【English Abstract】 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. The novel aims at criticizing severely Puritanical asceticism, suggesting Hawthorne’s further thinking over the “original sin” “good and evil” “soul salvation” “total depravity” by analyzing the four main characters in the novel. The novel concerns the consequence caused by the sin and people’s attitude towards sin rather than the sin itself. He believes man can do good deeds to get rid of evil in his heart.
【Key Words】 Puritanism; Human nature; Prynne; Dimmesdale; Roger; Pearl; the scarlet letter
【中文摘要】 <<紅字>>是十九世紀美國作家霍桑的成名作.自從本世紀五十年代被譯介到我國以來,一直倍受讀者的喜愛.其不朽的魅力在於它不僅無情的鞭撻了清教法規對人性的踐踏,更重要的是作者對人性的善的肯定.本文旨在透過小說中四位主要人物的`分析, 闡明作品所表現的深刻思想內涵:透過與邪惡的搏鬥，人可以獲得道德上的完善，從而批判了清教主義所倡導的“原罪”“善惡”“拯救靈魂”“徹底墮落”的說法：小說作者主要關心的是原罪導致的後果及人們對待原罪的態度，而不是罪孽本身，他認爲由於愛而犯下罪過可以得到懺悔拯救。
【關鍵字】 清教法規；人性；白蘭；丁梅斯代爾；齊靈沃斯；珍珠；紅字A
1．Introduction
The Scarlet Letter is a famous American novel whose author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, is considered the leading American native fictionist of the 19th century. Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusette, of a prominent Puritan family, on July4, 1804. “In 1850 he brought out his masterpiece The Scarlet Letter, the story of a triangular love affair in colonial America. In this novel Hawthorne condemned the Puritan philosophy of life”[1]P49 “His stories display a psychological insight into moral isolation and human emotion. He distrusted the claim of objective reason to be able to arrive at humanly relevant truth” [2]P53
His short stories and novel includes: The Minister’s Black Veil, Twice Told Tales, Mosses from an Old Manse, The House of The Seven Gables, The Marble Faun, among which The Scarlet Letter is the most famous. The novel is short but very moving. Prynne, a young and beautiful woman, came to New England two years before his husband, an old, ugly man who can not give Prynne love. Prynne, then falls in love with Dimmesdale, a young handsome clergyman and then has a baby, Pearl, because she can not get any news from her husband, thinking that he has died. When her “adultery” is discovered, she is punished to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest all her life. Her husband, Roger, tries his best to torment Dismmesdale. And Dimmesdale, suffering from both physical and spirit torment, announces his “sin” at last, he dies an honest man. Roger, withers at last, Prynne, restructures her life and wins people’s respect, Pearl, leaves for Europe, marries a noble family, leading a happy life.
Hawthorne’s thought was full of contradictions. In his days, American capitalism was developing rapidly, and the social structure was changeable. He couldn’t understand this change, and tried to explain it by discovering the “hidden evil” in everyone’s heart because of the influence of Puritanism. He used symbolism and imagination, which made his works full of mystical color.
In this research paper, I analsize the main characters of the novel aiming at discussing the novel is a skeptic to the Puritan Thought.
2．Puritanism in American
“Puritanism was entirely English in its origin, yet the movement achieved its greatest influence in America. The 17th century colonies in New England represent the fullest development of the movement.”[3]P22 Puritanism is the practices and beliefs of the Puritans. The Puritans were originally members of a division of the Protestant Church, who came into existence in the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James I. The first Puritans to arrive in America were Separatists. A new group of Separatists fled England in 1607---1609, to the north of Plymouth, in the area around Boston, other Puritans began arriving in 1628---1630. They came over under the aus, a corporation with rights to the area of land lying between the Charles and the Merrimack rivers.
They came to America out of various reasons, but it should be remembered that they were a group of serious, religious people, advocating highly religious and moral principles. They believe that the church should be restored to complete “purity”, they accepted the doctrine of predestination, original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement through a special infusion of grace from God. Puritans’ lives were extremely disciplined and hard. As a culture heritage, Puritanism did have a profound influence on the early American mind. American Puritanism also had a enduring influence on American literature. It had become, to some extent, so much a state of mind, so much a part of the national cultural atmosphere, rather than a set of tenets.