The Puritan Thoughts in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.doc

霍桑在《红字》中的清教思想 The Puritan Thoughts in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter Abstract: Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most important novelists in America. Many of his stories are set in Puritan New England, describing the deep effect of Puritan cruel doctrine of sin and punishment on the early settlers of North America. The Scarlet Letter (1850) shocked the nation by boldly discussing “forbidden” topics including sexual misconduct of society’s leader, the miserable life of a single mother, the separation of church and state. His work not only provide a taste of 19th century puritan culture, but also take a glimpse of Hawthorne’s mind as he comes to terms with his witch-hunting ancestors and his vocation. Now, no study of American history is complete without through appreciation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s timeless works. This thesis chooses to explain Hawthorne’s puritan thoughts from my understanding of The Scarlet Letter. W. C Browell once said “Hawthorne success only when he is concerned with puritan themes”. From his religious thoughts we can find how he criticizes human nature. Key words: The Scarlet Letter; Puritanism; human nature; sin 摘　要：纳撒尼尔?霍桑是美国最重要的小说家之一,他的许多小说都以清教徒为主的新英格兰作为背景,描述当时清教严酷的罪与罚的教义对美国早期定居者的深刻影响。他在巨作《红字》（1850）中探讨了当时严禁的话题，其中包括上层社会人士的不端行为，单身母亲的悲惨生活，以及宗教和政治的争端。他的作品中反映了他从参与政治迫害的祖辈和工作中得来的宗教思想以及十九世纪的宗教观念。现在人们多说，缺乏了霍桑作品研究的文学是不完整的文学。本文选择了从清教思想来解读《红字》。正如布伦威尔曾经说的霍桑的成功基于他的清教主题。从他的清教思想中我们可以开到他对人性的剖析。 关键词：《红字》；清教主义；人性; 原罪 Contents I. Introduction…………………………….……………………..1 A. A brief introduction to Hawthorne…..………………….……………1 B. Hawthorne’s religious background………………..………………1 II. The Story and Its themes…...……………….………………..2 III. The Puritan Mind of Hawthorne…………….…...…………..3 A. The doctrine of original sin in The Scarlet Letter…..………..……..4 B. Good deeds in The Scarlet Letter…………………...……………...5 C. Human nature in The Scarlet Letter …………….………………...7 IV. Conclusion………………………………….………………....9 Works Cited……………………………………….…………………………11  I. Introduction A. A brief introduction