Abstract

That is known to all, as a great romantic novelist in America in the 19th century, Hawthorne was outstanding in handling the application of symbolism. The Scarlet Letter is Hawthorne’s most famous symbolic novel, which stands as the best work of Hawthorne and one of the masterpieces of American literature. In this book, he uses symbolism largely so that we can’t understand it easily. So the purpose of this thesis is to analyze the symbolism in the novel from the following aspects: the definition and function of symbolism, the changing symbolic meaning of the scarlet letter, the symbolic meanings of the scarlet letter “A” and the four protagonists' names in The Scarlet Letter.

Key words: symbolism; scarlet letter “A” ; four protagonists’ names

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1.Introduction1

1.1Introduction of The Scarlet Letter 1

1.2Introduction of Hawthorne2

2.Symbolism 3

2.1 Definition of symbolism3

2.2 Function of symbolism 4

3.Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter 5

3.1 The symbolic meaning of “the scarlet letter” 5

3.1.1 A for adultery 6

3.1.2 A for alone 7

3.1.3 A for able  7

3.2 The symbolic meaning of the four protagonists' names in The Scarlet Letter 8

3.2.1 Hester Prynne8

3.2.2 Roger Chillingworth9

3.2.3 Peal11

3.2.4 Arthur Dimmesdale 12

4.Conclusion13

References.v