英语论文网

” means “not bright” and “dale” means “valley”, so the name “Dimmesdale” hints that the minister’s inner mind is like a deep and hidden valley, inaccessible to the community(Tian Junwu, 1999: 101). The minister’s name again is symbolic of his estrangement from his congregation. Hester named her daughter “the name of great price” in the new testament, ‘purchased with all she had,-her mother’s only treasure’ (Nathaniel, Hawthorne.1996: 44-45). Actually Pearl is a kind of precious jewelry and the name indicates that little pearl is an extraordinary child and the striking difference will result in her isolation from her peers.
    In addition to setting and characters’ appearances, some special events and actions can embody loneliness, too. Dimmesdale speaking about his sinfulness was interpreted as humility and piety in religion. He did not trust anyone in his congregation. He often hid in his secret closed and tortured himself without pity. Such facts proved that the priest was isolated from the community. His death after his final preach in public might embody his abandonment by god. It was isolation between a Sinful priest and divine god. Pearl was a natural child and her birth was against the puritan laws and rules. Pearl was estranged from the human society but she was in harmony with the forest and all the wild things in it. ‘The great black forest …became the playmate of the lonely infant, as well as it knew how’ (Nathaniel, Hawthorne.1996:167). It was alienation and loneliness between man and society. Little Pearl acted like an imp and her mischievous behaviors were mysterious to her mother. Pearl’s father had no courage to admit her identity and Pearl would wash off her father’s kiss in a brook. The isolation between parents and the child revealed the alienation among human beings. Pearl was always by her mother side and she seemed to be oneness with her mother. This fact showed that Pearl had no friends, no father’s love and no attention from the society. She was growing in solitude.

Conclusion

    As far as his writing style is concerned, Hawthorne has contributed a lot to both American and world literature. He is the first American writer to define his works as Romances. His romantic writing is a landmark of the Romantic period in American literature, and his four romances enrich the world literature as well. Besides, Hawthorne is one of the forefathers of symbols.
    This thesis express loneliness by four characters, embody people’s psychology in the specifically society. At the same time, The scarlet letter is often used as an example to show Hawthorne’s skills in using symbols.
    Hawthorne’s contribution to symbolism also lies in the fact that he advised his contemporary Herman Melville to rewrite his Moby Dick, which turns out to be a great success by employing symbolism in the story. Hawthorne is also a master of psychological description. The science of psychoanalysis is based on Sigmund Freud’s theory of the instinctual drivers and C.G Jung’s theory of Collective Unconsciousness. The theories in psychoanalysis greatly influenced modern writers, and produced a fresh way of writing: stream- of- consciousness, which was popular in the 20th century. In fact, long before the term “psychoanalysis” came into being, Hawthorne had already begun to practice the technique of psychoanalytical writing to explore the inner mind of the characters. Ha