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《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。
论《红字》中人物姓名的象征意义摘要：《红字》作为纳撒尼尔·霍桑的代表作，是美国第一部象征主义小说。
小说中运用大量的象征手法给予自然、人物、事物深层的涵义，其中各主人公的姓名就具有典型的象征意义。
本文将从象征主义角度剖析海斯特·白兰、奇灵渥斯、丁梅斯代尔和珠儿的名字，以期使读者更好地理解小说中的善与恶、道德与爱情、个人与社会的关系。
关键词：红字；人物名字；象征主义一、引言《红字》是19世纪美国浪漫主义作家纳撒尼尔·霍桑创作的长篇小说。
小说以二百多年前的美洲殖民地为题材，讲述的是女主人公海斯特·白兰嫁给自己并不喜欢的医生奇灵渥斯后，又与牧师丁梅斯代尔通奸并生下女儿珠儿。
由于当时殖民地受清教统治，而清教徒所信奉的“原罪说”、“完全的堕落”和“通过上帝的仁慈所带来的有限的救赎”[1]这样的教义是海斯特成为了不耻之人。
多年来，她要戴着自己亲手缝制的“红字”与女儿珠儿一起站到绞刑架上受人们的指责、嘲笑并接受救赎。
但是，她顽强不屈、忍辱负重的精神和乐于助人、善良美好的品质最终使人们了解真相，使恶人受到惩罚，也为自己赢来了尊重。
象征主义文学在19世纪中叶起源于法国，在20世纪初传至欧美大陆，法国诗人夏尔·波德莱尔和美国诗人爱伦坡是象征主义的先驱。
霍桑的文学创作深受超验主义倡导者爱默生的影响，爱默生在论述自然的本质时说“每一种自然现象都是魔种精神现象的象征物”[2]，而霍桑认为客观物质世界仅仅是假象，其“灵性”才是本质。
因此，霍桑在自己的文学作品中，尤其是《红字》的创作中运用大量的象征，使小说中充满主观想象色彩，以此来描绘人物的心理感悟和感官直觉。
二、《红字》中人物姓名的象征意义小说中人物的姓名具有丰富的象征意义，能表现出人物的性格、品质等方面的特征，因此，本文将对主人公海斯特·白兰、奇灵渥斯、丁梅斯代尔、珠儿的姓名进行讨论，体会其深层象征意义，使读者更深入地理解各个人物的个性与品质。
2015.09《红字》对霍桑作品的艺术特色以及希望表达的思想意识做出了集中的展现，这部作品在创作完成之后被多次改编为影视作品与戏剧，并获得了读者与观众的广泛认可和接受。
因此，通过这部作品来对霍桑文学创作中象征手法的运用做出探讨，对于挖掘霍桑文学表面之外的深层意义具有着重要价值。
一、红色在海斯特身上的象征意义从《红字》中的红色对海斯特的象征意义来看，红色代表着鲁莽、欲望与激情。
年轻激情的她不理智的选择与年迈切情感冷漠的齐灵渥斯结婚，在终身大事方面的鲁莽选择是婚姻成为了海斯特一生悲剧的引子。
另外，作为年轻切能言善辩的牧师，丁梅斯代尔在自身的牧师事业中获得了成功，但是却与海斯特共同犯下了通奸罪。
从丁梅斯代尔与海斯特的性格比对方面来看，海斯特更加的果断和坚强，虽然她明知道自身不应当与一个牧师产生暧昧关系，但是在这段感情中，她应当是更倾向于主动的。
在欲望与激情的驱使下，到达英格兰的海斯特也逐渐的堕落。
从基督教艺术传统内涵方面来看，红色所代表的消极一面为水性杨花的女人所身着的衣服颜色，因此，对于海斯特而言，红字也具有着耻辱与污秽的含义。
并且A是通奸罪的首字母，这种行为在当时是难以被原谅的罪行。
即便是海斯特的红色十分精巧细致，但是却不能让人们忽略这个红字所代表的堕落。
也正因为如此，人们总是对海斯特进行一轮，甚至海斯特作为一个母亲所应当享有的抚养权和教育权也被剥夺。
在《启示录》中，淫妇往往会身着朱红色与紫色的服装，因此红色在一定程度上代表着魔鬼与地狱。
作为炼狱之火的颜色，人们的心灵能够通过炼狱得以净化，并最终升入天堂。
如果后者的罪人能够在忏悔和行善中对自身的罪恶进行洗涮，那么同样会具有进入天堂的机会。
对于红字，海斯特认为红字能够对自身进行教育，虽然对自已没有任何好处，但是却可以让孩子们受到启发并变得更好。
事实上，她一直用自身微薄的收入来救济穷人，即便是有些穷人会对此嗤之以鼻和反唇相讥。
而在瘟疫到来后，她仍旧坚持工作，这也是她能够为社会和他人挺身而出的重要表现。
吉林工商学院毕业论文题目名称：浅谈《红字》的象征意义院系：外语分院专业：英语学生姓名：656学号：15指导教师：4542012年5月14日毕业论文原创性声明本人郑重声明：所呈交毕业论文，是本人在指导教师的指导下，独立进行研究工作所取得的成果。
除文中已经注明引用的内容外，本论文不包含任何其他人或集体已经发表或撰写过的作品成果。
对本文的研究做出重要贡献的个人和集体，均已在文中以明确方式标明。
本人完全意识到本声明的法律结果由本人承担。
论文作者签名：年月日浅析《红字》的象征意义摘要：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。
纳撒尼尔·霍桑(Nathaniel Hawthorn, 1804- 1864) 是美国19 世纪杰出的浪漫主义小说家,其代表作《红字》(The Scarlet Letter)更是将象征主义运用的淋漓尽致，以细致入微的心理分析和寓意深刻的象征手法剖析人类的罪恶根源, 揭示“人性恶”这一古老而永恒的主题。
《红字》以17 世纪北美清教(加尔文教) 殖民统治下的新英格兰为背景, 描写两个触犯清教戒律的教徒悔罪的心理历程。
《红字》中，霍桑成功地运用多重象征, 从不同的侧面暗示《红字》的主题，包括其中各个人物、不同的场景, 以及红字本身所蕴涵的象征意义, 赋予主题以具体的形象, 从而使整部小说的含义更含蓄、更丰富,《红字》使霍桑成为现代象征主义文学的开创者之一。
我将会在论文中从各个方面，不同角度来分析《红字》的象征意义。
关键词：象征写作手法；宗教；意义An Analysis of the Symbolism of the Scarlet LetterAbstract:As a kind of literature, the symbolism appeared from the end of the 19th century to the 1930s and was an important branch of modernist school of Europe and America. Nathaniel Hawthorn (1804- 1864) is an outstanding novelist of American Romanticism in the 19th century and his master work The Scarlet Letter has made the best of the symbolism, which is the anatomy of human’s source of evil with meticulous of psychologica l analysis and profound meaning of symbolism. And thus it reveals the humanity evil which is an old and eternal topic. The Scarlet Letter is set in England under the colonization of North America Puritan (Calvinism) in the 17th century and describing the mental process of two Puritans expressing remorse against Puritan disciplines. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorn uses multiple symbols with success, indicates the theme from different aspects including each character, different scene as well as the symbolic meanings containing within the book and gives the theme a specific image, therefore the implication of profound meaning in this book is rich and connotative. This book helps Hawthorn become one of the founders of the symbolism of literature. Thus I will analyze the symbolic meanings conveying from The Scarlet Letter with different views and sides.Keywords：Symbolism writing technique; religion; meaning.目录一、象征写作手法 (6)二、《红字》中的象征意义 (6)（一）红字“A”的象征意义 (6)（二）人物名字的象征意义 (8)（三）场景的象征意义 (6)三、结论 (6)参考文献 (7)《红字》是美国19 世纪杰出的浪漫主义小说家著名纳撒尼尔·霍桑的代表作，整部小说集中的采用象征手法，用一系列的象征意象来表现小说主题,同时也具有鲜明的时代特征及写作风格。
An Analysis of Symbolism in The Scarlet LetterByTang GuaiguaiUnder the Supervisor ofZhu LipingSubmitted in Partial Fulfillment of the RequirementsFor the Degree of Bachelor of ArtsEnglish Department School of Foreign LanguagesLanzhou Jiaotong UniversityJune 2015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，以及阳光女孩珠儿。
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AbstractNathaniel Hawthorne is a famous American romantic novelist in nineteenth century. As in American Renaissance, Hawthorne advocates democracy and freedom, but at the same time, he is bounded and cannot completely get rid of the deep influence of Puritanism. Therefore, he is a critic of Puritanism, and is the successor of Puritanism. The Scarlet Letter is the masterpiece of Hawthorne’s long novel. The prominent artistic feature of The Scarlet Letter is its rich symbolism; therefore it is called the first symbolism novel. The symbolism meanings of all kinds of objects in the novel show the polysemy, motility, and even contradictory.This paper will explore the multiple symbolic meaning from the scarlet letter “A”, the names of t he main characters and objects that described in the novel. Through the analysis of various symbolisms, we can reveal the composing intention of author, and better understanding of the novel's theme. This paper consists of the three parts including introduction, main body and conclusion.The introduction part mainly introduces Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter and the related researches. The main body includes three parts. The first part chiefly analyses the different symbolic meaning of the scarlet letter “A” that changes with the development of the story. The second part expounds the symbolic meaning of the four main characters’ names. Beautiful and candid Hester, unsocial and gloomy Dimmesdale, cold and detached Chilingworth and sunny girl Pearl. The third part mainly describes the symbolic meaning of the images that written in the novel, such as prison, scaffold, and rose-bush and forest. The final part is conclusion.Key words: Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, symbolismContents摘要 (I)Abstract ........................................................................................................................ I I Contents (III)Chapter One Introduction (1)1.1 Introduction to Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter (1)1.2 Literature Review (2)1.3 Significance of the Study (3)Chapter Two The Symbolic Meaning of the Scarlet letter “A” (4)2.1 Adultery (5)2.2 Anguish (5)2.3 Able (6)2.4 Angel (7)Chapter Three Symbolic Meaning of the Main Characters’ Names (8)3.1 Hester Prynne (8)3.2 Arthur Dimmesdale (9)3.3 Roger Chillingworth (10)3.4 Pearl (11)Chapter Four The Symbolic Meaning of the Objects and Settings (13)4.1 The Prison (13)4.2 The Scaffold (13)4.3 The Rose bush (14)4.4 The Forest (15)Chapter Five Conclusion (16)References (18)Acknowledgments (19)Chapter One Introduction1.1 Introduction to Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Scarlet LetterNathaniel Hawthorne is a famous American novelist and short story writer. He is the most important American romantic representative in the late nineteenth century, and also one of the greatest novelists in the history of American literature. Hawthorn's works belong to romanticism or, more specifically, dark romanticism. Many of his works are inspired by Puritan New England, combining historical romance loaded with symbolism and deep psychological themes, bordering on surrealism. His themes often center on the inherent evil and sin of humanity, and his works often have moral messages and deep psychological complexity. His published works include novels, short stories, and biography. His later writings also reflect his negative view of the Transcendentalism movement.The Scarlet Letter is the representative work of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s long novel, which focuses on the performance of the author’s thought and artistic features. When this book was published, it achieved a success. Hawthorne used symbolism widely in The Scarlet Letter and made four major figures together skillfully with the only word “A”. The use of symbolism in the story is full of mystery that enriches the ideological content of the works, and also increases the novel’s artistic charm. It leaves imaginative space and infinite aftertaste to readers. The Scarlet Letter’s biggest success is the skillful use of symbolism and the excellent control ability. Hawthorne’s rich and unique symbolism opened a symbolic novel as an independent literary variety precedent. Hawthorne became one of founders of modern literature of symbolism, also makes the scarlet letter became the first American’s cross-border book, and won the world reputation in literary works.1.2 Literature ReviewNathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most influential American romantic novelists in the nineteenth century. Because of Hawthorne’s moral ambiguity, his rich visual imagination, his deep exploration of the dreams capes of individuals, communities, and the nation, and especially his “power of blackness” as Melville called it, his works keep intriguing great interests and huge passion of the critics of different times and different perspectives.The Scarlet Letter is considered as one of the greatest works in American literature. The reasons why it is so famous are that its ambiguous connotations, delicate representations, mystical imaginations, thrilling moral implications as well as its ambiguous attitude towards women. Critics study it from different angles and levels, but all the critics gave the highest evaluation to The Scarlet Letter. In recent years, there are many domestic and foreign academic attics which are writing the scarlet letter, for example, Bianjun has studied the psychological description in the scarlet letter; Yang Xiaomei has analyzed Hawthorne’s ambivalent attitude towards women in the scarlet letter; Jin Xiaowei has studied Hawthorne’s Christian thoughts, and so on.However, another attraction is Hawt horne’s skillful use of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter. Symbolism is one of the most important writing skills, which endows the concrete images with abstract meaning to enlighten the reader’s imagination and to express a deeper meaning. If we want to explore the deeper significance through the surface, it is not a simple thing. It must involve in many disciplines and theoretical problems, so this paper will study the symbolism of The Scarlet Letter.1.3 Significance of the StudyThe Scarlet Letter is Nathaniel Hawthorne’s representative work. Hawthorne used skillful symbolism in The Scarlet Letter, which made The Scarlet Letter became the first symbolic novel in the world. Hawthorne expresses super space, and super material for "another world" through the symbolism that consciousness cannot achieve, and put the infinite meaning in the finite things.This paper mainly analyzes the significance symbolic meaning of the scarlet letter “A”, the main characters’ names and the objects described in the nov el. Through the study of the symbolism of The Scarlet letter,it can not only make the symbolism significance of characters clearer to the readers, but also shed light on the symbolic significance of objects. At the same time, the history of the America at that time will be clearly shown to readers. And then, it broadens readers’ horizons. By the research of the symbolism of the Scarlet letter, it will provide a new view to readers about symbolism. It helps people to further understand Hawthorne’s opinion a nd his other works. It also helps people learn to use skillful symbolism in their own writings. Meanwhile, readers can find the themes of the novel in different aspects, and then understand the novel completely.Chapter Two The Symbolic Meaning of the Scarlet letter“A”Symbol, a kind of artistic creation, mainly depends on the specific things to express the abstract meaning, in order to induce the reader’s imagination and association, so as to achieve an ideological realm to afford much food for thought. It ranges from the most obvious and substitution of one thing for another, to massive, complex and perplexing creations. Characters, names, scenes and even events can be used symbolically.In the 19th century, with the fast developments of the economy, American has stepped into a new stage, while the traditional Puritanism still influenced thoughts of people. Furthermore, 19th century is also the time of culture renaissance; the Transcendentalism and the Mysticism are very popular at that time. Influenced by Puritanism, Transcendentalism and Mysticism, Hawthorne is motivated to make a much deeper exploration on human nature and cause his ambiguity and conflicts in inner heart. On one hand, he realizes that the strict Puritanism destroy the freedom and happiness of people, on the other hand, he cannot eradicate the tradition thoughts such as “ original sin” from his mind since he was born. Such struggle and conflicts make him feel ambiguous and confused about life and world. He cannot find a good way to change this world and reveal his ideal; as a result, he chooses symbolism to show his plight and dilemma. The reason why he chooses it is that symbolism can make his intention have more than one meaning, so that he can reveal his contradictory thoughts.“A” has rich symbolic meaning and mystery color, and it almost appears in every scene of this novel and links every character skillfully. It is sewn on Hester's coat, carved on her tombstone after her death, mystically tattooed on Dimmesdale’s chest, even miraculously appeared in the sky during the development process of the story. The scarlet letter “A” has the richest symbolic meaning in the novel. But the symbolic meaning of “A” is not immutable and frozen; it will change with the story developing an d the anther’s basis on the point. Now I will analyze the symbolic meaning from theromantic angle of modern people.2.1 AdulteryThe scarlet letter “A” is a symbol of adultery when it first appears in the story. “A” is the first letter in the English a lphabet. “First” is “origin”, firstly it means beginning. According to the Christian doctrine, “origin” means degenerate, and it is the original sin that no one could avoid, and it is also the original degeneration of human’s ancestors. In this work, the s carlet letter “A” is a symbol of Puritan punishment, and it represents the shamed adultery. According to the request of puritan doctrine at that time, a woman who has adultery must adorn the scarlet letter that embroidered on her gown as a punishment, in order to show her crime to people. Let people that a little crime will pay a heavy price, in order to set a good example to execute one as a warning to others. Hester fall in love with minister Dimmesdale without knowing her husband live or not, that beyond the bottle line of morality. Finally it is known by others because the birth of Pearl. Then Hester is judged by ministers at Scaffold, even though the ministers alternate between coercion and temptation to force her to tell who Pearl’s father was, Hester never ever says that. Therefore, Hester is punished to adorn the scarlet letter “A” in her whole life, to show her crime to people, so at the beginning of this story, “A” means adultery.2.2 Anguish“A” also stands for anguish, which can be found from the two main characters. Firstly, it is Hester. She loves life, has high prospect and great expectation for love. However, finally she marries an old pedant Chilingworth who is incapable of giving her any happiness, and he has ugly appearance and physical deformity. This is her first step into the deep suffering. After she immigrates to the new world, she meets her true lover—Dimmesdale. However, because of limitation of marriage and exigency of puritan doctrine, even though they fall in love with each other under those pressures, they bring endless pain to both of them. Hester had bear the scarlet letter “A” in herwhole life, no matter how many meanings does the “A” have, the primary meaning is adultery, and finally she brings it into her grave. In order to protect her lover from affront, she is willing to endure all of sufferings in silence and it last for seven years. In spite of such sacrifice, this poor and persistent woman never wins the beautiful love that she has been looking forward to.Another anguish person is Dimmesdale, the pain he born does not come from the outside world, but himself. The scarlet letter “A” Hester adorned is a symbol of shame, but it is also a beautiful decoration. But for D immesdale, “A” is an invisible brand, and a painful suffering. Having no courage to admit his crime, Dimmesdale became Hester’s inquisition faintheartedly. However, even though his crime is not been exposed, the pain buried deeply in his heart does not have spiritual comfort. He is contradicted and complicated, and he wanders between confessing his crime and his clergyman status. All of those pains depresses him breakdown.2.3 AbleThe symbolic meanings of red letter “A” are more than “adultery and anguish”. Later, its meaning changes into “able, and admirable”. At the beginning, all people in downtown blamed Hester for committing adultery. However, the red letter “A” showed the ability that she is skillful in needlework, and the virtue that she tries her best to help poor and sick people. Her skill in needlework firstly can be seen from the decoration for the scarlet letter “A”, she stitched the “A” on her gown with gold thread that makes it beautiful and elegant. Hester makes it become a fine art, and it becomes one of her beautiful ornament as time passes. Her skill in needlework also can be seen from the colorful and pretty clothes of her daughter—Pearl. Even Hester herself always worn simple and plain gown, but she always tried her best to make exquisite clothes for Pearl. Hester was so skillful in needle that makes her famous in whole downtown. Even when many people still accuse her of her crime, they begin to ask Hester to make an excellent needlework for them, especially for the rich and the noble. Her outstanding needle works not only allow her to maintain a stable life, but also prove she was very able.2.4 AngelWith the time going, Hester always helps the poor and the sick without any repaying, and she even does not dare to hope others would accept her. However, after years of Hester’s help, service and showing sympathy to the poor downtown’s people, “A” is gradually regarded as a symbol of “admirable and angle”. “The letter is the symbol of her beautiful characters. Such helpfulness is found in her so much power to do and power to sympathies --- which many people refuse to interpret the scarlet letter “A” by its original signification.” At this time, people realize Hester had a noble character, and she is an admirable woman. “Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge? It is our Hester, the town’s own Hester who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comforting to the afflicted!” people in town began to believe that Hester is the angle who gave her love and time to the people who needed it. Finally, Hester use her spiritual innocence and kindness to redeem for her crime, and became an able, admirable angle.Chapter Three Symbolic Meaning of the Main Characters’NamesIn British and American literature, it is a common writing way to give characters in works the special name. Those names not only help authors to enrich the portrayal of character, but also show readers the relationship between characters and themes. This feature also can be seen from the names that Hawthorne gave to the four main characters in The Scarlet Letter.This special way of naming will make the works more wonderful, and it will centrally reflect the rich symbolic meaning of names, thus it can help readers to grasp the theme of works deeply and comprehensively. In this chapter, we will carefully analyze the symbolic meaning of main characters’ names. 3.1 Hester PrynneThe heroine of story—Hester Prynne, as a poor women who is retaliated by her heartless husband, but she does not lose courage of life. Her inner heart is full of strength and yearning for beautiful life. There is no doubt that the meaning of her name is the reflection of her personality traits, this is reason why the author give this name to her.The word “Hester” has two main meanings. Firstly, “Hester” put readers in mind of Hesti-a-- sister of Zeus, a goddess who controls the kitchen range. She stands for warmth, so author give this name to the heroine to show his profound meaning. In story, Hester is always happy to others even though she is also in trouble. She not only feeds Pearl by her skillful needle works but also help the poor and the sick. The behavior of Hester makes this chill world warmer. Secondly, Hester sounds like “hastier”, which is the comparative of “hasty”. It means thoughtless and rash, actually, Hester’s marriage is hasty. No matter what reason is it; the decision that she marries old and ugly Chilingworth is so rash that she does not feel happy at all. After she immigrates to the new world, she falls in love with young and handsome ministerDimmesdale without careful consideration. Her crime is exposed when she gives birth to Pearl. Then she is punished by ministers to wear the scarlet letter in her whole life.The meaning of Hester’s name makes us cautious deeply about what is author’s intention of creation? On one hand, Hawthorne appreciates highly Hester’s helpful actions; on the other hand, he makes her pay a painful price for her hasty behavior. Why does he let Hester goes into the hole she digs for herself, and then makes her shiny because of her kindness and diligence? It is because the author has been deeply influenced by Puritanism thoughts. He wants to approve of Hester’s behavior, but at the same time, he is afraid for criticism. He feels this kind of behavior goes against the doctrine of puritanism. All of this indicates that the theme of this work is ambiguous, or in other words, it is diversified. You had to admit that the author has great originality in the portrait of Hester Prynne, which highlight the theme convincingly by its rich symbolic meaning.3.2 Arthur DimmesdaleThe hero of this story is Arthur Dimmisdale who is a well-regarded minister. Dim means dark and weak and dale means valley, so it means Dimmesdale is a “dim—interior” clergyman. Actually, His pain completely comes from himself not the outside world. He is a very hypocritical and cowardly man. He could not resist his lust and impetuosity and do the things he should not to do that go against the god he believed. However, he has no courage to admit his crime, because he is admirable and respectable minister, and he is perfect in the eyes of common people. As a model and good example, his followers even regard him as angle.In order to protect his honor and status, he had to conceal his crime. However, he is very anguish in his inner heart because of moral torment, spiritual self-accusation and the devotional respect of his congregations. Such contradictory that the outside and the inside are not in agreement make him feel utmost pressure and depressed. In the end of this work, in order to avoid unbearable pressure, the minister stands in the scaffold and throws back his clothes to show his crime to the world. The scarlet letter “A” on his breast is bared under the sun. However, how could this world appears onhis breast? Is it the minister who branded the letter by himself in order to confess his sin? Or is it the god who marks this letter to punish his crime? Despite Hawthorne does not tell readers how this letter comes, it strengthens artistic appeal of this work and make readers have free imagination.The initials of Arthur Dimmesdale are AD, which stands for Adam. It proves that the crime that Hester and Dimmesdale commits just like the Adam and Eva. Adam is attracted by Eva, and then eats the Forbidden Fruit. Finally they annoy the god and are driven out of the Garden of Eden. As a noble minister, Dimmesdale also do the things that he should not do, and he is finally abandoned by gods because of his crime, so then propels him towards the road of death. In short, the author makes readers learn the destiny of Arthur Dimmesdale from his name, how wonderful it is!3.3 Roger ChillingworthRoger Chillingworth is one of the main characters in this work. He is the representatives of intellectuals, but he is old, ugly and physical deformity. Actually, he is the man who commits the unforgivable crime. For a long time, he goes against his conscience, and lives alone relying on his crazy revenge on Dimmesdale and Hester.His name Roger sounds like rogue, obviously, it shows that he is a hoodlum and in immoral behavior in the work. He marries Hester not because he loves her but he needs someone to light the household fire in his lonely and chilly heart. He cannot satisfy young and beautiful Hester’s good expectation for the true love. Such miserable marriage destroys He ster’s youth and leads to Hester’s tragedy directly. From this aspect, it is Roger chillingworth that attributes to the scarlet letter and the later crime.When he escapes from the Indians and comes back to the new world, he sees his wife is criticized for adultery by chance. At this time, he loses his sense completely and plans to revenge crazily. Even though he does not love Hester, he does not let her go to find her love but forces her to tell who is adulterer. After Hester refuses to tell him the truth, he decides to find the man by himself. He neither intends to help Hester get rid of troublesome life, nor consoles her in the mental. After he knows that theadulterer is Arthur Dimmesdale, he pretends to be a doctor and tortures the young minister crazily. In this moment, Chillingworth has lost his human nature completely, and his heart is full of hatred. The man who lives with animosity usually does not have good end, when he destroys others, he also destroys himself too.His surname Chillingworth is made of chilling and worth. Chilling comes from the word “chilly”, which means the man is cold and merciless. Hester pleads him many times to stop his revenge to Dimmesdale, but he never gives up. He has crazily tortured Dimmesdale for seven years, finally makes the young minister’s mental breakdown. After Dimmesdale dies, Chilingworth loses courage and hope of life because for a long time, he has lost himself and just lives for revenge, so soon he dies too.3.4 PearlFirstly, Pearl is the beautiful daughter of Hester and Dimmesdale, and she is the only sunny person in the novel. The word “pearl” is originated from the Bible stories and it means the very previous things. Even though the birth of Pearl explores the secret between Hester and Dimmesdale , and makes them pay the high price for their crime, Pearl still is a priceless treasure in their heart.Moreover, Pearl is the only spiritual sustenance of Hester and encourages her to face with the unbearable humiliation an d blame. Just as the description in the work “she named the infant ‘Pearl’, as being of great price—purchased with all she had—her mother’s only treasure!” Hawthorne compares Pearl to many beautiful things. She is a beautiful flower, a brilliant sunbeam, and most importantly, she provides an emotional anchor for Hester. The existence of Pearl conciliates Hester’s heart and makes her forget the suffering she bearing.Secondly, Pearl sounds like purl, which means the author wants to compare little Pearl to a clear murmuring stream. Pearl is not only the reminders of Hester and Dimmesdale’s crime, in other words, she is a mirror or an alarm bell for their crime; but also she is the soul sanctifier of Hester and Dimmesdale, which supervise and urge them to correct their errors and make a fresh start. There are relevant descriptionsin the work: Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the brook and Pearl in other side, even though they are close to each other, Pearl never crosses the stream and comes to them. Just as the m inister says “the stream is the boundary of two worlds”. If the stream is the boundary of innocence and evil, then Pearl is the little demon on the other side.Among the four main characters, only Pearl is perfect in the moral, and innocent in the heart. As a symbol of beauty and innocence, there is no doubt that her existence is a power of aspiration, which make us believe that life and society are beautiful and hopeful.Chapter Four The Symbolic Meaning of the Objects andSettingsIn the novel, except for the symbolic meaning of the scarlet letter “A” and four main characters’ names, the objects and settings that are described in the work also have the rich symbolic meaning, such as the prison, the scaffold, the rose bush, and the forest.4.1 The PrisonAt the beginning of this story, the prison is introduced firstly in chapter one as “the founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetery, and another portion as the site of prison”. It shows that the old, rusted, yet strong with an “iron—clamped oaken door” prison represents the harshness and sacrosanct authori ty of puritan society. Prison should have been the production of human civilization to punish the evil. However, in the novel, prison is the black flower of civilized society, and it is the symbol of puritanical severity and frightfulness. The traditional moral idea has warped the mind of human beings; the good and evil have been distorted. Actually, prison has been the shackles of human nature. The door of prison was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes. Such oak door and sharp spikes represents the rigorousness and restraint, ignorance and brutality, stubbornness and decay of this religious customs.4.2 The ScaffoldThe scaffold plays an important role in the entire work, and it is the symbol of judgment of god. The scaffold appears many times in the work; it not only represents the strict moral code of Puritan community but also is the place where people admit their crime and atone for their crime. In chapter three “The recognition”, Hesterstands on the scaffold with holding Pearl in the arms for three hours to accept the question of ministers and the rebuke of the general public. Dimmesdale cannot bear the torture and stands on the scaffold in the deep night under illusion that he takes Hester and Pearl to confess his crime to the world. He wants to gain the redemption; however, his penance in the deep night is meaningless. He must confess his sin in the day in public; he can get the remission of the sin in the heart. At the end of story, Dimmesdale calls up all his courage to stand on the scaffold with taking the Hester and Pearl by the hands and confess his sin in the light of day before a crowd of people.Finally, the confession gives him the sense of peace and ends his pain and suffering. He accepts his love and his daughter eventually. The scaffold is a symbol of crime and public humiliation, and it is a means of punishment. Besides, the scaffold is also a place of atonement as well, it gives the guilty people an opportunity to get redemption and born again. So scaffold is the symbol of acknowledge of the sin, only in here, can Hester and Dimmesdale admit their sin and finally set themselves from the inner bitterness.4.3 The Rose bush“But, on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rose-bush! Just as the author describes in the novel, before the ugly prison, a beautiful rose-bush is in full bloom. This rose-bush represents human beings’ original natural desire and tenacious vitality, and it is the symbol of beauty and kindness. No matter how harsh and prison is, but the ideal human nature never ends, just like the wild rose-bush blooming. Meanwhile, rose-bush shows the blazing passion of Hester, which results to her sin, and she gives birth to Pearl as the peak of her passion. Hawthorne compares the Pearl to the rose-bush, and criticizes the flower as the “moral blossom”. The fruit of this flower is the child of Hester and Dimmesdale, that is to say, Pearl will serve to provide the moral of the story.The author is much cautious about the source of the rose-bush, whether is it grows naturally in there or another rebellious woman lefts it when she is put in jail. In。
浅谈小说《红字》中的多重象征意义姜婷婷发表时间：2018-09-18T09:51:05.987Z 来源：《知识-力量》3中作者：姜婷婷[导读] 小说《红字》是19世纪美国浪漫主义作家霍桑创作的第一部长篇小说,同时也是最能体现霍桑对象征手法的娴熟运用的代表作。
受神秘主义的影响，霍桑的作品多使用象征主义来描摹场景、刻画人物，并含沙射影地表达自己的态度和观点。
他惯于将浪漫主义和象征主义相结合，从而使创作达到意想不到的结果。
他在小说《红字》中大量地赋予不同的人物和事物以丰富且有层次的象征意义，使这部小说的内蕴远比字里行间所传达的文本信息更耐人寻味（河南大学，河南省开封市 475000）摘要：小说《红字》是19世纪美国浪漫主义作家霍桑创作的第一部长篇小说,同时也是最能体现霍桑对象征手法的娴熟运用的代表作。
受神秘主义的影响，霍桑的作品多使用象征主义来描摹场景、刻画人物，并含沙射影地表达自己的态度和观点。
他惯于将浪漫主义和象征主义相结合，从而使创作达到意想不到的结果。
他在小说《红字》中大量地赋予不同的人物和事物以丰富且有层次的象征意义，使这部小说的内蕴远比字里行间所传达的文本信息更耐人寻味。
通过对象征主义的解读以及对红色字母A的象征意义及其与主要人物名字及形象的关系的分析，本文深入剖析和探讨了小说《红字》中的多重象征意义即其多义性。
关键词：红字A；象征主义；多重象征意义一、象征主义象征作为一种文学创作手段，很早就出现在诗歌以及小说创作中。
而象征主义真正作为一种文学流派，则出现于19世纪末至20世纪30年代，并逐渐成为欧美现代派文学的一个重要分支。
对于“象征”一词，历来不乏有评论家、诗人等对其进行解读。
他们的解释往往有相通之处却又不尽相同。
评论家南帆说：“象征是以特定的具体形象表现或暗示某种观念、哲理或情感”[1]。
法国诗人马拉美认为：“象征就是这种神秘性构成的：一点一点地把对象暗示出来，用以表现一种心灵状态”[2]。
霍桑《红字》中的象征主义
【标题】霍桑《红字》中的象征主义 【作者】杨妮娜 【关键词】霍桑；红字；象征主义 【指导老师】许奋荣 向 俊 【专业】英语 【正文】 I. Introduction A. Hawthorne’s Life and Works Nathaniel Hawthorne?(1804―1864) was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4th1804. His ancestors were from a prestigious family. Five generations before him, John Hawthorne was one of the three Judges in the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692. Later, his family became poorer and poorer, and in 1808, his father died of yellow fever. When Nathaniel Hawthorne was a boy, he lived in his hometown with his mother, and meanwhile he was influenced by the atmosphere, and formed religious thought. He studied the history of the Puritans. After his graduation from Bowdon College in Maine, he started his writing career and later became a novelist, short-story writer and essayist. His short stories included Twice Told Tales?(1837), Mosses from an Old Manse?(1846). His novels included The Scarlet Letter?(1850), The House of the Seven Gables?(1851), The Marble Faun?(1860). B. The Background and the Plot of the Novel After the independence of America, many new works gradually appeared and formed their own cultural characteristics. On the one hand, many writers were still influenced by British literatures. Emerson appealed American writers to get out of the effect of some abroad literature in his famous speech in 1837. On the other hand, many young writers tried their best to improve their writings and wrote works with their own cultural characteristics. Hawthorne himself was set in the year 1650 Boston, many people came here and wanted to pursue a happy life, they were the first people here, but they were deeply suppressed by Puritanism. In order to reveal the harsh pressure of the America society, the cheat of the church, the hypocrisy of morality, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter was thus written. The Scarlet Letter told us a story that in June 1642, in the Puritan town of Boston, a crowd gathered to witness punishment. A young woman, Hester Prynne, had been found guilty of adultery and wore a scarlet letter?“A” on her bosom as a sign of sin. She refused to name the father of her little child Pearl. As she looked out over the crowd, Hester noticed an aging, misshapen man, she recognized him as her husband, who was presumed to have died at sea. Then he chose a new name Roger Chillingworth and decided to take revenge on the child’s father. He knew that the much-admired brilliant young clergyman Dimmesdale was the father of the little child by chance. So Roger became intimately acquainted with him. While tormented by guilty conscience, Dimmesdale could not find courage to tell the truth publicly. Later, Hester decided to ask him to leave the town with them. Before the day they left, Dimmesdale gave his most inspired sermons, and then he climbed on the scaffold and confessed his sin, then died, Roger Chillingworth also died the same year. Many years later, Pearl lived a happy life in Europe, and Hester came back to Boston, when she died, buried near the grave of Dimmesdale, and they shared a simple tombstone. II. Brief Introduction to Symbolism A. The Definition of Symbolism A symbol is anything that is used to represent something other than itself. In literature it is most often a concrete object that is used to represent something broader and more abstract?―often a moral, religious, or philosophical concept or value. Symbols range from the most obvious and mechanical substitution of one thing for another, to massive, complex, and perplexing creations. In literature, the definition of the literary device, symbolism, can simply be defined as being the art of practice of using symbols especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible or intangible by means of visible or sensuous representatives. Symbolism in literature is also the deepness and hidden meaning in a piece of work. It is often used to represent a moral or religious belief or value. Symbolism is a traditional artistic form. It began as a literary movement that developed from Romanticism in France in the second half of the 19th century. In the tragedy of ancient Greece or the symbolic opera in Middle Ages in Europe, the using of symbolism in the development of literature can be found everywhere. Symbolism is also a major feature of Romanticism. Hawthorne has made one of his most distinctive and significant contributions to the growth of American fiction through his use of symbols. As a famous writer of Romanticism, Hawthorne is skillful at the using of it in his works. His work The Scarlet Letter has some originality when he uses the symbolism based on carrying on this traditional art and shows its own distinguishing features. In a word, although the method of symbolism is developed rather than invented by Hawthorne, his unique and systematic use of it makes him the master of this writing technique.? B. Symbolism in Hawthorne’s Works As is known to us all, Hawthorne is proficient in employing symbolism in his works. Just as The Scarlet Letter, some o
