《紅字》中字母“A”的多重象征意義

摘 要 霍桑的紅字中，最典型的文學特征就是其象征手法的使用。象征手法極大地提高了《紅字》的藝術(shù)渲染力使其成為一部不朽名著。本文通過對《紅字》中字母“A”多重意義的分析，以期使得讀者能對此名著有著更好的解讀。

關(guān)鍵詞 《紅字》 字母A 象征意義

中圖分類號：I106 文獻標識碼：A

The Scarlet Letter， written by American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne， is generally acknowledged as the representative work during the Romantic Period and the first psychological novel in American literature. In the novel， the symbolic meanings of the letter A vary with the situation， character and the development of the plot of the story.

1 For Aloneness and Alienation

Hester leads a lonely life. She endures the loneliness in the marriage with Chillingworth， and the love with Dimmensdale. Her husband， Chillingworth is a generation older than her and devotes all himself to his study all day. There is no true love between them. She and Dimmesdal love each other deeply， but the latter’s social identity and cowardly personality make it impossible to live with her and care about her in public. When she stands on the scaffold being punished， her lover can offer almost little help， the immense pain as well as great loneliness is beyond imagination.

Because of the scarlet letter， wherever she goes， people in town will keep a distance from her. After her releasing from the prison， she has to live in the cottage on the outskirts of the city far from the civilization， with no neighbors accompanying. Hester is abandoned by the Puritan community， and surrounded with solitudes.

2 For Admirable， Able and Angle

With the development of the story， the symbolic significance demonstrates a variety of meanings. Hester is an independent and kind-hearted woman. By her wonderful needlework， he makes her living and raises her child all by herself. Her excellent craft of embroidering for the rich allows her to live a comparatively stable life. In this sense， the letter A was endowed the meaning of “Able”.

Hester bestows all her superfluous income in charity. When pestilence stalks through the town， she works diligently trying her best to offer help to the poor and the sick. Her help， contribution and sympathy with the people in town change make the letter A given the meaning of “admirable”.

She， like an angle often appears in the family who are suffering losses and agony， and guides them how to shake it off. Gradually， many kind people refuse to interpret the Scarlet A by its original signification. Hester wins her respect by her deeds. The letter A on her is just like the cross on the religieuse， the conduct of both of whom is regarded as the act of the apostles.

3 For America and American dream

The letter A may be considered as the symbol of America.

Having the dream of building a quite new different place， some Puritans took the ship named may flower from Britain to the colony. No matter how they try， it is still difficult to escape the influence of their origin. Likewise， no matter how Hester changes， it is impossible for her to forget all the past. The visible scarlet letter could be removed， but the invisible one， and the living letter， Pearl are her consistent reminder. The crime she committed seems difficult to be erased in the mind of the people forever. When Hester is mentioned， one may unconsciously associate the name to an image of an adulteress.

Hester’s handiwork becomes what now would be termed the fashion. For many people， the Scarlet A is not the symbol of shame， but a delicate art. From another perspective， the Scarlet A is the pass for Hester to enter a field where other women dare not to go. Between lines， we can see that Hester is a woman who doesn’t succumb to fate and fills with rebellious spirit. She constantly strives to become stronger on the process to seek liberation and self-actualization. Scarlet A is an outside expression of her honest soul， the motivation of advance and even her faith—the American Dream.

4 For Amour， Arthur Dimmesdale

The letter， in Hester’s eye， is the symbol of her love. While others regard the scarlet letter as a shame， she elaborately embroiders it. The letter shows her passion for Arthur. To protect Arthur， she refuses to reveal the name of Pearl’s father on the scaffold. The reason why she prefers to stay in the New England is that that is where her love remains.

Arthur requires that their love be concealed， so Hester hides her love in the scarlet letter， which she wears for seven years long. Only when they meet in the forest and decide to run away does Hester remove her scarlet letter. Hester with her daughter disappears several years after Arthur’s death. In spite of the fact she lives with Pearl， she still returns to the cottage where she spends the rest of life and wears the letter again. Her act could be interpreted as her memory to her lover Dimmensdale. In Hester’s mind， no region is more real for her than the New England where she has got used to. Furthermore， it is the place where her Dimmensdale dies and buries. Her return is another kind of companion with him. Hester dies and is buried in the King’s Chapel Cemetery.

Bibliography

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