Abstract:This paper is dedicated to explore the characterization in the context of Puritanism in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, and the emphasis will be put on Hester Prynne’s rebellion through character comparison. Although Hester is the sinner in the eyes of Puritans because of her adultery, her rebellion should not be ignored. Many details convey the information that people were in bondage to Puritanism at that time in this novel, and they were not obeying Puritanism completely, but they dare not to resist visibly as Hester. Compared to Hester’s defying the law, those Puritans are disgraceful. Hawthorne declares these clearly through comparing the characteristics, especially among Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. Finally, the conclusion will be got, that everyone should has his or her own firm belief.

Key words: Hester; rebellion; character comparison; Puritanism

中文摘要:本文旨在研究美国著名小说家纳桑尼尔·霍桑《红字》中清教文化背景下的人物刻画，而重点又集中在研究作者通过人物对比手法来体现白兰的反叛精神。白兰虽然因犯错而成为众人眼中的罪人，但是她所具有反叛精神仍然是不可忽视的。

　　　小说中的许多细节表示清教文化对于人们的束缚，而且人们对清教文化也并不是完全接受和遵从，但他们没有像白兰那样“公然”表现出与社会盛行的清教文化相抵触的举动，白兰却无意或故意表现出不屈服于清教的行为。相比之下，那些在暗处违反具有约束力的清教法规，表面上又道貌岸然的人们较之白兰更加令人不齿。纳桑尼尔·霍桑通过人物对比的手法将主题表现得淋漓尽致，耐人寻味。本文将主要针对白兰与丁梅斯代尔以及齐灵沃斯的对比展开关于白兰反叛精神的讨论。最终，我们可以从中得出结论：每个人都应该有自己坚定信念。

关键词：海斯特；反叛精神；人物对比；清教文化