The Scarlet Letter紅字分析鑒賞專題培訓(xùn)課件

1、The Scarlet Letter紅字分析鑒賞contents The brief introduction of Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Scarlet LetterThe Scarlet Letter and Puritanism Biblical Prototypes in The Scarlet LetterConclusionr. Heideggers Experiments(18041864)4Born July 4, 1804entered Bowdoin Collegein 1821first workFanshawe, in 1828marr

2、ying Sophia Peabody in 1842Scarlet Letterin 1850DiedMay 19, 1864Biography:5A family with a long Puritan tradition His father, a ship captain, died of yellow fever at sea when Nathaniel was only four. His mother became overly protective and pushed him toward relatively isolated pursuits. Hawthornes c

3、hildhood left him shy and bookish, which molded his life as a writer. Family Background:6American novelistShort story writerA central figure in the American RenaissanceGreatest Romance writerPioneering psychological novelistMoral novelistIdentity :7Style typical romantic writera man of literary craf

4、tsmanship，extraordinary inthe use of symbolthe use of ambiguityrevelation of characters psychologythe use of supernaturalThe symbol serves as a weapon to attack reality. It can be found everywhere in his writingto keep the reader in the world of uncertainty multiple point of view Major Works :of mor

5、al choices.1. The Scarlet Letter紅字2. The House of the Seven Gables七個(gè)尖角閣的房子3. The Blithedale Romance福谷傳奇4. The Marble Faun 玉石雕像5. Twice-Told Tales 故事重述 6. Snow Image and Other Stories雪人及其他故事重述Hawthornes influenceHe was a major American writer and the greatest writer living in the 19th century. He was

6、 regarded as a pioneer of psychological novelist and a master of symbolism. With the publication of The Scarlet Letter, he secured his position in the literary history forever, and he influenced many writers in his time and later generations, such as Herman Melville, Henry James, William Dean Howell

7、s and William Faulkner etc.Criticism“Nathaniel Hawthornes reputation as a writer is very pleasing fact, because his writing is not good for anything, and this is a tribute to the man. ”-Ralph Waldo Emerson“The fine thing in Hawthorne is that he cared for the deeper psychology, and that, in his way,

8、he tried to become familiar with it.”-Henry JamesPuritanisminfluencedHawthornegreatly. ThespiritofPuritanism could be seen in nearly all his works, suchasevil, Calvin system, andspiritualizationandsoon playedanimportantroleinalmostallhisworks.Hawthornes points of view and subject (1)a. He seemed to

9、be haunted by his sense of sin and evil all his life. He had a black vision of life and human beings. In almost every book he wrote, he discussed sin and evil.Evil exists in the human heart (“Earths Holocaust浩劫”)Everyone possesses some evil secret (“Young Goodman Brown”) Everyone seems to cover up h

10、is innermost evil (“The Ministers Black Veil”) Evil seems to be mans birthmark胎記. (The Birthmark) b. To Hawthorne sin will get punished. The House of the Seven Gables is an appalling fictional version of Hawthornes belief that the “wrong-doing of one generation lives into the successive ones.” (一代的惡

11、行會(huì)延續(xù)至后代）c. One source of evil that Hawthorne was concerned most is overreaching intellect. His intellectual characters are usually villains罪犯, dreadful because devoid缺乏 of fellow feeling.Hawthornes points of view and subject (2)d. He complained about “the poverty of materials” in America. He took a

12、great interest in history and antiquity. e. Because of “the poverty of materials” and his Puritan prudence節(jié)儉, he was convinced that romance was the predestined注定的 form of American Narratives. Many of his works are inspired by Puritan New England. The Scarlet LetterIt is a full-length novel .The them

13、e of the novel is the colonial times two hundred years ago.It exposes the cruelty of Social statute , the deception欺詐 of religious and the hypocrisy of moral in 19th century.Main charactersa. Hester Prynne 海絲特白蘭b. Arthur Dimmesdale 阿瑟丁梅斯代爾c. Roger Chillingworth 羅杰奇靈沃斯d. Pearl 珠兒The Scarlet Letter an

14、d Puritanism The Puritans were a group of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries, including, but not limited to, English Calvinists. Puritanism in this sense was founded by John Calvin from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement

15、within the Church of England.ChristianityCatholicsProtestantsCalvinistsMethodists AnglicansBaptistsPuritansHawthome was born in a declining noble family in Salem, Massachusetts, New England. Salem, his hometown, has ever been the place where Puritanism forces were rampant and several generations of

16、his ancestors were fanatic Puritans; therefore, the Puritanism thought has a deep-rooted effect on Hawthome. The novel The Scarlet Letter by Hawthome reflects the Calvinistic thought of Original Sin. It also expresses Hawthomes devout and doubtful attitude to ethics and morality of Puritanism. Heste

17、r Prynne was a woman who committed adultery, which is representation of the evil of human nature, and cannot be accepted by the society at that time and Puritans. Hester betrayed her husband and went against the principle of honesty on Puritan, so she must accept the severe punishment in the Puritan

18、 society at that time. Hawthorne deeply gave the heroine infinite sympathy because she couldn t enjoy real love, happiness and normal life while he described the atonement of Hester, which represents Hawthome s resentment to the fact that Puritanism constrains the human nature . “We have wronged eac

19、h other, mine was the first wrong, when I betrayed thy budding youth into a false and unnatural relation with my decay .” “我們彼此都讓對(duì)方受了委屈,是我先委屈了你，我把你含苞的青春同我這朽木錯(cuò)誤地、不自然地嫁接在一起，從而斷送了你?！癉immesdale was selfish and false, and lived in the contradictory and misery state accompanying by the criminal psychology

20、. He was straggling on the edge of the spirit and the flesh coming breakdown, and he was beat and lashed by the so called articles of religion“the gory whip at every moment, which caused him not to get peace even for a moment. It must be considered that he continued to be engaged in the pure mission

21、 of a priest with the criminal body should be a great affront（冒犯） to God and a deception to the followers. Eventually, Dimmesdale told the secret in mind with divine courage,henceforth, he obtains peaceful and the newborn of spirit. At the end of the novel, he died tragically in confession and atone

22、ment and became a victim in religious monasticism(修道院生活方式) . Chillingworth, as a victim was turned into a mischief-maker, even a more severe sinner. He is calm on the surface, but is wicked in mind, and when he knew his wifes unchastity（不貞）, he was filled with revengeful ideas in his mind. He depend

23、ed on wisdom to become a demon by himself for seven years; he stayed in the same room with Dimmesdale cunningly to ravage and wreck the pained heart, and he took this as the goal of the living, and then he tormented Dimmesdale by means of wicked and masterly measures to gobble up his soul and had re

24、ached the extremely ruthless degree. May God forgive us both! We are not, Hester, the worst sinners in the world. There is one worse than even the polluted priest! That old mans revenge has been blacker than my sin. He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart. Thou and I, Hester, n

25、ever did so! ”愿上帝饒恕我們倆吧！海絲特，我們并不是世上最壞的罪人。還有一個(gè)人，甚至比受到玷污的教士還要壞！那老人的復(fù)仇比我的罪過(guò)更見(jiàn)不得人。他陰險(xiǎn)地凌辱一顆神圣不可侵犯的心靈。你和我，海絲特，從來(lái)沒(méi)干過(guò)這種事！”For Pearl，likewise, this character hints Hawthomes skeptic feeling to Puritanism. Firstly，on the costumes（服裝）, she disobeyed the requirements in Puritanisms homespun wearing, and worn th

26、e bright and glittering “Bizarre(奇異的) dress” by Hester. Secondly, for herself-willed and her inclinations in nature, she is secure from any restraint from the religious rituals, which made her mother to consider that she should be a girl from the other world. She should be a flower, a sunlight, and

27、is bright and with dazzling brightness in the gloomy and dark society ruled by Puritanism. Pearl herself should be a living witness of Hesters guilt and a living scarlet letter. But the fresh and free life of Pearl described by Hawthome became a kind of symbol to current Puritanism society. At the e

28、nd of the novel, Pearl left England to Europe, which announced an affirmation from the author that Pearl would be unable to obtain happiness in the strict and severe Puritanism society.The painstaking description of the main characters in the work also reflects Hawthornes inner character,and is the

29、reflection of his personal views in ethics and moral. Hawthome shows doubt to religions kindness and is unwilling to give up bondage of creed.Biblical Prototypes in The Scarlet LetterMany scholars have pointed out that Adam and Eve were the hero and heroine, Dimmesdale and Hesters biblical prototype

30、s. Human ancestors degenerate because of a longing for knowledge, while Dimmesdale and Hester fall because of the pursuit of love. They all commit original sins. The Bible begins with the first book of Genesis. Before Eves created, everything goes easy in the Garden of Eden. After she shows up, the

31、obedient Adam has started to stir and the embodiment of devil, the snake, appears. On this occasion, Eve is inconsistent with the Garden of Eden. But why did God create her? At that time, Adam was just the accessory of God or the object of the nature world, he could barely know himself, because ther

32、e was nothing but deities and objects. There was no human being who could be his mirror. So Eve was sent to the Garden of Eden. Eve ultimately failed to resist the temptation from the snake and ate the forbidden fruit, and she persuaded Adam to do so. Adam did, and then he found out that he was not

33、an object in nature and he had the ability to tell right from wrong. This indicates that the state that the blending of human and nature in the Garden of Eden came to an end. If there was no betrayal of Eve, people may never have self-awareness. Eves degenerate gave Adam the power to tell right from

34、 wrong and made him a real human being. So Eve is the mother of degraded intelligent human, is the source of life.Hester walked into Dimmesdales life with the same sacred mission. Like Eve essentially doesnt belong to the Garden of Eden, Hester essentially doesnt belong to Boston where religious inf

35、luence is significant to people. Shes passionate, bold and rebellious. Her arrival brakes the peace of the land and predicts the coming of sin. Before Dimmesdale met Hester, his life was peaceful. Everyday he repeated preaching. He had no life goals. He couldnt know the real happiness of life. He wa

36、s just a tool for the upper class of the religion to take control of the lower class. So we can see that, Dimmesdale seems like he only has a human body but doesnt have a heart. Hes just like Adam before eating the forbidden fruit. With the arrival of Hester, Dimmesdales humanity begins to germinate

37、. He finally experiences the happiness from love. He finally understands the meaning of life. Hester is the one who gives Dimmesdale vitality and helps him to be a man who can be able to feel. In this case, Hester is the incarnation of Eve, the source of life.Here are some sentences that prove it. A

38、t chapter 18, A Flood of Sunshine, Hester persuades Dimmesdale to flee from Boston with her and little Pearl. After some thinking, he agrees. And he says,“ O Hester, thou art my better angel! I seem to have flung myself-sick, sin-strained, and sorrow-blackened-down upon these forest-leaves, and to h

39、ave risen up all made anew, and with new powers to glorify Him that hath been merciful! This is already the better life! Why did we not find it sooner?”“??！赫斯特你真是我的好天使！我原來(lái)似乎已把自己的身子- 那多病、罪孽玷污以及由于悲傷而受到損害的身子- 拋在這林中的落葉上了，可再站起來(lái)時(shí)卻煥然一新了，有了新的力量去贊美慈悲的上帝！這已經(jīng)是更美好的生活了！為什么我們沒(méi)有早發(fā)現(xiàn)呢？”At chapter 23 The Revelation of

40、 the Scarlet Letter, when he stands upon the platform of the pillory, he tells people he is the one who commits adultery with Hester. “At last! At last! I stand upon the spot where, seven years since, I should have stood; here, with this woman, whose arm, more than the little strength wherewith I ha

41、ve crept hitherward, sustains me, at this dreadful moment, from groveling down upon my face!”“我終于- 終于站到七年前便應(yīng)該站的地方來(lái)了。跟這個(gè)女人站在這里了，現(xiàn)在正是她以那比我爬到這里來(lái)的綿薄力量大一些的力量，在這可怕的時(shí)刻支撐著我，使我不至于撲面摔倒在地?！?After eating the forbidden fruit, God asks Eve what she has done, Eve answered, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”

42、 Like Eve, Hester admits what she has done directly and she would never tell people the name of Pearls father. Shes willing to protect Dimmesdale from being hurt. We can see her unyielding attitude towards life through this case. As for Adam, when God asks him whether he has eaten of the tree, he sa

43、ys, “the woman who thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” It seems like Adam doesnt directly admit the mistake he made. Hes kind of blaming Eve for giving him the apple. Dimmesdales just like Adam, hes too cowardly to admit his sin.Because Adam and Eve eat the apple of t

44、he tree of knowledge, God punishes them.“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.And onto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of

45、thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field” Like Adam and

46、 Eve, Dimmesdale and Hester also get punished. In both cases, sin results in expulsion and suffering. Hester is compelled to stand only a space of three hours on the platform of the pillory and thereafter to wear the mark of shame- the infamous letter A upon her bosom, to move to the edge of the com

47、munity, and worst of all, to be alienated from the society. She was expelled to the outskirts of Boston. In this sense, Hester has been expelled from her paradise like Eve who is driven out of the Paradise God provides. She sins, and according to traditional Puritanism, this act shuts her off foreve

48、r from Paradise. Unlike Hester who is damned by society, Dimmesdale is damned by himself. He is too cowardly to stand with Hester and their daughter, openly admits his sin, and accepts the punishment. Therefore, for the most part, he suffers from a spiritual ostracism because he remains fully a part

49、 of the society, continuing to preach sermons and maintaining his congregants respect. The more people show their respect, the more hes suffering. Furthermore, as a great servant of God, he is obligatory to tell the truth, but he doesnt. In addition, hes been tortured by the evil-minded revenger Chi

50、llingworth. Once Hester asks him, “The people reverence thee, and surely thou wokest good among them! Doth this bring thee no comfort?” “人們尊敬你是你為他們做了好事！這一點(diǎn)不能給你安慰嗎？”“More misery, Hester! -Only the more misery! As concerns the good which I may appear to do, I have no faith in it. It must needs to be a

51、 delusion. What can a ruined soul, like mine, effect towards the redemption of other souls? -or a polluted soul, towards their purification? And as for the peoples reverence, would that it were turned to scorn an hatred! ”“赫斯特，這使我更痛苦- 只有更痛苦！至于說(shuō)我似乎做了善事，我是不相信的，那肯定是欺騙。像我這樣一個(gè)靈魂毀滅了的人還能在拯救別人的靈魂上起什么作用嗎？或者說(shuō)

52、，一個(gè)污染了的靈魂還能使別人的靈魂精華嗎？至于人們對(duì)我的尊敬，我但愿它變?yōu)檩p蔑和憎恨！Canst thou deem it, Hester, a consolation, that I must stand up in my pulpit, and meet so many eyes turned upward to my face, as if the light of heaven were beaming from it! -must see my flock hungry for the truth, and listening to my words as if a tongue o

53、f Pentecost were speaking. and then look inward, and discern the black reality of what they idolize? I have laughed, in bitterness and agony of heart, at the contrast between what I seem and what I am! And Satan laughs at it!”我必須站在我的布道壇上，接受那么多望著我臉孔的眼睛，似乎天國(guó)之光就是從那兒發(fā)出來(lái)的一樣！我還必須看著我那渴求真理的教區(qū)會(huì)眾，而他們傾聽(tīng)我的話，就像傾

54、聽(tīng)五旬節(jié)火舌在說(shuō)話一樣-然后，我再看看自己的內(nèi)心，看看他們所崇拜的偶像的丑惡真像，赫斯特，你能認(rèn)為，這是一種安慰嗎？我在內(nèi)心痛苦和煩惱的時(shí)候，曾為我的表里不一而暗自發(fā)笑！撒旦也對(duì)此感到可笑！”The interior remorse and the exterior torture along with the inability to confess his sinful act of passion lead to the psychological and physical destruction of the hypocritical minister. According to No

55、rthrop Frye, theres a biblical U-Shaped circulation which starts from paradise to crimes to suffering to repentance to salvation. The bible stories always reach a happy ending after those tragic suffering, so Frye calls Bible a divine comedy.This also happens in The Scarlet Letter. But the ending is

56、 mixed with happiness and pain. Although Hester has suffered a lot, her sin doesnt lead her to degenerate. On the contrary, it leads her to a moral growth. She intends to do good for the colony that once banishes her, more for her clear conscience than for the purpose to return to the society. In so

57、rrow and seclusion Hester grows stronger. Her charity to the poor, her comfort to the broken-hearted, her brave presence in times of trouble are the direct result of her search for salvation. As for Dimmesdale, after 7-year psychological torture, he decides to tell people the truth, and let people s

58、ee the scarlet letter A which is imprinted in his flesh. After doing so, hes relieved from the torture. Why is the ending painful? Because, they have decided to flee from Boston by ship after the Election Sermon. But what happened is that after Dimmesdale tells people the truth, he dies. And Hester

59、will never live the life she has always wanted to. Hawthornes contradictory perspective of religion and pessimistic attitude towards life make him doesnt put a happy ending between Dimmesdale and Hester. But in the book, he has already creates a Garden of Eden of their own in that city fulfilled wit

60、h gloomy religious atmosphere. The Garden of Eden created by God in the Bible is the paradise in heaven. It is a garden full of water, trees and animals. People there live in harmony. There is no worries and no dangers of being dead. In The Scarlet Letter, the forest is the Garden of Eden. There are