Abstract: Nathanial·Hawthorne is a most outstanding American writer of 19th century and The Scarlet Letter is his masterpiece. For about two hundred years, it has been attracting readers of different times. Different readers have different understanding of it. This thesis holds the opinion that loneliness is one of the main themes of this novel which receives rare attention. Therefore, it is devoted to discussing the four main characters’ loneliness and its reason, and exploring artistic use of symbolism to present loneliness in the novel.

Key words: The Scarlet Letter  loneliness  symbol 

摘要：纳桑尼尔·霍桑是美国十九世纪最杰出的作家之一，《红字》是他的代表作。近两百年来，《红字》总是能够吸引不同时代的读者, 而不同的读者读《红字》会有不同的理解。本文认为，孤独是该小说的另一主题，很少有读者注意到这一点。因此，这篇论文将讨论《红字》里四个主要人物各自的孤独以及他们孤独的原因，同时也将探讨文中体现孤独的象征。

关键字：《红字》 孤独 象征