英语专业本科毕业论文-《红字》中的象征意义.doc

Symbolic Meanings in The Scarlet Letter Author: Chen RunqingSupervisor: Zhu WenjuanA ThesisSubmitted as a Partial Fulfillment ofthe Requirement for the Degree of B.A. in EnglishSchool of Foreign StudiesFuyang Teachers College, Anhui ProvinceApril, 2011学位论文红字中的象征意义（学号200740210706）指导教师姓名 职称 讲 师单 位 阜阳师范学院外国语学院专业名称 英语教育 申请学级别 学 士学位授予单位 阜 阳 师 范 学 院2011年 4 月 Symbolic Meanings in The Scarlet LetterAbstractRegarded as one of the greatest writers in American in 19th century, Nathaniel Hawthorne is skilled in using symbolism when composing a work. Such skill gets its fully expression in his masterpiece The Scarlet Letter. In this novel, both names of the main characters and the title have their various symbolic meanings. The main characters Hawthorne portrays are Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth and Pearl. All these names have their various symbolic meanings, according to the role each character plays in this novel. The scarlet letter “A”, worn on the bosom of Hester as punishment, also has its symbolic meaning in different situations. At first, its a symbol of sin and adultery. And then, it represents “aloness” and “alienation”. As the story goes, it stands for “amazon”, “admiration”, “ability” and “angel”. While from the whole passage, it is also a symbol of her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale. In order to make readers understand The Scarlet Letter better and deeper, this thesis analyses symbolism in the work with the documentary method. It begins with research on the symbolic meanings of the four main characters names. And then it continues to conduct research on the various symbolic meanings of the letter “A”. At last, the author gives a conclusion of the research paper. Key words: main characters; names; scarlet letter “A”; symbolic meanings 红字中的象征意义内容摘要纳撒尼尔霍桑是19世纪伟大的作家之一。在其进行文学作品创作过程中，他擅长运用象征主义的写作手法。在霍桑的代表作红字中，这一写作手法得到了充分的体现。在这部作品里，主要人物的人名和字母A都有着丰富的象征意义。霍桑在其代表作中塑造的主要人物有海丝特、丁梅斯代尔、罗杰齐灵渥斯和珠儿。作者根据他们在文中扮演的不同角色赋予了他们姓名的不同象征意义。作为一种惩罚，海斯特必须时刻佩戴红字“A”。字母“A”在不同的情形下也有着不同的象征意义。起先，它是通奸罪的象征，其次它代表着孤独和疏远，随着故事情节的发展，它又是女强人、受尊敬的人、能干的人和天使的象征。当从全文的角度看时，它还象征着海丝特的恋人-丁梅斯代尔。本文拟用文献法对作品中的象征意义加以探究，使读者更好更深刻地理解红字这部作品。笔者首先探究作品中主要人物的人名的象征意义，其次探究字母“A”丰富的象征意义，最后再对整篇文章进行概括总结。关键词：主要人物；人名；字母“A”；象征意义Symbolic Meanings in The Scarlet LetterThesis StatementIn The Scarlet Letter, symbolism is largely used not only in the names of the main characters but also in the capital letter “A” which symbolizes adultery, aloness, alienation, amazon, admiration, ability, angel and Arthur Dimmesdale. 根据大纲内容，用一句话概括出要点OutlineI. Introduction II. Symbolic Meaningsof the Main Characters NamesA. Hester Prynne B. Arthur Dimmesdale C. Roger Chillingworth D. PearlIII. Varied Symbolic Meanings of the Letter “A”A. AdulteryB. Aloness and AlienationC. Amazon, Admiration, Ability and AngelD. Arthur Dimmesdale. ConclusionSymbolic Meanings in The Scarlet Letter. Introduction （和开题报告内容相似）Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts, which used to be an important port in colonial times and a place filled with puritan powers. With the publication of The Scarlet Letter in 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne became one of the greatest writers in the American literary history. All his life, he has written many novels, of which there are a lot famous works, such as The House of the Seven Gables, Blithedale Romance, Mosses from an Old Manse, The Marble Faun and so on. However, of all his works, the most outstanding one is The Scarlet Letter. As usual, his works are deeply concerned with ethical problems of sin, punishment, and atonement (曾燕波 5). This theme gets its full expression on Hester, who is a main character in Hawthornes masterpiece The Scarlet Letter. It is mainly originated from his life experience. His family is noble family and he is the descendant of prominent Puritan family. It is said that his ancestor John Hathorne plays a leading role in the 1692 witchcraft trials in Salem. And his ancestors also take part in the 17th century persecution of Quaker. All these make him feel guilt. As a result, he inserts the letter “w” into the spelling of his family name, Hathorne, when he is in the University. In the chapter, The Custom House, the introductory chapter to The Scarlet Letter, he reveals the depth of his concern with the dark side of Puritanism, the harshness of the persecutions. He says of his ancestors, especially Judge Hathorne, “Ihereby take shame upon myself for their sakes, and pray that any curse incurred by themmay be now and henceforth removed” (曾燕波 1). So it is easy to understand that guilty is the theme in most of his works, especially in The Scarlet Letter. In this novel, Hawthorne turns back to the age of his first American ancestor for a historical background against which to display a tragic drama of guilt-revealed and concealed, real and imaginative-and its effects on those touched by the guilt (曾燕波 5). The story happens in Salem, Massachusetts. The town is controlled strictly by puritans. Hester Prynne, a young beautiful woman, commits adultery against a pastor, Dimmesdale, which violates the puritan rule. As a result, she must accept punishment and gets purified. For more than one hundred years, many biographers and critics have made a large number of researches and explorations on The Scarlet Letter. This novel is notable not only for its treatment of guilt and complexities of moral choices, but also for its effective use of images and symbols. This thesis is about symbolism used on the main characters names and the capital letter “A” in this novel. Symbolism is a kind of artistic form in literary creation, which can express abstract meaning through concrete images. In English and American literature, it is common to give characters a particular name, for instance, Sir Falstaff, a character in Henry , one of Shakespeares masterpiece, and J. Christmases, a character in Light in August, Faulkners masterpiece. To a great extent, these special names have enriched the description of characters features and at the same time, they suggest the relationship between characters and theme of the works (沈黎明，刘明信 68). This point is fully expressed in Hawthornes masterpiece. In The Scarlet Letter, main characters are given special names and endowed with something meaningful. Besides, the scarlet letter “A”, which links up the whole passage, has various symbolic meanings, with the development of the story.Symbolism is not only a significant feature of Hawthornes works, but also a major feature of Romanticism. Therefore, study of thesymbolism in Hawthornes masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter, can help the readers be familiar with symbolism and Romanticism, and let them know more about Hawthorne. As a result, they can read his works without much difficulty. In order to let readers understand Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter better and deeper, the author of this research paper firstly explores the symbolic meanings of the four main characters names. And then it goes on with discussion on the different symbolic meanings of the capital letter “A”. At last, the paper gives a conclusion of this research. . Symbolic Meaningsof the Main Characters NamesA. Hester PrynneHester Prynne is one of the main characters that Hawthorne created in his novel. He endows her name with much symbolic meaning. One can generally guesses her feature just from her name. The words “Hester” and “Prynne” compose the characters name. Firstly, the word “Hester” reminds readers of “Hastier”, who is Zeuss sister in Greek mythology (田俊武 55). Hastier is a very beautiful goddess and she is in charge of all kitchens of heaven and earth. Nathaniel Hawthorne names his major character Hester, which gives readers a sense that Hester is a beautiful, passionate and warm-hearted woman (田俊武 55). In the novel, Hester always tries her best to offer help and concern to the poor and the sick, though she herself is also very poor. Not only is her behavior like that of the goddess, but also her beautiful appearance. As Hawthorne describes in his book: 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. She was ladylike, too, after the manner of the feminine gentility of those days; characterized by a certain state and dignity, rather than by the delicate, evanescent, and indescribable grace, which is now recognized as its indication. (Hawthorne 58)Secondly, Hester is the homophone of the word “haste” (苗纪美 99), which means great speed in doing something. Owing to her hasty, she gets married to Roger Chillingworth. He is an old, ugly and misshapen man, who devotes all his time to the books, and gives little love to his wife-Hester. As a beautiful young woman, instead of living a normal life, Hester goes through everyday life with loneliness and sexual inhibition (田俊武 56). Whats more, Chillingworth has disappeared for nearly two years. Without any news about her husband, Hester falls in love with Arthur Dimmesdale, a young handsome clergyman. As a result, they commit adultery and violate the law of the society. So, Hesters unfortunate life starts with hasty. Hester Prynnes surname Prynne also has its symbolic meaning. Firstly, Prynne sounds like the word “prurient” (沈黎明，刘明信 68), which means someone has much interest in things connected with sex. Because of her husbands indifference, Hester cant get gratification in the sex. When she meets Dimmesdale, she cant help falling in love with him. And thus Hester commits adultery against Arthur. According to Calvinistic canon, as a punishment, she is put into prison and forced to wear the letter “A” all the time and everywhere for the crime. The intention of making Prynne as the characters surname is to suggest the origin of Hesters unlucky life. Secondly, Prynne is the homophone of the word “prune” (沈黎明，刘明信 69), which means purification. After Hester is released from the prison, she chooses to remain in New England, where she has committed sin. For so many years, she withstands loneliness and discrimination. She is a so strong woman that can face what she has done. With her uncommon sewing skills, Hester brings up Pearl, Arthur Dimmesdales daughter, and provides community service. She aids people who need her most and assist the poor, though she isnt rich at all. Gradually, people in the town accept her and realize what good quality Hester possesses. Finally, people refuse to interpret the letter “a” by its original meaning-adultery. In their eyes, the scarlet “a” stands for “able” and “admirable”. To some extent, Hester allays her sin and prune her soul.B. Arthur DimmesdaleArthur Dimmesdale is one of the male characters in the novel. He is a young handsome pastor. From the initials of his name, “AD”, which represents adultery, we can know he is the very person who commits adultery against Hester. The initials also remind readers of Adam, human beings ancestor. In the Holy Bible, Adam and Eve, the ancestors of human beings, 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 (苑文良 210). From the story, it can be implied that adultery is the original sin of human beings. Though Arthur is a fantastic minister and serves to the divinity, he is a common man and also made of blood and flesh. He also cant resist the temptation of sex. Just as the name “Hester Prynne”, the word Dimmesdale is endowed with symbolic meanings. The literal meaning of “dim” is dark and weak, and the word “dale” means valley. So the characters surname actually stands for the “dim-interior” of the minister. According to puritan doctrine in the seventeenth century, a clergy man is forbidden to fall in love with his parishioner (王力，李晓娟 220). His adultery against Hester, who has been married and lives in the same community, violates the severe rule. However, he has no courage to confess his sin before the public. His response to his sin is just to lie. He loves Hester, but owing to his cowardice and fear, the passion can only be expressed in the forest or in darkness. When he sees Hester on scaffold accept shame and punishment before the people of their community, he didnt stand out and tell the truth. The struggle between his cowardice and his consciousness tortures him for so many years. Gradually, he becomes careworn. Just because of his hypocrisy and cowardice, Dimmesdale is controlled by Chillingworth, Hesters husband, whose revenge behavior makes him much more agony. In order to ease his interior pain, sometimes, he goes without food, and sometimes he scourges himself. Pangs in his heart are deeper than that in Hester (王力，李晓娟 221). During the long time of being condemned by his conscience, his health fails and his inner heart is always gloomy.C. Roger ChillingworthThe name of Roger Chillingworth also has its symbolic meaning in the novel, like all the other main characters name. Firstly, the word Roger is the homophone of rogue, which means a person who behaves badly and immorally. Although he knows he is a misshapen man in decay, he married Hester who is a beautiful and youthful woman. While as the husband of Hester, he devotes most of his time to the book and is always indifferent to her. He deludes himself with the thought that intellectual gifts might conceal physical deformity in a young girls fantasy. He married Hester not because of his love for her but because of his desire to light a household fire, in his lonely and chilly heart (苑文良 211). So Roger Chillingworth is the very rogue that destroys Hesters youth and lead to the unlucky life of Hester. Secondly, the word Roger reminds readers of the Jolly Roger, which symbolize pirate. He has the typical features just like pirate: going for revenge and searching treasure. His target of revenge is Dimmesdale who commits adultery against his wife. Though he doesnt love his wife at all, when he finds Hester has betrayed him and bore another mans child, he still take up revenge by no means. The treasure he searches is not that the pirate searches. It is the secret that lives in Dimmesdales heart. When he find Dimmesdale is the possible parent of Hesters child, Roger Chillingworth tries his best to probe into the private heart of Dimmesdale. He goes to Boston and disguises himself as a doctor and one trusted friend of the clergyman, with his name changed. Roger Chillingworth lives with the minister and companies him everyday. For seven years, he has done what he can do to reach his destination. Hawthorne describes Chillingworths act as following: “He searches into the ministers dim interior for a long time. He groped along as stealthily, with as cautious a tread, and as wary an outlook, as a thief entering a chamber where a man lies only half asleep, - or, it may be, broad awake, - with purpose to steal the very treasure which this man guards as the apple of his eye” (Hawthorne 145). In the end, he makes the minister go asleep, using medicine, and finds the scarlet letter “A” on the ministers bosom. When he finally finds the secret that conceals in the heart of Dimmesdale, he bursts out a ghastly rapture, just like the pirate discover a deeply hidden treasure that one searches for a long time. This main characters surname “Chillingworth” is made up of the words chilling and worth. Chilling refers to chilly, which means cold and merciless. In order to revenge, for seven years, Chillingworth tortures Dimmesdale spiritually and physically by all means (聂朝晖 130). During the seven years, he has been digging into the ministers heart with keen pleasure (苑文良 211). As a result, Dimmesdales health fails and finally dies mentally and physically exhausted. While the word chilling symbolizes chilly, it also means consequence of Chillingworths life is chilly and unfortunate. As an avenger, he spends so much time on his revenge that he forgets what the real meaning of his life is. In order to seek revenge, he gives up his identity and leads a life which doesnt belong to him. After Dimmesdale open his secret to the world, “all his strength and energy - all his vital and intellectual force - seemed at once to desert him; insomuch that he positively withered up, shriveled away, and almost vanished from mortal sight, like an uprooted weed that lies wilting in the sun” according to Hawthorne (294). Without revenge target, Chillingworth dies less than a year later. However, though Chillingworth, an avenger, is guilty beyond forgiveness, he also has a positive aspect. The word worth in his surname reveals this point. Worth means something is valuable. In the eyes of Hawthorne, the main character Chillingworths value is expressed by his temptation to make Dimmesdale reveal his secret to the world, which has disclosed the hypocritical nature of religion (田俊武 57). D. PearlPearl is the daughter of Hester and Dimmesdale. Giving her such name is not because her appearance looks like the Pearl, but because her value in Hesters heart is as much as that of the Pearl. As the Bible says, the God let a merchant sell all what he has to buy one pearl of great value, which is his paradise, as the God said. So he did. Maybe it is the reason why Hawthorne gives this character Pearl as her name. Hester has sacrificed all of her things to get Pearl, such as her fame, her normal life, her social life, withstanding loneliness and fame. Thus, Pearl is H