《红字》生态女性主义解读英语语言文学专业论文.docxVIP

华北电力大学硕士学位论文 华北电力大学硕士学位论文 PAGE PAGE 10 Chapter One Introduction Literature Review Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) is one of the most influential writers in American literature. He not only creates quite a few classic novels, but also writes many thought–provoking short stories. His works include two myth collections: A Wonder–Book for Girls and Boys and Tanglewood Tales for Girls and Boys; three short stories collections: Moss from an old Manse, Twice Told Tales and Snow–Image and Other Twice Told Tales; four romances: The House of the Seven Gables, The Marble Faun, The Blithedale Romance and The Scarlet Letter. Among all the works, The Scarlet Letter is Hawthorne’s highest literary achievement. It related to a story which took place in Boston, Massachusetts in the 17th century when Puritanism was very powerful and it influenced almost all the social life of the people in Boston at that time. In this Puritan town, the townspeople lived by harsh laws. The story developed around four main characters: Hester Prynne, her husband Roger Chillingworth, her lover Arthur Dimmesdale and her daughter Pearl. The story began with Hester Prynne’s standing with her baby on the scaffold to the scornful gaze of the crowd for her adultery. All of people in Boston were anxious for Hester’s telling the name of her secret lover. But despite many threats she refused to name her lover in order to protect him from the harsh judgment of Puritan law. Hester’s husband– Chillingworth, in a meanwhile, had arrived in the town and he made Hester promise that she would not reveal his identity to anyone. So he pretended to be a doctor in the town. Though Arthur Dimmesdale didn’t confess his guilt in public, he tortured a lot privately. Unconsciously, he showed outward signs of serious illness. Hester’s husband under the assumed name Roger Chillingworth moved in and began to take care of Dimmesdale. Chillingworth soon discovered that Dimmesdale was Pearl’s father. So he began a revenge on Dimmes