The Stylistic Study of Symbolism in the Scarlet Letter.doc

the stylistic study of symbolism in the scarlet letterabstract: the scarlet letter，the masterpiece of the american writer nathaniel hawthorne, makes him known all over the world as the first symbolic novel in the american history. the scarlet letter is a novel of plenty of symbols including explicit and inexplicit symbols throughout the whole passage. hawthorne uses symbolism so skillfully that it greatly enhances the artistic effects of his work. based on stylistics, this paper researches into the techniques of symbolism and the different symbols used in the scarlet letter from the following aspects: the changing symbolic meanings of the scarlet letter “a”, the changing symbolic meanings of the names of the major characters and many objects that are described in the novel. key words: the scarlet letter “a”；symbol；symbolism红字中象征意义的文体分析摘要：红字是霍桑的代表作,被称为美国第一部象征主义小说，它使霍桑誉满全球。作者在作品中采用的象征手法贯穿始终的、无处不在，极大地加强了作品的艺术效果。立足于文体分析领域，本文从“a”的多种象征意义、主要人物的人名寓意以及景物寓意等方面入手，探讨了红字中象征手法的使用。关键词：红字a；象征；象征主义；contents1. introduction.12. symbolism and symbol.12.1 the definition of symbolism and symbol.12.1.1 the definition of symbolism.22.1.2 the definition of symbol.22.2. the function of symbolism.22.3 the polysemia of symbol.22.4the system of symbol.33. various symbolic meanings of the scarlet letter a:.33.1 the changes of the symbolic meaning of the scarlet letter “a”. 33.1.1 adultery.3 3.1.2 alone and alienation.43.1.3 able, admirable and angel.43.2.biblical archetype.54. the symbolic meaning of names in this novel.64.1 the symbolic meaning of the four major characters names:.64.1 .1 hester prynne.64.1.2 arthur dimmesdale.84.1.3 roger chillingworth.84.1.4 pearl.104.2 the symbolic meaning of scaffold.115. the symbolic meanings of the objects of the novel.116. conclusions.12references.13acknowledgements.1413the stylistic study of symbolism in the scarlet letter1. introductionrecently more and more writers pay their attention to the application of stylistic analysis in literary works with novel ideas in practice. consequently, it seems that stylistic study gets increasingly popular and is widely used to research into various rhetorical literary works. now the relevant studies on literature have long been a concern in the field of stylistic study. in recent years, it has also received much attention from stylisticians who have argued that linguistic features contribute a lot to the development of symbolism.hawthorne is considered to be the first greatest american fiction writer in the moralistic tradition. he is a master of symbolism. his work, the scarlet letter, which is notable for its allegory and symbolism, is regarded as the first symbolic novel in american literature.(zhang ,2005:276) the novel revolves around one major symbol: the scarlet letter “a”. besides, some other objects that are described in the novel have their symbolic meanings. moreover, the names of the four major characters: hester prynne, arthur dimmesdale, roger chillingworth and pearl also have their symbolic meanings. the scarlet letter is a novel of plenty of symbolic meanings.the scarlet letter makes the american writer nathaniel hawthorne well-known all over the world. hawthorne uses symbolism so skillfully that it greatly enhances the artistic effects of his work. based on stylistics, this paper researches into the techniques of symbolism and the different symbols used in the scarlet letter form the following aspects: the changing symbolic meaning of the scarlet letter “a”, the changing symbolic meaning of the names of the major characters and many objects that are described in the novel.2. symbolism and symbol 2.1 the definition of symbolism and symbol2.1.1 the definition of symbolismsymbolism is a kind of skillful writing that conveys abstract meanings of things by using a concrete image so as to express a kind of far-reaching thinking through bringing out the readers to imagine and connect. symbolism refers to :1) the act of symbolizing, or the state of being symbolized; as, symbolism in christian art is the representation of truth, virtues, vices, etc., by emblematic colors, signs, and forms. 2) . a system of symbols or representations.2.1.2 the definition of symbol generally speaking, a symbol is a sign representing something other than itself. symbols are objects, characters, or other concrete representations of ideas, concepts, or other abstractions. a symbol works two ways: it is something itself, and it also suggests something that has deeper meaning. in literary criticism, a symbol is an image with an indefinite range of reference beyond itself. some symbols are conventional as they have a range of significance that is commonly understood in a particular culture. other symbols are private or personal, having a special significance derived from their particular use by an author.(huang,2000:146) here it may refer to trying to express abstract or mystical ideas through the symbolic use of images.2.2. the function of symbolism just as characterization and dialogue and plot work on the surface to move the story along, symbolism works under the surface to tie the storys external action to the theme. early in the development of the fictional narration, symbolism was often produced through allegory, giving the literal event and its allegorical counterpart a one-to-one correspondence. in the scarlet letter, hawthorne used symbolism to express what consciousness can not achieve - infinite meanings of finite objects.2.3 the polysemia of symbolsymbolism is using one thing to substitute for another.(jin,2004:249) all that includes a person, a place, a name of something, an act, or something that is endowed with many different meanings. in this way, the ideas and feelings of a person as well as abstract notion can be reflected in a concrete and real form. hawthorne believed that objective physical world solely gives us false appearances but its intelligence is the essence. it is because of such an opinion that hawthornes works were not only based on describing objective things but attached great importance to the revealment of significance behind objective things by means of symbols.(zhu,1984:134-135) in the scarlet letter, hawthorne employed a lot of symbols including explicit and inexplicit symbols and almost gave every person, every scene, every action their symbolic meanings.2.4the system of symbol the application of symbol in the scarlet letter appears frequently throughout the whole passage. every thing and everybody in the passage has its own symbolic meanings including background and actions.(jin,2004:250) by means of symbols, a novel is skillfully waved to be an art of treasure work.3. various symbolic meanings of the scarlet letter a: 3.1 the changes of the symbolic meaning of the scarlet letter “a”. in the novel, the scarlet letter “a” worn on hesters bosom is the most prominent symbol and the letters meaning changes many times as time passes. these changes are significant. they show development in their characters, and the community in which they lived. the scarlet letter “a” begins as a symbol of adultery. then it becomes a symbol of alone and alienation, and eventually it becomes a symbol of able, angel and admirable. at that time, it becomes a powerful symbol of identity to hester instead of shame.3.1.1 adultery the scarlet letter “a”, worn on hesters bosom, is a symbol of her adultery.(zhu,2005:128) this is the puritan way of treating her as a criminal because of the crime of adultery. such puritan treatment continues, because when hester walks through the street, she will be looked down on as though she is some sort of devil from hell that commits a terrible crime. this letter is meant to be worn in shame, and to make hester feel unwanted. “here, she said to herself, had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment” hester is ashamed of her act, but she chooses not to show it. she commits this sin in the heat of passion, and fully admits it because, although she feels ashamed, she also receives her greatest treasure, pearl, out of it. she is a very strong woman to be able to hold up so well against what she must face. many people will have fled boston, and find a place where no one knows of her sin. however, hester chooses to stay, which shows a lot of strength and integrity. any woman with enough nerve to hold up against a town, which despises her very existence, and to stay in a place where her daughter is referred to as a devil child, either has some sort of psychological problem, or is a very tough woman. 3.1.2 alone and alienation the scarlet letter “a” is also a sign of hesters lonely life in new england. after she is released, hester lives in a cottage near the outskirts of the city. “it had been built by an earlier settler, and abandoned, because the soil about it was too sterile for cultivation, while its comparative remoteness put it out of the sphere of that social activity which already marked the habits of the emigrants.” hesters social life is actually eliminated as a result of her shameful history. hester comes to have a part to perform in the world with her native energy of character and rare capacity.” however, there was nothing that made her feel as if she belonged to it. every gesture, every word, and even the silence of those with whom she came to contact, implied, and often expressed, that she was banished, and as much alone as if she inhabited another sphere, or communicated with the common nature by other organs and senses than the rest of human kind.(wu,2005:201) she stood apart from moral interests seemed to be the sole portion that she retained in the universal heart. hester has no friends in the world, and little pearl is the only companion of her lonely life, so the scarlet letter “a” also is a symbol of “alone” and “alienate”. 3.1.3 able, admirable and angel later, the scarlet letter “a” changes its meaning into being able, angel and admirable instead of adultery as a result of hestes care and help to the townspeople. the townspeople who condemned her now believe the scarlet letter to stand for her ability to her beautiful needlework and for her unselfish help to the poor and sick. “the letter was the symbol of her calling. such helpfulness is found in her so much power to do and power to sympathize - that many people refuses to interpret the scarlet letter a by its original signification.” at this point, a lot of the townspeople realize what a noble character hester have. “do you see that woman with the embroidered badge? it is our hester the towns own hester who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comforting to the afflicted!” the towns people soon begin to believe that the badge served to ward off evil, and hester grows to be quite admirable amongst the people of the town. hester overcomes the shame of her sin through the purity and goodness of her soul. unselfishly offering her time and love to those who need her most proves that she is not worthy of the fate which has been dealt to her. the three changes in the scarlet letter are significant; they show the progressive possession of her sin, her lonely life, and her ability. hester is a strong admirable woman who goes through more emotional torture that most people go through in a lifetime. (zhang,2004:203)3.2. biblical archetype the scarlet letter “a” can be seen as the symbol of adam. it tells us that hesters sin is the original sin of human beings, it is forgivable.(teng,2003:29) the author shows his sympathy by describing the scarlet letter “a” on hesters clothing as an ornament and a decoration. hesters making the scarlet letter “a” into a thing of beauty offends many bystanders, who comment that, “ it were well if stripped madame hesters rich gown off her dainty shoulders.” however, as a young woman observes, “not a stitch in that embroidered letter, but she has felt it in her heart.” the feeling of sympathy, only expressed by one of the characters throughout this scene, is used by hawthorne to criticize the puritans for their strictness. the society is too strict in its ways, and hawthorne shows his contempt for the treatment of hester by constantly reinforcing how cruelly the people talk about her. hawthorne says at the end of chapter one,” finding it (rosebush) so directly on the threshold of our narrative, which is now about to issue from that inauspicious portal, we could hardly do otherwise than pluck one of its flowers, and present it to the reader. it may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweat moral blossom, that may be found alone the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow.” this kind of sympathy can be seen in the novel everywhere. to hester, the scarlet letter “a” also stands for her lover, pearls father, arthur dimmesdale. her fantastically embroidering the scarlet letter “a”, which means adultery, is somehow a way she shows her passion for arthur. her refusing to tell the name of pearls father is a way to protect him. her choosing to remain in new england after she is released is because it is the place where her lover stays. “ there dwelt, there trod the feet of one with whom she deemed herself connected in a union, before the bar of final judgment, and make that their marriage-alter, for a joint futurity of endless retribution.” she wears the scarlet letter for seven years, and misses her lover in this way. only when she meets arthur again in the forest seven years later, deciding to flee to somewhere else, does she throw the scarlet letter away. after dimmesdale s death, hester and pearl disappear for several years. despite living with her daughter, hester comes back to live the rest of her life in her cottage again, and picks up the scarlet letter for the third time. to hester, there is a more real life in new england than in that unknown region where pearl has founded a home. “here had been her sin, here, her sorrow, and here was yet to be her penitence.” moreover, here is where her lover lies. hester eventually dies and is buried in the kings chapel cemetery. “it was near that old and sunken grave, yet with a space between, as if the dust of the two sleepers had no right to mingle. yet one tombstone served for both.”- “on a field, sable, the letter, gules” 4. the symbolic meaning of names in this novel.4.1 the symbolic meaning of the four major characters names: 4.1 .1 hester prynne hester prynne is one of the major characters in this novel, and one of the most enigmatic women character in the world literature. throughout the whole novel, hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable woman. the author gives her much symbolic meaning by giving her this name. hester sounds like hester, zeus sister in greek mythology, who is a very beautiful goddess. this gives us a sense that hester is a passionate beautiful woman. in the novel, hester is the symbol of the truth, the goodness and the beauty. (yi,2000:50)hawthorne describes her in chapter two like this: “the young woman was tall, a figure of perfect elegance on a large scale, she had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam, and a face which, besides being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion, had the impressiveness belonging to a marked brow and deep black eyes”for so many years, hester refuses to speak out the name of her partner in sin, but takes over all the punishment by herself. instead of running from the hostile colonists, hester withstands their insolence and pursues a normal life. she proves her worth with her uncommon sewing skills and provides community service. hesters own sin gives her “sympathetic knowledge of the sin in other hearts.” even though the people she tries to help “often reviled the hand that was stretched forth to succor them,” she continues her services because she actually cares. at last, the colonists come to think of the scarlet letter as “ the cross on a nuns bosom”, which is not small accomplishment. also, hester is the homophone of the word haste. at first, she gets married to roger prynne, an ugly man who gives his best years to feed the hungry dream of knowledge. not having got the news about her husband who should have arrived by ship from england, she falls love with arthur hastily and gives birth to pearl, for which she is condemned to wear on the breast of her gown the scarlet letter “a”, which stands for adultery. but hesters adultery haste is nothing but a very natural thing to do. in the holy bible, adam and eve, the very ancestors of human being, who live in the garden of eden, eat the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden tricked by the serpent. after that, they begin to know good and evil, and also they begin to know sex. adultery is nothing but the original sin of human being. gods punishment to them is just sending them forth from the garden of eden. but in the scarlet letter, hester is tortured physically and mentally for her sin. hester says to dimmesdale in the forest later, “what we did had a consecration of its own, we felt so!” in essence, their sin is no worse than adam and eves. the punishment of puritan society is somehow too hard on a woman who is