Nathaniel Hawthorne 霍桑.ppt

Nathaniel Hawthorne 霍桑 I. Life and works Born at Salem, Mass. of a Puritan family, which spelled the name Hathorne Salem Witchcraft Trial---1688, 1692, epilepsy，hanged, imprisoned Father’s death---the son’s somber and solitary attitude Bowdoin College---Longfellow, Franklin Pierce Worked at the custom office---consular position Mosses from an Old Manse《古宅青苔》 The Scarlet Letter The House of the Seven Gables 《七个尖角阁的房子》 The Blithedale Romance《福谷传奇》 The Marble Faun《玉石雕像》 II. Reading The Scarlet Letter The story is set in the 17th-century Boston a gloomy story of conscience and the tragic consequences of concealed guilt 2. attached introduction The Custom House 3. Main characters and the story Hester Prynne Pearl (illegitimate daughter of Hester) Arthur Dimmesdale Roger Chillingworth (assumed name) 4. Symbolism (1) the Scarlet Letter: Adultery→Able→Angel (2) names of the characters Hester Prynne Dimmesdale Chillingworth Pearl (3) the meteor: in Chapter XII, a meteor traces out an “A” in the night sky 5. Theme Explore the source of evils: unreasonable and inhuman social system; men’s inner world, defects in men’s nature: strong desire, dishonesty, cowardice, revenge Explore the influences on different characters: To brave men: moral rebirth, redeem their sin, win respect/ love again To cowardly men: torment of conscience, suffer in hell fire. To vicious and vengeful men: reduce them to demons, make them deteriorated, malicious, mean Explore ways of redeeming sin: brave to confess and face it, correct it through love, devotion, generosity and forgiveness 6. Puritanism in the novel Puritan background: setting, events, characters, thoughts, behaviors. Puritan doctrines: original sin, total depravity, predestination, limited atonement. III. Evaluation a master of psychological insight; His significance as a writer can be summarized mainly in 3 aspects: 1. significant as a roma