称号，一直享誉英美和世界文坛，至今盛名不衰。

他开创了美国文学史上的“象征浪漫主义”的创作手法，这在《红字》中得到了最完美的展现。

THE SYMBOLISM IN THE SCARLET LETTERAbstract: “The Scarlet Letter”written by American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the readers a love story about the colonial time in Boston, America. The heroine Hester Prynne breaks through the fetters of her unhappy marriage bravely. But because she refuses to speak out the name of her lover, she has to wear the scarlet letter “A”on her breast. The story spreads out from here. The novel is full of symbolism. The main and minor characters, the settings, the natural phenomena are all given certain symbolic meanings. This paper will analyze the symbolism in this novel. Firstly, I will analyze the symbols in detailed way, such as the symbolic meanings of the main characters: Hester, Dimmesdale, etc., the settings: the rosebush, the woods, etc., the natural phenomena: the day and the night, the meteor. Using symbolism in novel is a good and popular writing skill, because it can increase the novel‟s artistry, the aesthetic feeling and shows the writer‟s ability of mastering the words. So then, this paper will analyze the advantages of this writing skill in novel. And because nothing is perfect, and Hawthorne is still clumsy in certain place in the use of symbolism in this novel, this paper will also analyze Hawthorne‟s disadvantage in using this writing skill. At last, at the premise of supporting the symbolic writing skill, this paper appeals more writing skills in writing.Key words:scarlet letter symbolism writing skill aesthetic feeling artistryContentsI. Introduction (1)II. The symbolic meanings of the main characters (2)A.Hester Prynne (2)B.Arthur Dimmesdale (4)C.Roger Chillingworth (6)D.Pearl (9)III. The symbolic meanings of the minor Characters (10)IV. The symbolic meanings of some settings (11)A.The rosebush next to the prison door (11)B.The woods and the town (12)C.The mansion and the garden of Governor Bellingham (13)D.The scaffold (14)V. The symbolic meanings of natural phenomena..............., (15)A.The day and the night..........................................,.. (15)B.The meteor (16)VI. Conclusion (17)Notes (20)Bibliography (21)The Symbolism in The Scarlet LetterI. Introduction"The Scarlet Letter" written by American novelist---Nathaniel Hawthorne tells us a love story happened in 17th century in Boston, America. The novel draws a clear picture of the people‟s lives about the love, the religion, the social life and the morality of the colonial time. But what make the novel have higher artistry is its use of symbolism in the novel. It makes the novel full of aesthetic feelings, more profound, and more attractive. This paper will analyze the symbolism in “the Scarlet Letter”. Firstly, I will analyze the symbolic meanings of the characters in detailed way. This part includes the symbolic meanings of the main characters: Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, and Pearl, the minor characters: John Wilson, Governor Bellingham, Mistress Hibbins. Secondly, I will analyze the symbolic meanings in some settings: the rosebush next to the prison door, the woods and the town, the mansion and the garden of Governor Bellingham, and the scaffold. Then, I will analyze the symbolic meanings of natural phenomena: the day and the night, the meteor. The author gives them many symbolic meanings. Many of them are ingeniously arranged. Through the analysis, Hawthorne‟s deep thought and his skill in using the symbolism and mastering the words to express his idea become visible. The last part is theconclusion. I conclude Hawthorne‟s advantages and the disadvantages of the novel in the use of symbolism, and appeal for more skills in writing.II. The symbolic meanings of the main charactersSymbolism is a major literary device in Hawthorne‟s The Scarlet Letter. “Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts”1. Many people and objects in this novel are given certain symbolic meanings.A. Hester PrynneIt is the heroine‟ s name. On the surface, it is just a woman‟ s name, but in fact, it has symbolic meaning, and is related to her life implicitly. Prynne rhymes with “Sin”, which means Hester does something sinful ly. Hester‟s husband Chillingworth is a learner, who wants to emigrate America from their hometown---England. Because he has something to handle so he sends Hester to America ahead. But he delays the date when they meet. Therefore, people guess that he must be died at sea. In this condition, Hester is pregnant and gives birth to a child. That means she commits the sin of adultery.But “sin” is only a small part of her life. As the plot goes, Hester symbolizes other things. Although Hester is sinful, the author describes Hester with his sympathy. Of course, he doesn‟t want to absolve her responsibility, he only wants to say, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth are the real criminals. From many aspects, Hester is a victim of manus, church, and regime. Firstly, she is so young and beautiful, but she marries Chillingworth,who is an ugly and old man. They don‟ t love each other at all. But under the pressure of manus and morality, she has to be loyal to him. Secondly, Hester and Dimmesdale love each other, but their love is against the morals and the religion. All these make Hester a wretched and pitiful woman. But she does not been destroyed by her “sin” and her unfair fate. Hester endures the persecution. She becomes contemplative and she begins to help other people. Day by day, because of her philanthropic act, she gets the town people‟ s certain admiration. By the end of the novel, Hester has become a feminist mother figure to the woman of that community. The shame to her scarlet letter has gone. Women recognize that her punishment stemmed from the town Father‟ s sexism, and when they meet some forces, they come to Hester‟s house seeking shelter. So we can see although the author gives Hester' s name as a symbol of "sin", it can only represent the past of Hester, what the author really want to show is Hester' s dignified characters. Hester is the embodiment of the dignified morals, she doesn‟t only move hypocritical Dimmesdale, but also moves the society. In Hawthorne' s religious opinion, the" sin" is human' s nature and everyone has sin. The so-called" no sin" is just a pretending way. So although Hester commits certain sin at the beginning, because of her actions these years, she has become a respectable people. Hester has suffered so many persecution, so many unfair treatments, so she can easily accept the rebellious idea. She has the courage to seek her happiness, she wants to have freedom, to have sincere love. And she and Dimmesdale are loyal to eachother in love. She is portrayed as an intelligent, capable woman. She is the symbol of love, courage, rebellion and loyalty.Hester is also a symbol of an uncontrollable woman. When Hester is set free from prison, she can choose to leave Boston, or go to a place where nobody knows her. But she does n‟t. She lives in Boston bravely, undergoes many humiliation. What is her reason? Hester doesn‟t want to be controlled by others. She wants to control her own fate. The sin is one part of her life, so she doesn‟t want to deny it. If she leaves Boston and become another person, that means she has acknowledged that the religion or the society has controlled her, and under the pressure, she has to run away. These are what the ordinary people do. But Hester is an indomitable woman, and she chooses to live in Boston, facing her painful but true life.B. Arthur DimmesdaleArthur Dimmesdale is Hester' s lover, Pearl' s father, a respectable young pastor in Boston--- a Puritan settlement. The author also gives this name a symbolic meaning. The initial of his name is “AD”. This is also the initial of “Adultery”. It means that, Dimmesdale also commits the sin of adultery just like Hester. "Dim" means faint, dark and weak. So Dimmesdale is a dim, weak, indeterminate people, and his characters are deep and dark. This is very true to him. He does not see things clearly, and in the novel, he is said to be in a maze, which also shows that his mind is not very clear. Because of his character, he doesn‟t like to reveal what he thinks in his mind. He just thinkseverything in heart by himself. In the novel, Hester and Dimmesdale love each other. But when Hester gives birth to Pearl and is publicly condemned, he does not admit his relationship with Hester and the little girl. Hester is led to the town scaffold, where every town people can see her and humiliate her. The people who sit in judgment of Hester are: Governor Bellingham, Reverend Wilson, and Reverend Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is delegated demand that Hester reveal the name of her child' s father. He uses his eloquence to advise Hester to speak out her lover' s name. But she refuses. From Dimmesdale' s actions, we can see he is so weak, despicable and hypocritical. He is such a man who dare not admit his crime. Of course, for himself, he has certain reasons. From the description of the novel, we can see this story happened in 17th century, and at that time, the religion in the new colony was Puritanism. The Puritanism was very strict, and paid attention to the reason, excluded emotion, and completely banned the desire and pleasures. It had big and powerful influence and dominated the society. So the clergymen played very important roles in that society. Dimmesdale is" a young clergyman, who had come from one of the great English universities, bringing all the learning of the age into our wild forestland. His eloquence and religious favor had already given the earnest of high eminence in his profession”2. So from the social background and this description, we can see the town people respect this young clergyman extremely. They all believe that he is holy and pure. So he dare not admit his sin, his relationship with thismatter, because that will bring him shame. As such a people, he is very contradictory in his mind. What he learned about the religion is against his adultery with Hester. When Hester is blaming by the people, he is still a respectable clergyman. Although he does not admit his sin in public, he tortures himself day by day in his heart. In public, he is a dignified clergyman. While in fact, he is sinful. His rhetorical speech is eloquent and powerful, which expresses his repent implicitly. But other people think that his rhetorical speech is just allegorical, not his personal guilt. The two aspects make him painful. Then gradually, his health becomes worse and worse. He is both weak in his mind and body.In the book, when Hester' s image rises from the low level, Dimmesdale' s image falls down, becomes more paltry and lamentable. He knows his sin, but “in order to keep his social status, his conscience doesn‟t triumph over his hypocrisy, self-respect, and egoism”3. He is not like Hester, who is brave to seek ideal. He is still the slave of the religion. When Hester advises him to escape from Boston, he feels fearful. In his opinion, he cannot do this kind of rebellious thing. And in fact, if he cannot shake off the chain of his religion, he cannot really get happiness. Dimmesdale is very suitable for this name, like we analysis above, he is very weak, both in mental and physical parts, and has darkness in his mind. He is the symbol of weakness, surrender, and hypocrisy.C. Roger Chillingworth" Chill" means cold. So Chillingworth is a cold and inhuman man who brings a …chill‟ to Hester's and Dimmesdale's lives. Because he delays his date arrives at Boston and is captured by the natives, when he meets Hester in the Boston, Hester had given birth to Pearl and is standing on the scaffold, humiliating by the town people. He sure is a victim at that time, but soon he begins to revenge, which brings him abnormal mental state. He lets Hester keep secrecy about his identity, and then he begins to investigate his unfaithful wife' s secret lover. As his name suggests, Roger chillingworth is a man deficient in human warmth. His twisted, stooped, deformed shoulders reflect his distorted soul. Now his identity is a doctor. Of course, he has good medical skill. Because of his training in European science and his knowledge of native remedies, he is welcomed by the town people. Dimmesdale is suffering severe health problems, which makes the people concern him. Then Chillingworth live with Dimmesdale together to cure him. For Chillingworth, he is not warm-hearted, he just wants to know who is his enemy. Dimmesdale' s daily actions have drawn his attention. After living with Dimmesdale together many days, he finds Dimmesdale is abnormal in certain place. So he uses his words to detect the clergyman' s heart. He begins to doubt that Dimmesdale has something to do with the" adultery". But Dimmesdale usually covers something, which stimulates his interest. One day, Chillingworth sneaks up to Dimmesdale while he is asleep and pushes aside the shirt that Dimmesdale is wearing. He finds something on Dimmesdale' sbreast, which causes the doctor to rejoice. The author does not tell the reader what it is. But from the hint in the book, maybe what Chillingworth see is a scarlet letter "A", which means Dimmesdale is Hester' s lover. So now Chillingworth finds his enemy, he begins to torture the young clergyman. So from the name, " Chillingworth" has a meaning of “chill”, which brings Hester and Dimmesdale terror and pain. He symbolizes chill and mercilessness.Except for these, Chillingworth symbolizes demon and evil. In the book's catalogue, Hawthorne uses "leech" to refer to the doctor Chillingworth. At that time, the town people usually call the doctor as a" leech", which derives from the practice of using leeches to drain blood from the patients. It is so suitable to call Chillingworth a" leech", for he has attached himself to the minister' s side like an insidiously destructive worm. He owns knowledge, but he just uses it to revenge. He wants to use his scientific knowledge to get deep into his Dimmedale‟s bosom, delve his secrets, pry into his recollections, and probe everything in his heart with a cautious touch. He has lost his sense, and changed into a demon.About the three adults, Hester and Dimmesdale can get salvation at last, because their sin is from the “love”. They don' t want to do harm to any people. But Chillingworth cannot get forgiveness, because he does things due to the vicious goal. “He is interested in revenge, not justice. He seeks the deliberate destruction of others rather than redress of wrongs. His desire tohurt others is contrast to Hester and Dimmesdale‟s sin”4. Just as what Dimmesdale says that, he and Hester are not the worst sinners in the world. Chillingworth‟ s revenge has been blacker than his sin. Above all, Chillingworth is the symbol of chill, mercilessness, and evil.D. PearlPearl is Hester and Dimmesdale' s illegitimate daughter---the fruit of adultery. Her name has symbolic meaning. The name Pearl has a meaning of “pearl of great price”. She is the physical consequence of sexual sin. In Hester‟s mind, Pearl is her world. She loses everything such as other people‟s respect, but she owns Pearl.In the novel, Pearl' s primary function is as a symbol. “Pearl symbolizes the shame of Hester‟s punishment for adultery. She also symbolizes the wretch of Hester‟s life”5. She is the symbol of shame. She represents the “sin”, she is the real result of sinful passion. Pearl is a vivid demonstration of Hester' s scarlet letter “A”. But she is also the symbol of the pure love.Pearl does not only symbolize Hester' s sin, she also symbolizes the hope and the happiness. She was born in a so stern society, but she was not obedient. In the book, she is very lovely and beautiful. She has supernatural vigor. Although her living condition is so bad: people in the town always humiliate her and Hester, and they are separated from the town people' s world, etc., she never feel dark and painful in her heart. All of Pearl' s appearances are bright, which all give the readers the feeling of optimistic.And since she is the result of her parents, she represents their virtue and evil. At the end of the novel, her parents show their virtue more or less, so Pearl' s future is more or less optimistic. At last, Pearl gets her happiness. She returns Europe and gets married to a peer. The people in the novel are all miserable, why does Pearl get happiness? Her happiness manifests the brilliance of human future. Here, the author shows his optimistic ideas about the future.Pearl also symbolizes the rebellion. What she does is against the stern society. For example, when Wilson tests her knowledge of religious subject, she refuses to answer the simplest one. She loves nature and freedom. She does not lock her heart in the Puritanism, and she is very brave. In the later chapters, Pearl plays more important role in Hester' s lives. Her existence manifests that, it is meaningless to punish Hester and to pay more attention to her scarlet letter. Pearl is the real consequences of Hester' s action.III. The symbolic meanings of the minor charactersExcept for the four main characters, the symbolic skills play very important roles in the minor characters, because they affect the main character' s lives to certain extend. John Wilson, the eldest clergyman of Boston, symbolizes the" church". He is a Puritan father, who advocates harsh punishment of sinners. He strictly obeys the rules of Puritanism. But he is also grandfatherly, and he can usually be moved by Dimmesdale' s eloquence. He is a portrait of a stiff, stark man. The Governor Bellingham, stands for the “administration”. Just like Wilson, he strictly obeys the rules of the town, buthe is still very hypocritical. He neglects the evil things in his family. His sister is a witch, but he admits her existence. While Hester has erred but once, she has to live an outcast life and in danger of losing her child Pearl. That is very funny. Mistress Hibbins, the sister of Governor Bellingham, is known to be a witch. She symbolizes the witchcraft, and she also symbolizes that the hypocrisy and the hidden evil in the Puritan society. The three people play important roles in certain plots.IV.The symbolic meanings of some settingsA. The rosebush next to the prison doorIn the first chapter, the author describes the rosebush grows next to the prison door. The prison is a cruel and merciless place, symbolizes the Puritanism‟s severity, while the rosebush is so beautiful, so vivid and animated. It has many symbolic meanings. Firstly, The rosebush is the symbol of the nature‟s ability to endure and outlast man‟s activities. No matter how ugly the world is, how severe the laws are, the nature cannot be affected. It remains its beauty and animation. Secondly, in the book, the author suggests that, for his tale, it symbolizes a “sweet moral blossom”. When Hester goes out from the prison door, the rosebush is under her feet. Her sincerity, mercifulness, courage and other virtues show in the later chapters manifest that, the rosebush can show her morality. Thirdly, rosebush can also symbolize passion. In the grass-plot near the prison, burdock, pig-weed, apple-peru and such unsightly vegetation are overgrown. They stand for theordinary things, the common ideas, or common women. There are no other beautiful flowers. Only the passionate rosebush grows strongly. That expresses that Hester is different from other obedient woman. Her life is just like the rosebush, which is passionate. And because of the passion, Hester commits the “sin”.B. The woods and the townMany things happen in the forest. In fact, “the woods stands for a space of freedom and the wildness, while the town stands for the restriction and the civilization”6. They are contrast. In the woods, society‟s rules do not apply, and people can relax themselves and to be themselves. They can show their true aspect, and have no need to dare to be found by other people. Dimmesdale always walks here, because his body and mind is tortured in the town. He needs to have a rest, have freedom and peace. Here, he can escape from the evil Chillingworth and the disorderly society. And the meeting between Hester and Dimmesdale also happens in the woods. In chapter 16, “A Forest Walk”, the author returns the reader to the charming forests. Hester decides to tell Dimmesdale that Chillingworth is her husband, so she and Pearl wait him in the forest. Because she has heard that Dimmsdale will pass through here from a native settlement. The woods are wild and nature, unbound by any man-made rules or codes. So here, they can escape other people and speak what they want. In the woods, they are two lovers and they three are a family. But when coming out from the woods and go into the town,everything changes. Hester is still a fallen woman, and Dimmesdale is still a respectable clergyman. The reality is so stern and so cruel. They continue to play the untrue role. So we also can say, the woods symbolize the true aspect, on the other hand, the town symbolize the untrue life.C. The mansion and the garden of Governor BellinghamGovernor Bellingham‟s mansion is rich in symbolic meaning. In his mansion, the furniture, such as the ponderous chairs, tables, etc., are of Elizabethan age, or perhaps earlier. On the wall, there are the portraits of his ancestors. These replicate an Englishman‟s family. From the description, Governor Bellingham is very pride about his ancestors, about the old England. From the surface, we have no reason to criticize him about his ornaments in his home. But in fact, Boston is a new world. He chooses a new world to recreate an old one. When puritans leave England and arrive at America, they want to escape the persecution of the religion in England and want to create a new world and seek for the freedom. From Bellingham‟s mansion, we can see that Bellingham still has ties to the world that the Puritans want to escape, and he has brought with him the very things the Puritans seek to escape by leaving England: intolerance and the lack of freedom, which is also his mansion symbolizes.And about the garden, the garden should provide a pleasing aesthetic experience, but it is only used for grow the pumpkins, the cabbages. The decorative plants even have no root, and the garden‟s owner seems haveabandoned it. The English ornamental plants symbolize the principles and ideals of the old world. And the decaying garden means that, the things of the old England cannot be successfully transplanted to America. The garden is so poor, so desolated, it also symbolizes Governor Bellingham has no ability to nurture it, to some extent, has no ability to govern the colony.And why the cabbages and the pumpkins grow so well in the garden where should grow many beautiful flowers? The flowers here are ideals, are the hope of freedom and happiness of the immigrants, while the vegetables are the realities. The realities are not like what people have thought ever, it usually makes people disappointed. For the puritans, they don‟t attain their hope. They still don‟t dissociate the relationship with the old England. So the plants in the garden mean that the ideals and the realities are different.D. The ScaffoldThe scaffold is a platform where criminals are punished before all the town people. In The Scarlet Letter, the scaffold plays an important role throughout the book. “It symbolizes the judgment of God and the Puritan society”7. When the Puritans came to the colony, they wanted to escape the persecution of the religion in the old England and have new lives. They made many strict rules. They completely banned the enjoyment, desire. People even cannot laugh in the public. If people disobeyed the “law”, they will be punished. Hester offends the “moral”they thought. In their eyes, it is the worst thing and cannot be tolerant. So they punish Hester on the scaffold,where every town people can humiliate her. The scaffold can also symbolize the brutality and the sternness of the Puritanism. From the aspect of humanitarinism, Hester has met many pressures and sadness after her child‟s born. She has even been put into the prison. The punishment is enough. So the “show off” on the scaffold is more merciless to her. Because everybody can see her, humiliate her, and scold her. On the scaffold, she has no privacy, no place to protect herself. The suffering she needs to undergo on the scaffold is heavier than that of in other places. If the Puritans want to punish Hester, they can choose a place where Hester can maintain her self-respect. They needn‟t choose the scaffold. Maybe they think the goal of the scaffold is to punish the sinners, and let them know the “sin”, but in certain aspects, it shows the mercilessness of the Puritanism.V. The symbolic meaning of natural phenomenaA. The day and the nightIn this novel, the day and the night are also contrast in their symbolic meanings. In the day, everything is visible and can be seen clearly by every person. So in order to hide some evil thing, many people have to play an untrue role. During the day, the interiority of human being is hidden from public view. Just like Dimmesdale, he plays an untrue role in the daytime. In other people‟s eyes, he is so pure, so dignified and devout. He is the symbol of piety and goodness, even has no blemish. So he dares not to expose his secret.While in the night, people can do something secret, something cannot be accepted by the society. So night manifests inner nature, symbolizes the truth. It conceals and enables the activities that would not be possible in the day. For example, in the chapter 12, one night, Dimmesdale comes to the street and stands on the scaffold where Hester had stood seven years ago. He wants to repent his sin. It was an obscure night of May. The town seems asleep. There was no peril of discovery by other people. So under the shelter of the night, Dimmesdale dares to reveal his “sin”, his painful heart. He can show what he wants in the night, while in the day, he has to hide every thing in his mind.The day and the night are so contrast. It is not like people have thought ever. People usually think that, under the sunshine, every sin can be exposed. In chapter 2, when Hester goes out from the prison door, the beadle shouts that, in Massachusetts, the iniquity must be dragged out into the sunshine! In his heart, Hester is sinful and shows under the sunshine. But in fact, Dimmesdale, the secret lover of this “sinful” woman still sits on the chair of dignity. So we can say, usually, what people think is contrast to the fact. Because Dimmesdale‟s identity is a minister, so people think and believe he cannot commit any sin. While in fact, he does. So the day and the night also reveal that, the inner character is usually against the socially assigned role.B. The meteorIn chapter 12, Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold and repent his sin. Then he sees Hester and Pearl, who just come back from the family ofGovernor Winthrop. Winthrop has just died. They three stand on the scaffold together. The old Chillingworth is also here, but they don‟t find him. Then a meteor traces out an “A”in the night sky. This meteor has deep symbolic meanings. For the town people, the meteor means their respectable Governor Winthrop has entered the Heaven, and become an “Angel”. To the faithful Puritans, the natural signs were of the utmost importance, and the signs were usually read as the symbols of the divine will. But this is just the idea of the Puritans. They don‟t know what the meteor really mean. To Chillingworth, when he sees the meteor, Pearl, Hester and Dimmesdale are standing on the scaffold hands by hands. So the meteor reveals a secret, that is, they are a family, they had commit the sin of “adultery”. To Dimmesdale, the meteor has other meaning. Hester has worn the letter “A” for the punishment of adultery on her breast, and how about him? Nobody knows that he is also sinful and they still respect him. But he knows, the heaven knows. So in his eyes, the meteor “A” given by God means that he should also wear a letter “A” just like Hester. He is the “adulterer”. And for Hester, because of her good heart to help other poor people, her sympathy, her courage of facing difficulties, her loyalty to her love, her spirit to endure humiliation, etc., the meteor can also means that Hester is an “Angel”.VI. ConclusionThese above are the analysis about the symbolism in The Scarlet Letter. Using symbolism in writing is a traditional and popular literary device. This。

《红字》象征意义解读摘要美国著名小说家纳撒尼尔·霍桑的代表作《红字》，是美国第一部象征主义小说。

本文着重从红字“a”、人物及场景描述三个方面来解读小说中的象征意义，深刻剖析了作者的清教观，同时也揭露了当时的社会制度与传统道德观念对人性的压抑与迫害。

关键词：纳撒尼尔·霍桑象征意义红字“a”中图分类号：i106.4 文献标识码：a象征，是文学创作的一种艺术手法，通过借助具体的事物来表现抽象的意义，诱发读者的想象和联想，从而来表达作者所要表现的某种思想、感情、意志或者观点。

象征是美国著名小说家纳撒尼尔·霍桑运用得最为娴熟的艺术手法之一。

面对各种事物和现象，他总是思索其中更深一层的意义，挖掘它们所代表的精神内涵或更高层次的真理。

其代表作《红字》创作于1851年，是整个美国浪漫主义小说中最有声望的权威作品之一，它在思想内容和艺术手法上独具一格，寓意深刻，尤以象征手法表现得最为淋漓尽致，因此，也被称为美国第一部象征主义小说。

《红字》描述了17世纪中叶发生在北美清教殖民统治下的新英格兰的一幕爱情悲剧。

年轻漂亮的海斯特·白兰嫁给了一个畸形的年老学者罗格·齐灵渥斯。

丈夫被俘虏失踪后，海斯特和一个年轻的牧师阿瑟·丁梅斯代尔暗中相爱，并生下了一个女孩儿——珠儿。

犯了通奸罪的海斯特遭到了胸前佩戴红“a”字的惩罚。

而齐灵渥斯潜回美洲处心积虑地折磨丁梅斯代尔。

最终海斯特因自己的美好德行获得了人们的谅解，而丁梅斯代尔在当众袒露了自己的罪责后死去。

这是一个讨论罪与罚及救赎的故事。

霍桑在这部小说中用充满象征的奇异图景构成了一个真实与想象、现实与幻想的混合世界。

本文着重从红字“a”、人物及场景描述三个方面来探讨小说中的象征手法。

一红字——“a”霍桑巧妙地把红字“a”贯穿整个小说，始终让它在不同的地点以不同的形式出现，像一道红线，连结起书中所有的人物和场景，是全书寓意丰富的核心象征。

浅谈《红字》中的人物分析及象征意义摘要：《红字》是美国19 世纪浪漫主义文学时期两大文坛巨匠之一的纳撒尼尔.霍桑的代表作之一，它被认为是美国第一部象征主义的小说，霍桑在该作品中大量地运用了象征主义写作手法，极大地提升了作品的文学性和艺术性。

与此同时，将美国的浪漫主义文，手法和美国清教道德理念相结合，具有一定的说教色彩，注重道德关注，该书以殖民地时期残酷的宗教统治为背景，反映了当时社会对女性的压迫，突出展现人在追求幸福中的强大动力，揭露当时社会的残酷法律条例，以及条例对人的精神摧残。

关键词：《红字》象征主义；海斯特.白兰；丁梅斯代尔；齐灵渥斯《红字》红字一书主要描述了英国的一位年老的，丑陋的医生齐灵渥斯送自己年轻、美丽的妻子海斯特.白兰到一个新的地方去波士顿建立美丽的家园。

在海斯特.白兰在遵循丈夫的嘱托建立美丽家园时，惊闻自己的丈夫齐灵渥斯已经死亡。

在这块她相对陌生的土地上，她遇见了年轻有为的、帅气的牧师。

在孤独中海斯特.白兰和牧师丁梅斯代尔相恋，并且生下了女儿珠儿，白兰被当众惩罚，拒绝说出珠儿的亲生父亲，戴上了标志通奸的字母“A”。

一、字母A 的象征该篇小说描述的不是海斯特.白兰犯罪堕落的过程，也不是众多戴着有色眼镜看她的人，而是描述海斯特.白兰勇敢地极力地默默地、无偿地资助他人。

随着时间的流逝，“A”不再是一个固定的符号，它的意义出现了改变。

“A”，最早代表Adultery，意思是犯罪，耻辱和堕落，是海斯特被人们认为堕落和不贞的象征，是对海兰通奸罪的表面认定；之后“A”代表Able，意为能力，有相应的能力，或者相应的才能；之后“A”代表Angle，象征着天使。

“A”的意义的变化，标志着一个女孩如何成熟的过程。

当然也有部分学者认为“A”有其他的含义，如原罪的符号，亚当之罪；也有学者把A 当作美国的象征，美国早期的清教徒迫于生计，漂洋过海来到美国。

“A”字的变化就表现的是美国的成长。

亚瑟.丁梅斯代尔，珠儿的父亲，同时也是众人眼中最年轻有为、最具有说服力、最具有演讲力的牧师。

硕士学位论文ＭＡＳ’Ｉ＇ＥＲ’Ｓ’ｌ＇ＩＩＩ！ＳＩＳ内容摘要纳撒内尼·霍桑是浪漫主义时期美国最具天赋的小说和短篇故事作家。

他开创了美国文学史上“象征浪漫主义＂的创作手法。

作为！匕活在１９世纪中期的浪漫主义作家，霍桑深受三种思想的影响：清教主义，超验主义和神秘主义。

这耱矛盾形成了他对社会的怀疑态度，决定了他的写作风格并使他成为象征主义大师。

链酶主要作品反映了他的思想，体现了他的讽喻的创作手法瑚强烈的象征主义倾向。

瑰在文学界研究霍桑的作品《红字》的文章缀多，对其人物也从不同角度如从女权、宗教、心理等角度进行了分析。

本文则打算从反讽和象征两方面来对红字人物的描写进行分析。

小说《红字》中作者对每个主要人物都进行了细致微妙的描写，每个人物心理的变化都可从作者细腻的笔法突现出来。

《红字》中的主人公生活在一个异端而黑暗的世界，他们背负罪恶和过失却不能表达内心的苦楚。

作者巧妙运用了诸多象征物，从有形的到无形的，特别是红Ａ字的象征意义及其转纯，将男女主人公所处的特定历史背景，主人公闯欲爱却不能的情感体验，驮无富的，不能言的，难言的幸福、痛苦、自责与惶惑，到后来的不屈的对抗，表达得准确而生动。

分析霍桑独特的象征主义有利于深刻理解主人公的深层次方面，分析更为广阔的社会背景与内涵。

从中可看出霍桑的一些写作手法，以及他对当时社会问题的揭露。

该作品情感忧郁，色彩暗淡。

他所描写的人物性格复杂，模糊不定。

这种似乎充满矛盾的写法，真实地揭示了宗教及｜弱的伦理道德的偏执赞善，它攘残人的精神，压抑人的自然要求，并由此造成人们言行不符，表景不一的矛盾现象。

通过主人公的善与美，批判了清教徒的魏与恶，鞭挞了１９世纪资本主义发展时代美国社会法典的残酷、宗教的欺骗和道德的虚伪。

关键词：霍桑；象征；反讽；白兰；丁梅斯代尔；齐林沃斯；珠儿硕士学位论支ＭＡＳｌ’ｌｊ瓢’Ｓｔｌｔ｝ｔ；｝、！＝！＝篡黑懋黑黑烹！絮．＿——＿——————＿～…————？—紫—紫紫紫紫烹紫鼍，！ＡｂｓｔｒａｃｔＮａｔｈａｉｌｉｅｌｌｌａｗｔｈｏｒｎｃｉｓＯｌｌｅｏｌ’ｔｈｅｎ｜ｏｓｔｔａｌｅｎｔｅｄＡｎｌＣｌ·ｉｃａｎｎｏｖｅｌｉｓｔｓａｎｄｓｔｏｌ·ｖｗｒｉｔｅｒｓｏｆｔｈｅＲｏｍａｎｔｉｃＡｇｅ．ＨｅｗａｓｔｈｅｆｉｒｓｔＡｍｅｒｉｃａｎｒｏｍａｎｔｉｃｗｒｉｔｅｒｗｈｏｉｎｉｔｉａｔｅｄａｎｅｗｔｒａｄｉｔｉｏｎｉｎＡｍｅｒｉｃａｎｌｉｔｅｒａｔｕｒｅｗｈｉｃｈｉｓｃａｌｌｅｄＳｙｍｂｏｌｉｃＲｏｍａｎｃｅ。