美国文学——红字Unit 4 the Scarlet Letter
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Hester Prynne
ON A FIELD, SABLE, THE LETTER A, GULES.
B) Analysis of the image of Hester Prynne (Chapter 2)
1) Her appearance: a beautiful woman ﹡The young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance, on a large scale. She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam, and a face which， besides being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion, had the impresiveness belonging to a marked brow and deep black eyes.(p30) ﹡She was lady-like, too, after the manner of the feminine gentility of those days; characterized by a certain state and dignity, rather than by the delicate, evanescent, and indescribable grace, which is now recognized as its indication.(p30) ﹡Had there been a Papist among the crowd of Puritans, he might have seen in this beautiful woman, so picturesque in her attire and mien, and with the infant at her bosom, an object to remind him of the image of Divine Maternity,… (p31)
The symbolic significance of the scarlet letter “A”
Topic 4―Symbolic significance of the scarlet letter “A”
Different layers of symbolic meanings:
“Adultery”, “Able”. “Angel” “Admirable or Art, or Advance, even America”
Topic 3―Comment on the main characters
Hester:
1. reconstruct her life 2. never hide her character and identity 3. bear her humiliation with supreme dignity and her agony 4. submit to the punishment and perform acts of charity to those in trouble
2) Her character: brave and unyielding, to face her sin honestly and frankly
﹡… on the threshold of the prison-door, she repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air, as if by her own free-will.(p29) ﹡In a moment, however, wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbours. (p30) ﹡… haughty as her demeanour was, she perchance underwent an agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart had been flung into the street for them all to spurn and trample upon.(p31) ﹡ With almost a serene deportment, therefore, Hester Prynne passed through this portion of her ordeal, and came to a sort of scaffold, at the western extremity of the market-place.(p31)
Chillingworth:
He is a scholar, is a real villain, the embodiment of pure intellect, who commits “the unpardonable sin”.
Their different results:
Hester faces her sin honestly and frankly and accepts punishment, and gets new life with good morality. Dimmesdale hides his sin and suffers the condemnation of his inner heart and his soul is purified. Chillingworth is eager to revenge and become a real villain from a sufferer.
Topic 5―Study of the chapter
A) The main idea of Chapter 2
On a certain morning in the middle of the seventeenth century ◆ throng of men, intermixed with women ◆ the sentence of a legal tribunal ◆ Hester Prynne ◆ the scaffold ◆ a humiliation and an agony for three hours
The themes:
The story is seemingly simple, but it relates the allegory of sinners and the conflict between intellect and natural emotion so that we see not only the author’s judgment of the 17th century Puritan society but also his clear perception of human psychology and the human indictment in almost any human community. The thematic concern of the author is not so much about the sin itself as about the effect of the sin on the people involved and the society as a whole. Along with the fusion of the fundamental moral emphasis and human psychology, Hawthorne effectively uses symbolism to give the book much of its value.
I TOPIC: The Scarlet Letter―The Market of Place
II OBJECTIVES:
A) Introduction to the romance B) The main idea of the novel and the themes C) Comment on the main characters D) Symbolic significance of the scarlet letter “A” E) Study of the chapter ﹡The main idea of Chapter 2 ﹡Analysis of the image of Hester Prynne (Chapter 2) ﹡Stylistic features ﹡Narrative technique
Topic 2―The main idea of the novel and the themes
The main idea: Key words:
◆ An aging English scholar Chillingworth ◆ a scarlet letter “A” on one’s breast ◆ illicit child . ◆ to disguise as a physician and change one’s name ◆ the truth ◆ to reestablish fellowship ◆ to confess sin ◆ Pearl’s fate
Key words:
classic portrayal of Puritan America ◆ the passionate, forbidden love affair
◆
﹡It is about punishment, but not about crime.
Key words: ◆ to hide sin ◆ to wither spiritually as well as physically ◆ condemnation and purify ◆ to revenge ◆to accept punishment and get new life
revenge and Hester’s speculation on the possibilities of human condition.
◆ the complexity of human psychology
﹡ It is about adultery, but not about sex.
Topic 1―Introduction to theer
— A romance of psychological paradox
﹡ A romance of psychological paradox
Key words:
◆ effects or consequences of the sin ◆ the tension between society and individuals ◆ a sense of historical reality and an air of authenticity ◆ Dimmesdale’s remorse; Chillingworth’s psychological
Dimmesdale:
◆ He is a fallen Puritan priest, but a rising romantic celebrity. ◆ He undergoes the tragic experience of physical and spiritual
disintegration. ◆ He hides his sin and suffers the condemnation of his inner heart and his soul is purified. ◆ He undergoes the tragic experience of physical and spiritual disintegration. ◆ He owes his success to his mere eloquence, to his charisma. ◆ His power is rooted in inspiration, not in reasoning. ◆ His sermons are about himself. He has become his own message.
Hester Prynne
ON A FIELD, SABLE, THE LETTER A, GULES.
B) Analysis of the image of Hester Prynne (Chapter 2)
1) Her appearance: a beautiful woman ﹡The young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance, on a large scale. She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam, and a face which， besides being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion, had the impresiveness belonging to a marked brow and deep black eyes.(p30) ﹡She was lady-like, too, after the manner of the feminine gentility of those days; characterized by a certain state and dignity, rather than by the delicate, evanescent, and indescribable grace, which is now recognized as its indication.(p30) ﹡Had there been a Papist among the crowd of Puritans, he might have seen in this beautiful woman, so picturesque in her attire and mien, and with the infant at her bosom, an object to remind him of the image of Divine Maternity,… (p31)
The symbolic significance of the scarlet letter “A”
Topic 4―Symbolic significance of the scarlet letter “A”
Different layers of symbolic meanings:
“Adultery”, “Able”. “Angel” “Admirable or Art, or Advance, even America”
Topic 3―Comment on the main characters
Hester:
1. reconstruct her life 2. never hide her character and identity 3. bear her humiliation with supreme dignity and her agony 4. submit to the punishment and perform acts of charity to those in trouble
2) Her character: brave and unyielding, to face her sin honestly and frankly
﹡… on the threshold of the prison-door, she repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air, as if by her own free-will.(p29) ﹡In a moment, however, wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbours. (p30) ﹡… haughty as her demeanour was, she perchance underwent an agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart had been flung into the street for them all to spurn and trample upon.(p31) ﹡ With almost a serene deportment, therefore, Hester Prynne passed through this portion of her ordeal, and came to a sort of scaffold, at the western extremity of the market-place.(p31)
Chillingworth:
He is a scholar, is a real villain, the embodiment of pure intellect, who commits “the unpardonable sin”.
Their different results:
Hester faces her sin honestly and frankly and accepts punishment, and gets new life with good morality. Dimmesdale hides his sin and suffers the condemnation of his inner heart and his soul is purified. Chillingworth is eager to revenge and become a real villain from a sufferer.
Topic 5―Study of the chapter
A) The main idea of Chapter 2
On a certain morning in the middle of the seventeenth century ◆ throng of men, intermixed with women ◆ the sentence of a legal tribunal ◆ Hester Prynne ◆ the scaffold ◆ a humiliation and an agony for three hours
The themes:
The story is seemingly simple, but it relates the allegory of sinners and the conflict between intellect and natural emotion so that we see not only the author’s judgment of the 17th century Puritan society but also his clear perception of human psychology and the human indictment in almost any human community. The thematic concern of the author is not so much about the sin itself as about the effect of the sin on the people involved and the society as a whole. Along with the fusion of the fundamental moral emphasis and human psychology, Hawthorne effectively uses symbolism to give the book much of its value.
I TOPIC: The Scarlet Letter―The Market of Place
II OBJECTIVES:
A) Introduction to the romance B) The main idea of the novel and the themes C) Comment on the main characters D) Symbolic significance of the scarlet letter “A” E) Study of the chapter ﹡The main idea of Chapter 2 ﹡Analysis of the image of Hester Prynne (Chapter 2) ﹡Stylistic features ﹡Narrative technique
Topic 2―The main idea of the novel and the themes
The main idea: Key words:
◆ An aging English scholar Chillingworth ◆ a scarlet letter “A” on one’s breast ◆ illicit child . ◆ to disguise as a physician and change one’s name ◆ the truth ◆ to reestablish fellowship ◆ to confess sin ◆ Pearl’s fate
Key words:
classic portrayal of Puritan America ◆ the passionate, forbidden love affair
◆
﹡It is about punishment, but not about crime.
Key words: ◆ to hide sin ◆ to wither spiritually as well as physically ◆ condemnation and purify ◆ to revenge ◆to accept punishment and get new life
revenge and Hester’s speculation on the possibilities of human condition.
◆ the complexity of human psychology
﹡ It is about adultery, but not about sex.
Topic 1―Introduction to theer
— A romance of psychological paradox
﹡ A romance of psychological paradox
Key words:
◆ effects or consequences of the sin ◆ the tension between society and individuals ◆ a sense of historical reality and an air of authenticity ◆ Dimmesdale’s remorse; Chillingworth’s psychological
Dimmesdale:
◆ He is a fallen Puritan priest, but a rising romantic celebrity. ◆ He undergoes the tragic experience of physical and spiritual
disintegration. ◆ He hides his sin and suffers the condemnation of his inner heart and his soul is purified. ◆ He undergoes the tragic experience of physical and spiritual disintegration. ◆ He owes his success to his mere eloquence, to his charisma. ◆ His power is rooted in inspiration, not in reasoning. ◆ His sermons are about himself. He has become his own message.