The Symbolic Meaning of “A” in The Scarlet Letter.doc

The Symbolic Meaning of “A” in The Scarlet Letter ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, who has given me constant and valuable advice, read my drafts through meticulously and offered incisive comments on them. I am grateful to her for the useful materials she had provided to me. She gave me valuable advice and polished the thesis as well. Without her help, the thesis could never have reached its present form. I also owe my particular gratitude to all my teachers who have given me excellent lectures and great help, which are indispensable to the completion of this thesis, and my hearty thanks to all my classmates who have offered generous help and useful suggestions in the process of writing this thesis. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to all the writers whose works have been referred to in this thesis. 摘 要 纳撒尼尔．霍桑是美国非常著名的小说家。 他不仅创造了若干部经典的长篇小说,而且还书写了数量可观且耐人寻味的短篇小说.至今为止，霍桑和他的作品一直是中外学者讨论的对象。《红字》是十九世纪美国作家霍桑的成名作.自从本世纪五十年代被译介到我国以来,一直倍受读者的喜爱。其不朽的魅力在于它不仅无情的鞭挞了清教法规对人性的践踏,更重要的是作者对人性的善的肯定。作者在作品中采用的象征手法贯穿始终的、无处不在，加强了作品的艺术效果。尤其是红字“A” 这一贯穿全文的意象，有着多重的、缥缈的，乃至互相抵触的象征意义。本文从红字的多种象征意义入手，研究《红字》中的象征手法。 关键词：纳撒尼尔．霍桑；红字；象征主义 ABSTRACT Nathanial Hawthorne is an extremely renowned American writer of fiction. He not only has created quiet a few classic novels, but also has written quantities of thought-provoking short stories. Until now, Hawthorne and his works have been the focus of discussion from the Chinese and foreign scholars. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a classical novel in American literature in the 19th century. Since the first Chinese translation of The Scarlet Letter appeared in the 1950’s scholars and readers in this country have shown an ever-increasing interest in his works. Its immortal enchantment lies in not only its condemnation of the negative impact of Puritan society on people’s spirit, but also its affirmation of goodness， Hawthorne uses the symbolism so skillful that it enhances the artistic effects of his work