Topic 6 Hawthorne.ppt

Topic6NathanielHawthorne 1804 l864 Imbued 浸透 withaninquiringimagination anintenselymeditativemind andunceasinginterestinthe interioroftheheart ofman sbeing NathanielHawthorneremainsoneofthemostinteresting yetmostambivalentwritersintheAmericanliteraryhistory I Hawthorne slifeandwritingcareerHislifestoryistotallywithouttheexcitingeventswhichcharacterizethelivesofsomanyAmericanwriters HewasbornontheFourthofJuly l804inSalem Massachusetts intoaprominentPuritanfamily HisfirstAmericanancestor WilliamHawthorne asamagistrateoftheBayColony wasactiveinthe1650 sinpersecutionoftheQuakers whileWilliam sson John wasajudgeattheSalemwitchcrafttrials However the17thcenturyprominenceofhisfamilydeclinedduringthecenturythatfollowed Nathaniel sfather aseacaptain diedofyellowfeverin1808 leavingatSalemawidowandthreechildreningenteelpoverty Withthefinancialsupportfromhismoreprosperousmaternalrelations Hawthornepassedaserenechildhoodinspiteofhisfather sdeathandspenthisadolescencereadingsomebooksofthoseliterarymasterminds especiallyBunyan SpenserandShakespeare whichwereessentialforhisformationasawriter From1821to1825 heattendedBowdoinCollegeinMaine wherethedecisiontodevotehimselftowritingwasgraduallytakingshapeandfinallyputintopracticeduringthoseyearswhenhewaslivingwithhismotherinSalem Thesolitaryyearsprovedtobefruitful forin1837 hepublishedTwice ToldTales acollectionofshortstorieswhichattractedcriticalattention After1837 aseriesofsalienteventsofHawthorne slifehappenedthatmatteredalottohisliteraryimaginationandcreation HemetSophiaPeabody whomhemarriedlaterandwithwhomhehadthreechildren heworkedintheUnitedStatesCustomHouseinBostonandlaterinSalem whichdefinitelyprovidedsomeauthenticmaterialsforhislongworks healsostayedforsometimeatConcordandLenox wherehemettheprincipalliteraryfiguresofthetime EmersonandThoreauandMelville Hewasaffectedbytheformer stranscendentalisttheoryandstruckupaveryintimaterelationshipwiththelatter andallthethreepeoplehadplayedanindispensableroleinHawthorne sliterarycareer II Hawthorne smajorworks MosesfromanOldManse 1846 andTheSnow ImageandOtherTwice ToldTales 1851 bestdemonstrateHawthorn searlyobsessionwiththemoralandpsychologicalconsequencesofpride selfishness andsecretguiltthatmanifestthemselvesinhumanbeings TheScarletLetter 1850 alwaysregardedasthebestofhisworks TheHouseoftheSevenGables 1851 wasbasedonthetraditionofacursepronouncedontheauthor sfamilywhenhisgreat grandfatherwasajudgeintheSalemwitchcrafttrials TheBlithedaleRomance l852 isanovelhewrotetorevealhisownexperiencesontheBrookFarmandhisownmethodsasapsychologicalnovelist TheMarbleFaun 1860 isaromancesetinItaly concernedaboutthedarkaberrationsaberration 失常 ofthehumanspirit III Hawthorne sthematicconcerns 1 his black visionoflifeandhumanbeings hisconcernwithhumansinandevil Hawthorne sliteraryworldisamostdisturbed tormentedandproblematicalonemostlybecauseofhis black visionoflifeandhumanbeings HerejectedtheTranscendentalists transparentoptimismaboutthepotentialitiesofhumannature Insteadhelookedmoredeeplyandperhapsmorehonestlyintolife findinginitmuchsufferingandconflictbutalsofindingtheredeemingpoweroflove AccordingtoHawthorne Thereisevilineveryhumanheart whichmayremainlatent perhaps throughthewholelife butcircumstancesmayrouseittoactivity Apieceofliteraryworkshould showhowweareallwrongedandwrongers andavengeoneanother Soinalmosteverybookhewrote Hawthornediscussessinandevil In YoungGoodmanBrown hesetsouttoprovethateveryonepossessessomeevilsecret Itshero anaiveyoungmanwhoacceptsbothsocietiesingeneralandhisfellowmenasindividualsworthhisregard isconfrontedwiththevisionofhumanevilinoneterriblenight andbecomesthereafterdistrustfulanddoubtful TheMinister sBlackVeil goesfurthertosuggestthateveryonetriestoholdtheevilsecretfromoneanotherinthewaytheministertriestoconvincehispeoplewithhisblackveil TheBirthmark driveshomesymbolicallyHawthorne spointthatevilisman sbirthmark somethingheisbornwith OnesourceofevilthatHawthorneisconcernedmostisover reachingintellect whichusuallyreferstosomeone whoistooproud toosureofhimself Thetensionbetweentheheadandtheheartconstitutesoneofthedramaticmomentswhentheevilof overreachingintellect wouldbefullyrevealed Hawthorne sintellectualsareusuallyvillains dreadfulbecausetheyaredevoidofwarmthandfeeling What smore theytendtogobeyondandviolatethenaturalorderbydoingsomethingimpossibleandreachingtheultimatetruth withoutasober 冷静的 abouttheirownlimitationsashumanbeings Chillingworth Dr Rappacciniin Rappaccini sDaughter arebutafewspecimensofHawthorne schilling cold bloodedhumananimals 2 Hawthorne sviewofPuritanism Hawthorne sviewofmanandhumanhistoryoriginates toagreatextent inPuritanism HewasnotaPuritanhimself buthehadPuritanancestorswhoplayedanimportantroleinhislifeandworks Hebelievedthat thewrongdoingofonegenerationlivesintothesuccessiveones andoftenwonderedifhemighthaveinheritedsomeoftheirguilt Thissensibilityledtohisunderstandingofevilbeingattheverycoreofhumanlife whichistypicaloftheCalvinisticbeliefthathumanbeingsarebasicallydepravedandcorrupted hence theyshouldobeyGodtoatonefortheirsins InmanyofHawthorne sstoriesandnovels thePuritanconceptoflifeiscondemned orthePuritanPastisshowninanalmosttotallynegativelight especiallyinhisTheHouseOftheSevenGablesandTheScarletLetter HawthorneisattractedineverywaytothePuritanworld eventhoughhecondemnsitslesshumanemanifestations Ontheonehand itprovideshimwithasubject HeinheritedthePuritantraditionofmoralearnestness andhewasdeeplyconcernedwiththeconceptsoforiginalsinandguiltandtheclaimsoflawandconscience andontheother withthePuritanworldorsocietyasahistoricalbackground hediscussessomeofthemostimportantissuesthatconcernthemorallifeofmanandhumanhistory 3 hismasterpieceTheScarletLetterHawthorne sremarkablesenseofthePuritanpast hisunderstandingofthecolonialhistoryinNewEngland hisapparentpreoccupationwiththemoralissuesofsinandguilt andhiskeenpsychologicalanalysisofpeoplearebroughttofulldisplayinhismasterpieceTheScarletLetter a thestory p 200 b theme Thisnovel togetherwithsomeotherofHawthorne swork assumestheuniversalityofguiltandexploresthecomplexitiesandambiguitiesofman schoices ItismarkedbyadepthofpsychologicalandmoralinsightseldomequaledandneversurpassedbyanyAmericanwriter Inthisparticularnovel Hawthornedoesnotintendtotellalovestorynorastoryofsin butfocuseshisattentiononthemoral emotional andpsychologicaleffectsorconsequencesofthesinonthepeopleingeneralandthosemaincharactersinparticular soastoshowusthetensionbetweensocietyandindividuals ToHawthorne everybodyispotentiallyasinner andgreatmoralcourageisthereforeindispensablefortheimprovementofhumannature asisshownintheTheScarletLetter c Thestructureandtheformofhiswritingsarealwayscarefullyworkedouttocaterforthethematicconcern Hewasaskillfulcraftsmanwithanimpressivesenseofform Hawthornewasalsothemasterofaclassicliterarystylethatisremarkableforitsdirectness itsclarity itsfirmnessanditssurenessofidiom d Withhisspecialinterestinthepsychologicalaspectofhumanbeings thereisn tmuchaction orphysicalmovementgoingoninhisworksandheisgoodatexploringthecomplexityofhumanpsychology SohisdramaisThought fullofmentalactivities Thoughtpropels 驱使 andgrowsorganicallyoutoftheinteractionofthecharacters aswecanfindinTheScarletLetter e Hawthorneisamasterofsymbolism whichhetookfromthePuritantraditionandbequeathedtoAmericanliteratureinarevivifiedform Thesymbolcanbefoundeverywhereinhiswriting andhismasterpieceprovidesthemostconclusiveproof Thescarletletter A isthecentralsymbolofTheScarletLetter withwhichHawthorneproveshimselftobeoneofthebestsymbolists Asakeytothewholenovel theletterAtakesondifferentlayersofsymbolicmeaningsastheplotdevelops AtthebeginningofthenovelHesterwasdiscoveredtohavecommittedadulteryandwaspunishedtowearascarletletter A madeofclothatherbosomandthelettersymbolizedhersin adultery ThenwhenHesterbecamegraduallyacceptedbythecommunitythroughherhonestyandhardwork itstandsforHester sintelligenceandhardwork able AttheendofthenovelthesymbolhasevolvedtorepresentthehighvirtuesofHester angelic Sotheletterchangesfromasymbolofsintoasymbolofabilityandatlastofthehighhumanvirtue ByusingPearlasathematicsymbol Hawthorneemphasizestheconsequencethesinofadulteryhasbroughttothecommunityandpeoplelivinginthatcommunity f ThescarletletterAisambiguous Peoplecomeupwithdifferentinterpretationsandtheydonotknowwhichoneisdefinite So ambiguityisoneofthesalient 显著的 characteristicsofHawthorne sart Asamanofliterarycraft