美国文学中重点篇章美国文学中重点篇章.docVIP

The Scarlet Letter An aging scholar, Chillingworth sends his beautiful young wife (being born into a poor country family, marrying the scholar to survive) Hester Prynne（海丝特普琳）to make their new home in New England. Two years later. He comes to New England, he wife has given birth to a baby girl. As a punishment for her sin of adultery, she is made to wear the letter “A” on her dress over her bosom. It is a sign of shame. As Prynne refuses to name the father of her child, in order to find who her lover is, her husband disguises himself as a physician, changes his name to Roger Chillingworth. Gradually, he discovers that her lover is the much-admired brilliant young clergyman, Arthur Dimmesdale. Without telling Dimmesdale who he is and what he has found out, he begins to torture him in a cruel way, though there had never been love between he and his wife. The Clergyman suffered horribly from guilt because he does not confess his sin. The weight of his guity seems to destroy both his body and his spirit. In the end, he dies in the arm of Prynne while confessing his sin at a public gathering. Chillingworth also dies. Comment 1 .Hawthorn portrays Hester as an aristocratic and sensitive young woman who meets her sentence with dignity and courage. When she is set free, she does not flee the community. She supports herself and her child by doing fancy needlework, devotes her life to her child and helping the sick and the poor, and wins the admiration and love of her fellowmen again. So, The Scarlet Letter is a hymn on the moral growth of the woman. The scarlet letter at first is a token of shame, Adultery, then the genuine sympathy and help she offers to her fellow villagers change it to Able. Later in the end, A appears in the sky, signifying Angel. Her life eventually acquires a real significance when she establishes a meaningful relationship with her fellowmen. 2. Hawthorne maintains that the best policy for man is to be true, honest and ever ready to show one’s worst t