A Brief Study on the Symbolic Meaning of the Main Characters’ Name in The Scarlet Letter

Abstract

Abstract-As a great romantic novelist in American literature in the 19 th century and a central figure in the American Renaissance, Nathaniel Hawthorne is outstanding for his skillful employment of symbolism and powerful psychological insight. The Scarlet Letter, which is considered to be the greatest accomplishment of American short story and is often viewed as the first American symbolic and psychological novel, makes Nathaniel Hawthorne win incomparable position in American literature. With a brief introduction into The Scarlet Letter and a brief study on the two literary terms, i.e. symbol and symbolism, the paper attempts to expound Hawthorne's skillful employment of symbolism in his masterpiece through the analysis of the symbolic meaning of the main characters' name in this great novel.Index Terms-The Scarlet Letter, symbol, symbolism, character, name I. A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE SCARLET LETTERThe Scarlet Letter is the masterpiece of Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of the most significant and influential writers in American literature in the 19 th century. It is also regarded as the first symbolic novel in American literature for Hawthorne's skillful use of symbolism and allegory. In the novel, the settings (the scarlet letter A, the prison, the scaffold, the rosebush, the forest, the sunshine and the brook) and the characters' images, words and names are all endowed with profound symbolic meaning by Hawthorne. It is the superb employment of symbolism that helps readers to probe into the colorful inner world as well as the spiritual conflicts of the main characters and makes the novel more artistic and successful.The novel describes a love tragedy in the colonial times in Boston in the seventeenth century. An aging English scholar named Roger Chillingworth sends his beautiful young wife Hester Prynne to start their new life in New England. But when he arrives about two years later he is surprised to find his wife in pillory on the scaffold, holding a baby in her arms and wearing a scarlet letter on her breast. Disguising himself as a physician, Chillingworth discovers that the adulterer is Arthur Dimmesdale, the much-respected and brilliant young clergyman. Then Chillingworth begins his cruel revenge on the clergyman physically and mentally for seven years. Although Dimmesdale gets away from the punishment on the scaffold, he is condemned by his own conscience constantly and lives in utter misery. Gradually, Dimmesdale is worn out by the torture of the Puritan moral modes, his inner conflicts, his love for Hester and the ruthless revenge from Chillingworth. Different from Dimmesdale, Hester turns to be brave and positive toward the punishment and the scarlet letter A. Living in complete isolation from the community, Hester is determined to protect her lover's reputation and tries her best to reestablish her relationship with people in town on a friendly and honest basis. She works hard to support her daughter Pearl, gives her hand to people in need and finally regains respect, dignity and admiration. In the en...

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