_Nathaniel_Hawthorne

A19thcenturyAmericannovelistandshortstorywriter,andakeyfigureinthedevelopmentofAmericanliteratureforhistalesofthenation’scolonialhistory.NathanielHawthorne(1804-1864)BiographicalIntroduction•Bornin1804inSalem,Massachusetts.•HewasadescendantofalonglineofPuritanancestorsincludingJohnHathorne,apresidingmagistrateintheSalemwitchtrials.(塞勒姆女巫审判案)Hawthorne’splaceofbirthCollege1821-1825•AttendedBowdoinCollegein1821;•Friends:-futurepoetHenryWadsworthLongfellow-FranklinPiercewhobecamethe14thPresidentofTheUnitedStates.•Hawthornewashiredin1839asaweigherandgaugerattheBostonCustomHouse.SalemCustomHousewhereHawthorneworked•HejoinedthetranscendentalistutopiancommunityatBrookFarmin1841;•Thisutopianexperimentaimedtopromoteeconomicself-sufficiencyandtranscendentalistprinciples.•HislaterworksshowsomeTranscendentalistinfluence,includingabeliefinindividualchoiceandconsequence,andanemphasisonsymbolism.•In1852,hewrotethecampaignbiographyofhisoldfriendFranklinPierce.WithPierce’selectionasPresident,Hawthornewasrewardedin1853withthepositionofUnitedStatesconsulinLiverpool.•In1857,hisappointmentended;•Hediedin1864,afewyearsafterreturningtoAmerica.Worksa)Twice-ToldTales1837b)MossesfromanOldManse1843c)TheSnow-Image,andOtherTwice-ToldTales1852Collectionsofshortstories《故事重述》《雪人和其他重讲一遍的故事》Hisfourmajorromancesornovelswrittenbetween1850and1860•TheScarletLetter《红字》(1850)•TheHouseoftheSevenGables《七个尖角阁的房子》(1851)•TheBlithedaleRomance《福谷传奇》(1852)•TheMarbleFaun《玉石雕像》(1860)•TheBirth-Mark《胎记》(1843)•Rappaccini’sDaughter《拉帕奇尼的女儿》(1844)•MyKinsman,MajorMolineux《我的亲戚莫里诺少校》(1832)•TheMinister’sBlackVeil《教长的黑面纱》(1836)•YoungGoodmanBrown《好小伙子布朗》(1835)MuchofHawthorne’sworkissetincolonialNewEngland,andmanyofhisshortstorieshavebeenreadasmoralallegoriesinfluencedbyhisPuritanbackground.Romance浪漫小说•Prosefictionthatisconceivedintermsoffancifulandidealistic,ratherthanintermsofobservationandfaithfuldescriptionoffact.Hawthornestatesthatanovel“ispresumedtoaimateveryminutefidelity,notmerelytothepossible,buttotheprobableandordinarycourseofman’sexperience.”whilearomancemustkeepto“thetruthofhumanheart------hasfairlyarighttopresentthattruthundercircumstances…hemaysomanagehisatmosphericalmediumastobringoutormellowthelightsanddeepenandenrichtheshadowsofthepicture.”•罗曼史所涉及的领域应该是介于真实世界与神话世界之间，在这里真实与想象相遇且相互影响作用。因此，他所写的罗曼史是现实与想象的结合，既不反映现实，也不全然流于想象。在霍桑的眼中，它是得体严肃又保守的，是一种“边缘”文学。正是借助于这一特殊的文学体裁，他才得以在作品中驰骋想象，深入剖析人物的内心世界，探求人性的真实。•主题•与文明而古老的欧洲相比，美国“没有阴影，没有古风，没有秘传，没有绚丽而又昏默的冤孽，只有光天之下的枯燥乏味的繁荣”，给作家提供的素材极少。因此，霍桑把注意力转向过去，力图借助想象去挖掘历史上对创作有益的素材，以便“把过去了的时代与我们面前一瞬即逝的现在联系起来”。这也暗示了他以古喻今的创作意图。但是出于清教徒的审慎，霍桑采取了浪漫主义小说的创作形式。他认为只有这样，作者才能以自己选择的方式构思和创作，而又不必拘泥于细节的真实，才能在“真实的世界”和“仙境”之间找到现实与想象得以相结合的“中间地带”。霍桑的伟大正在于他能以表面温和而实质犀利的笔锋暴露黑暗、讽刺邪恶、揭示真理。•I.TheScarletLetterByNathanielHawthorneTheScarletLetterTheScarletLetter•PlotSummary•Settingtime:Middleofthe17thcenturyplace:Boston,Massachusetts•Protagonist:HesterPrynne•Narrator:Thenarratorisanunnamedcustomhousesurveyorwhowritessome200yearsaftertheeventshedescribestookplace.HehasmuchincommonwithHawthornebutshouldnotbetakenasadirectmouthpiecefortheauthor’sopinions.MajorcharactersinTheScarletLetterHesterPrynneArthurDimmesdaleRogerChillingworthdaughterloverhusbandheroinePearlHesterPrynneRogerChillingworth•ArthurDimmesdaleWhatdidshebearinherarms?ChapterOne:ThePrisonDoor•AlargecrowdofPuritansstandsoutsideoftheprison,waitingforthedoortoopen.Theprisonisdescribedasa,woodenjail...alreadymarkedwithweather-stainsandotherindicationsofagewhichgaveayetdarkeraspecttoitsbeetle-browedandgloomyfront.Theironontheprisonisrustingandcreatesanoverallappearanceofdecay.•Outsidethebuilding,nexttothedoor,arosebushstandsinfullbloom.Whydidshefirstimpulsetoclasptheinfantcloselytoherbosom?Whentheyoungwoman—themotherofthischild—stoodfullyrevealedbeforethecrowd,itseemedtobeherfirstimpulsetoclasptheinfantcloselytoherbosom;notsomuchbyanimpulseofmotherlyaffection,asthatshemighttherebyconcealacertaintoken,whichwaswroughtorfastenedintoherdress.Inamoment,however,wiselyjudgingthatonetokenofhershamewouldbutpoorlyservetohideanother,shetookthebabyonherarm,and,withaburningblush,andyetahaughtysmile,andaglancethatwouldnotbeabashed,lookedaroundathertownspeopleandneighbours.WhyistheprisonthesettingofChapter1andwhatistheimplicationofthedescriptionoftheroses?InthemannerthatHawthornedescribesit,theprisonembodiestheunyieldingseverityofpuritanlaw:old,rusted,yetstrongwithaniron-clampedoakendoor.Puritanlawiscoatedintherustoftraditionandobsoletepurpose.Butdespitetheevolutionofsociety,thelawshavenotkeptup.Asaresult,thedoorremainstightlyshutandiron-clamped.Itseemsitwilltakeasuperhumanforcetosomehowweakenthemoresthatcontrolthesocietyinwhichthestorywilltakeplace.•Therosebushitselfisanobvioussymbolofpassionandthewilderness;itsymbolizestheabilityofnaturetoendureandoutlastman’sactivities;•Rosesappearseveraltimesinthecourseofthestory,alwayssymbolizingHester'sinabilitytocontrolherpassionandtameitsothatshecanassimilatetoPuritansociety.ChapterTwo:TheMarketPlace•SummaryandAnalysis•AppearanceofHesterPrynne(paragraph2onpage30)•People’sattitu