Abstract：The Scarlet Letter of Hawthorne is generally regarded as the highest achievement in his literary career. It has attained much attention in American literary field since its publication. The thesis aims to analyze the religious influence on the creation of main characters in The Scarlet Letter. Firstly, I will introduce the religious views of Hawthorne. Secondly, I will analyze his religious ideas reflected on the main characters, and then make a conclusion on how author’s religious views affect the characters he creates. Hawthorne integrates his religious views into his novel consciously or unconsciously and expresses his opinions by novels. The significance of the article is that we can know The Scarlet Letter better, especially its religious meanings and religious themes. Meanwhile, it is beneficial for us to further study Hawthorne and his other works.
Keywords: Hawthorne; The Scarlet Letter; religious ideas; characters creation
摘要：霍桑的《红字》一经出版就在美国文学界获得了广大关注，已成为他的代表作。本篇文章旨在研究霍桑的宗教思想对于红字中主要人物塑造的影响。首先，介绍霍桑的主要宗教思想。其次，分析其宗教思想在塑造的主要人物中的体现。最后，总结作者的宗教思想对其作品中主要人物塑造的影响。霍桑在创作他的小说的时候会自觉或不自觉地把自己对宗教的思考融入在小说中，借助小说这种文学体裁表现他的思想。本文的意义在于我们能够更好地了解《红字》，特别是了解它的宗教意义和宗教主题。同时有助于我们进一步了解霍桑和他的其他作品。
关键词：霍桑； 红字； 宗教思想； 人物塑造
Contents
1. Introduction 1
2. Literature Review 1
2.1 Foreign studies 1
2.2 Domestic studies 1
3. The Religious Views of Hawthorne 4
3.1 Puritanism 4
3.2 Conflicting sentiments 4
4. Religious Ideas Reflected in Main Characters 5
4.1 Reflecting on Hester 5
4.2 Reflecting on Chilling Worth 7
4.4 Reflecting on Pearl 9
5. Conclusion 10
Works Cited 12
1. Introduction
Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most outstanding American romanticists in the nineteenth century, and one of the founders of the American literature as well. Since his first edition was published, many reviewers have taken a high assessment on his minds and tried to determine his standing status among the American writers because of his feathers of arts.
Hawthorne first gained his literary fame with the publication of his romances like The Scarlet Letter. His ancestors greatly influenced his writing. Many of his novels and stories, which tended to be about overbearing Puritan rulers, were inspired by his ancestors. So his novels were greatly influenced by religions, especially Puritan. However, his minds were influenced by other religions and people in his study life or his whole life. It is his complicated experience that contributes to his great novel ---The Scarlet Letter.
2. Literature Review
2.1 Foreign studies
The Scarlet Letter has caused great repercussions after being published in the literary world. The evaluation is mixed. Some literature review critics think it is an incident secular work like French literature, but some critics think “It occupies an important position in the history of literature in the United States, which is the first work in the United States to win the world reputation” (Richard 129). “The strong sense of sin and the superb psychological description created by Hawthorne take a new look for American literature” (Laurie Lanzen 47). Melville has said that the most attractive thing in the novel of Hawthorne is his description on the ugly things. 宗教思想对霍桑塑造《红字》主要人物的影响:http://www.chuibin.com/yingyu/lunwen_206642.html