浅析象征手法与《红字》中的两位人物姓名

【摘要】象征手法是小說《红字》最典型的文学特点。本文意在分析探究小说中两位主要人物的姓名在小说中的象征意义。从而更深刻地理解小说的象征意义及其内涵。

【关键词】象征主义 字母A 海斯特 珍珠

【Abstract】Symbolism is the most typical literature feature in The Scarlet Letter. This paper is intended to explore the symbolic meaning of the two characters' names in this novel by analyzing what they represent for .So that one can deeply understand the symbolic significance and the essence of this novel.

【Key words】Symbolism； Hester； Pearl

1. Introduction

The Scarlet Letter is the master work of Nathaniel Hawthorne， who is one of the most outstanding writers in romantic period in the history of American literature. Hawthorne is such a writer who has a profound thought and abundant imagination.The Scarlet Letter is the first symbolism novel in the history of American， and the attention and comments it arouses have lasted for more than one century .

The background of The Scarlet Letter is New England colonized by American Puritan in 17th century. The story happened in Boston about 200 years ago. It narrates a miserable love story in which the two lovers commit the adultery crime violating the strict rules formulated by puritan. the heroine of this novel Hester Prynne ，a pure and beautiful woman， has a marriage with disabled Roger Chillingworth unfortunately ， who is an old hypocritical scholar. After their marriage， Hester moves to New England by herself .Her husband disappears for more than two years with the rumor that he has dead in the sea. Hester never has the feeling of true love until she met the young， handsome and respectable minister in that region. They fall in love with each other quickly .Soon Hester is found pregnant and sent to prison as a result. Three months after her daughter is born， she is forced to be exposed publicly for three hours and sentenced to wear a scarlet “A” on her breast all her life. She raises her daughter by herself， suffering endless contemptuous look ， humiliation and torment from people around. Nathaniel Hawthorne has profound and sensitive insight and extraordinary imagination. Not only did he do well in analyze the mental world of characters to present their colorful and contradictory inner world， but also used plenty of symbolism in the novels so that he made a huge success.

2. Hester Prynne

2.1 Hester is The Symbol of Beauty and Warmth

Hester Prynne， one major character's name， is given much symbolic meaning. She is discarded to the new land alone by her hypocritical husband and she is the representative of strong American women. we can speculate her traits of character from her name—Hester. The English word “Hester” has two meanings： Firstly， it is very natural to associate it with Hestier since the two words are homophone. Hestier， in Greek mythology， is the sister of Zeus. She is a very pretty and kind-hearted Kitchen Godness. As we know， kitchen is the symbolism of warmth and passion. Thus， in this sense， what information the name -Hester transmits to readers is that Hester Prynne ought to be a woman of passion and beauty. So，the unique appearance of Hester easily occurs to readers image of “Holy Maternity” Whats more， in the novel， Hester is a seamstress for a living， wherever she goes， she always bring people warmth ， raising her daughter pear by herself ， and she assists the poor around all the time. All of what she does add some warmth to the cold society.

2.2 Hester is the Symbol of Haste

The pronunciation of Hester is also similar with hastier. The attitude of Hester towards love and marriage is indeed hastier. First of all， In her youth， in a rush ，she is persuaded to marry with Roger-a hypocritical scholar without true love. Roger devotes himself to his study day and day，neglecting of showing loving care for Hester and he has no passion to livelihood. In this circumstance， Hester has no feeling about family life and she has to live life alone and lonely. Moreover， when she comes to Boston， Hester hastily falls in love with the young minister and gives birth to a baby without considering the consequence it will bring， for which she is imposed guilty of adultery. It is haste that brings Hester the disgrace and the scarlet letter “A” which stands for adulteress. In terms of sex， women are usually more prudent than men no matter from the angle of traditional moral concept or psychology. However， Hester is more imprudent than the young minister. Hence， “haste”， with the similar pronunciation of “Hester”， is another symbolic meaning of the character's name.

3. Pearl

3.1 Pearl is the Living Symbol of the Scarlet Letter “A”

Pearl is witness of agony of Hester and Chillingworth have suffered. she was born in a dark and gloomy prison. Her mother has been suffering prejudice and discriminate from common people around her when she is a infant. She accompanies her mother in her lengthy and endless time and suffers isolation from common people . At the same time， pearl witness her parents distressing experiences that they love each other but they can not be together. Just as purl can reflect a persons shadow， the existence of pearl is a constant reminder of the crime Hester and Chillingworth have committed and urges them to purify their soul， turning over a new leaf. Little pearl has showed great interest in the “A” on the breast of Hester. She clutch “A” unconsciously and flings leaves and grass at it .Still that much matters about the scarlet letter “A” as well as when she finds Hester removes the letter from breast in the forest， Pearl starts screaming and refuses to move until her mother reattaches the letter. All of those admonish Hester and Chillingworth the crime they have committed constantly， making them feel miserable and guilty. It is the existence of Pearl that makes Roger Chillingworth have the courage to admit his crime in public.

3.2 Pearl is the Symbol of Value.

The word “pearl” roots in Bible. Pearl， in Holy Bible， is of such great value that one would “sold all he had and bought it.”（Matthew 13-14）. the heaven is like the merchant who is seeking for pearl and he or she is so anxious to seek out the valuable pearl that he or she would sold all things for it as payment .Hester names her daughter after pearl is to implicate her child is extremely valuable and is the mere fortune for her as a mother. In order to protect the only precious treasure ，the parents would sacrifice all their fame and normal life —her father have to live a suffering and humiliating life and her mother loses honor and freedom of own life value.

Pearl brings joy and happiness to Hester's life， and makes her to keep on living. After Hester obtains the permission to keep Pearl with her， Mistress Hibbins invites her to meet the Black Man in the forest. However， Hester refuses because she must keep watching over her little Pearl for herself. It is pearl that saves Hester from “Satan's snare”. Because she might have been immersed in those who are doomed. Hawthorne compares pearl to lots of beautiful things. Not only is she spiritual support of Hester， but also the token of American spirit. Pearls smile comforts Hesters soul at the same time brings vigor and vitality. Whats more， the pronunciation of pearl is similar to purl which implicates that Hawthorne compares pearl to purl .the appearance of little pearl is full of mystery， just as mysterious as source place of purl.

3.3 Pearl is the Symbol of Moral.

One of Pearls most important symbolic meaning is the role of moral， that is to say， Hester and Dimmesdale are ought to be undertake the due obligations for the sin they have committed. When pearl is a baby， she often tried to touch the scarlet letter “A” carrying on the chest of her mother. The existence of Pearl and her behavior are a reminder to Hester of the wrong things that she did in the past. Just as what the novel presented： “The child's whole appearance irresistibly reminded the beholder of the token which Hester was doomed to wear upon her bosom.” （Nathaniel Hawthorne 1996） In addition， Pearl is the only person who enables Dimmesdale to recognize the sin he has committed and the sense of moral. Pearl keeps asking Dimmesdale to take Hester and Pearl by the hand. At last， when Dimmesdale climbs the steps and confesses his sin， pearl kisses him， accepting her father and terminating his punishment. So， Pearl， in this sense， is the s moral in this novel.

4. Conclusion

Hawthorne have approve of Emersons opinion that “every natural fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact”. So he makes his novels performed on over one level of meaning. This rich and unique symbolism technique contributes to an independent literature genre： the symbolic novel， which exerts a great impact on American Literature.

References：

[1]Hawthorne N.The Scarlet Letter[M].Beijing：The commercial Press，1996：1-255.

[2]常耀信.A Survey of American Literature[M].天津：南開大学

[3]韩维，翟建华.美国文学史纲[M].济南：山东友谊出版社，1980：58.

[4]罗伯特·斯勒比.美国文学的循环[M].北京：北京师范大学出版社，1981：77.

[5]纳撒尼尔·霍桑.红字[M].广州：花城出版社，1983：45.

作者简介：王赛南（1990.4.12-），汉族，黑龙江哈尔滨双城人，硕士研究生在读，研究方向：外国语言学及应用语言学。