The Journey of an Isolated Soul

【摘要】《紅字》作為一部經典的英語文學作品經久不衰，霍桑筆下的主人公看似多變，實則都有著相似的共性。在北美殖民時代，清教思想十分盛行，人們恪守著道德準則，捍衛著倫理標準。然而，苛刻的說教也鑄就了諸多的悲劇，孤獨便是其中一大悲劇。本文著重分析了三位主人公，海絲特·白蘭、奇靈渥斯、丁梅斯代爾，不同的孤獨與凄苦。每個人都能從他們的孤獨中看到自己的孤獨，因為孤獨是人性中不可磨滅的一部分。

【關鍵詞】《紅字》;人性;孤獨

【作者簡介】石雅馨，華東師范大學。

Man is the most delicate and complicated creature in the world. The complexity and intricacy of human nature were revealed vividly in the novel named Scarlet Letter， which was written by Hawthorne. During reading this masterwork， words spoke by the famous German writer Hermann Hesse lingered in my mind. He once said： “Leben ist Einsamsein. Kein Mensch kennt den andern， Jeder ist allein.” Hesse believed that the journey of one’s life was lonely. There was no one could spell over another person’s innermost feelings and thoughts. Therefor， every one in this world was isolated.

Although the characters depicted by Hawthorn in the Scarlet Letter suffered different experiences and kept different personalities， there were still some similarities hidden in their inner world waiting for us to discover. Those similarities were the commonalities in the human nature， which could not be removed or ignored， since they were part of us. As for me， isolation was the most impressive commonality shared by all the characters in this novel.

In the way of pursuing love， Hester was a lonely fighter. Firstly， her parents arranged her marriage with Chillingworth without asking her own opinion and will. They thought that the old Chillingworth’s wealth and knowledge could bring happiness to their daughter. However， they neglected the Hester’s needs that she wanted to find a passionate love and a tacit soul mate instead of living a lifeless steady life. As the parents， they did not give Hester the chance to choose her own marriage. Hester never gained an opportunity to voice her thoughts; her parents never attempted to understand their daughter’s needs. Due to the failure of knowing each other， the invisible huge stonewall blocked between them and grew thicker and thicker， which indirectly led to the miserable ending. Secondly， people around Hester held a hostile attitude towards her after Hester was released form the jail， and which increased her sense of isolation. She tasted the bitter of loneliness， both physically and mentally. Hester was forced to move to the margin of the village， as no one wanted to be her neighbors. She raised Pearl on her own and undertook the censure on her own. Additionally， women just cursed Hester with the worst words without trying to learn the pains and scars concealed in her heart. No one could figure out how miserable her marriage was and how deep she loved Dimmesdale. So， Hester just exerted all her strength and will power to defend her secret love， which was not accepted by others. Thirdly， during this experience of love， Hester was a lonely heroine. Lack of responsibility and courage， her lover chose to escape from his responsibility and refused to face the public with her hand in hand. Only Hester showed her strong as well as passionate love and performed a pessimistic monodrama. She， the lonely heroine， swallowed all the punishments and anguish， looking like a flying moth darts into the fire.

The lonely avenger， Roger Chillingworth’s whole life was spent in taking revenge. His soul was full of resentment and hatred. Perhaps， all the miserable things happened were attributed to the loneliness in his inner world. At the very beginning， the deformed appearance created a sense of inferiority that locked him in his own world. This kind of inferiority gave him a nameless loneliness， as others could not have the same self-abasement. He exhausted himself to cover his shortage by doing some scientific researches and enriching his knowledge， since he thought that the young girl would be attracted by his profound erudition. Unfortunately， his way of showing love was obstinate guess and was not accepted by Hester. Because of their different interpretation of love and failure to learn each other’s needs， during their marriage， neither Chillingworth nor Hester gained the comfort from their spouse. They endured the pains and pocketed the agony separately. The barriers between their communications became more and more difficult to be eliminated， the bridge linking two isolated islands turned more and more helpless. Besides， after knowing the betrayal， he resolved to take revenge on his own. He erased the previous identity clearly and disguised himself totally. The reshaped person he created was composed by grievance and grudge， which walled in him from others. However， to some extent， the decision he made to take revenge was also a way to raise the concern from others. Being afraid of isolation and loneliness， he went for the extreme method.

Without exception， Dimmesdale was also an isolated penitent. As a churchman， he kept the holy sole and was treated with the greatest admiration and respect. Therefor， no one had ever doubted the purity and dignity of his soul. However， he stepped down the altar falling into the mortal world at the moment when he made the mistake. Since then， the tarnished spirit started his way of redemption alone. Because of his identity， he struggled whether or not recognize his fault in public all the day and suffered the tremendous pressure come from both the inner and the outside. He could listen to others’ confessions， but could not find a man to relieve and undo the knots in his heart. The sorrow and guilty hidden behind his eloquence and the secret self-judge began at dusk were the only things he dared to do. His way towards redemption was isolated and helpless.

All the characters in the novel were lonely. As far as I am concerned， the sense of isolation was inherent， as all the individuals were born alone. The feelings and thoughts gradually became the private things after we shaped the cognitive progress. We carefully built the fence to protect ourselves as well as keep away from others. The mysterious wall named incomprehension obstructed between us. Additionally， sometime we were too lonely to do something in order to gain the attention from other， lessening the sense of isolation. Some of us might even choose more aggressive and more harmful ways to reach the target.

The reality was that we could not totally drive the loneliness away， but there was still a method to relieve it， and that was love. The love between Hester and Dimmesdale gave them temporary comfort and sweetness; the love between Hester and her daughter offered Hester with great encouragement. During the whole journey of our lives， we groped and staggered in the dark， exploring the right destination， while love was the first wisp of sunshine， helping us to know that we are alive and guiding us move forward.

You feel lonely， because you are alive; you are alive， because you are loved.

Life is a journey of an isolated sole that is also accompanied by love.