纳撒尼尔·霍桑的文学思想

创作理念
霍桑认为:与文明而古老的欧洲相比,美国“没有阴影,没有古风,没有秘传,没有绚丽而又昏默的冤孽,只有光天之下的枯燥乏味的繁荣”,给作家提供的素材极少。因此,霍桑把注意力转向过去,力图借助想象去挖掘历史上对创作有益的素材,以便“把过去了的时代与我们面前一瞬即逝的现在联系起来”。这也暗示了他以古喻今的创作意图。但是出于清教徒的审慎,霍桑采取了浪漫主义小说的创作形式。他认为只有这样,作者才能以自己选择的方式构思和创作,而又不必拘泥于细节的真实,才能在“真实的世界”和“仙境”之间找到现实与想象得以相结合的“中间地带”。霍桑的伟大正在于他能以表面温和而实质犀利的笔锋暴露黑暗、讽刺邪恶、揭示真理。
作品特点
描写社会和人性的阴暗面是霍桑作品的突出特点,这与加尔文教关于人的“原罪”和“内在堕落”的理论的影响是分不开的。霍桑是心理小说的开创者,擅长剖析人的“内心”。他着重探讨道德和罪恶的问题,主张通过善行和自忏来洗刷罪恶、净化心埋茄简灵,从而得到拯救。然而霍桑并非全写黑暗,他在揭露社会罪恶和人的劣根性的同时,对许多善良的主人公寄予极大的同情。正如他的朋友、伟大作家麦尔维尔)(Herman Melville)所指出的,霍桑的黑暗使在这黑弯裤暗中不停前进的黎明显得更加明亮。霍桑对美国文学的发展做出了很大的贡献。他对亨利·詹姆斯、福克纳及马拉默德等后代作家的影响是显而易见的。纳瞎
霍桑的作品想象丰富、结构严谨。他除了进行心理分析与描写外,还运用了象征主义手法。他的构思精巧的意象,增添了作品的浪漫色彩,加深了寓意。但他的作品中也不乏神秘晦涩之处。

评论家对霍桑(Nathani

Hawtho门常爱安神配义rne Writing Style

霍桑对象征主义的诠释

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a prominent early American Author who contributed greatly to th360问答e evolution of modern American literature. A New England native, Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804 and died on May 19, 1864 in New Hampshire. An avid seaman, Haw级宽想敌掌整老角教thorne's father died in 1808 when 议守别及判阿举施Nathaniel Hawthorne was only a young child. After his father's death, Hawth供师集位激orne showed a keen interest in his fathe投程镇布战应态物革除斤r's worldwide nautical adventures and often read the logbooks his father had comp孔iled from sailing abroad. Hawthorne was a descendant of a long line of New England Puritans, w杂hich sparked hi终星s interest in the Puritan way of life. After he graduated from Bowdoin College in 1825, Hawthorne returned to his home in Salem were he began to write in semi-seclusion. Hawthorne published his first nov机看程述祖缩需随找el, Fansha营we in 1828. I理乡修副万备希n 1839, Hawthorne was appointed weigher and gauger at the Boston Custom House. He later married 以东洋Sophia Amelia Peabody in 1842. In the following years, Hawth径见草音怕地大举露员义orne wrote his more famous novels which shaped his own literary styl友真渐征由阿罪第装妈e, as well as the ge语帮具西矿年战态nres of the romance novel and short story. Eventually, Hawthorne developed a s群愿何见tyle of romance fiction representative of his own beliefs. Although Nathaniel Hawthorne's writi化争ng style was often viewed as outdated when compared to modern literature, Hawthorne conveyed modern themes of psychology and human nature through his crafty use of allegory and symbolism. To begin with, Hawthorne's style was commonplace for a writer of the nineteenth century. During the time period in which Hawthorne wrote, printing technology was not yet advanced enough to easily reproduce photographs in books. Therefore, Hawthorne frequently wrote lengthy visual descriptions since his audience had no other means to see the setting of the novel. (Magill:1 840). One example of such descriptions was in The Scarlet Letter when Hawthorne intricately describes the prison door and its surroundings. Another aspect of Hawthorne's writing which was exclusive to his time period was the use of formal dialogue which remained fairly consistent from character to character (Magill:2 140). Such overblown dialogue was evident in The Scarlet Letter when the dialogue of Pearl, a young child, exhibited no difference from the dialogue of the other characters in the novel. Hawthorne adopted the use of overly formal dialogue partly from a British writer, Sir Walter Scott, whose works were popular in the United States and Great Britain (Magill:1 841). Although Hawthorne's dialogue was overly formal, it was an accurate tool in describing human emotion (Gale). Absence of character confrontation was another component of Hawthorne's literary style. Hawthorne frequently focused more on a character's inner struggle or a central theme than on heated encounters between characters (Gale). One example of this style can be found in The Scarlet Letter since the novel was almost solely based on the commandment 'Thou shall not commit adultery' (Magill:1 846). Despite dated dialogue and dated writing style, Hawthorne implied various modern themes in his works. One of Hawthorne's recurring themes throughout his works was his own view on human nature. Hawthorne explored an interesting human psychology through his exploration of the dark side of human consciousness (Magill:1 841). In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne introduced 'a profound comment on the breakdown of human relationships in the society of the seventeenth century' (Harris 304). Hawthorne's theme that human nature is full of wickedness was also evident in 'Young Goodman Brown' when the title character encountered great difficulty in resisting temptation (Magill:3 1143). One outstanding aspect found in Hawthorne's writing was the concept of neutral territory. Hawthorne described this concept as 'a neutral territory, somewhere between the real world and fairy-land where the actual and imaginary may meet, and each imbue itself with the nature of the other' (Litz 145). The concept of neutral ground was most evident in the Custom House section of The Scarlet Letter and served as the area in which romance took place (Magill:1 1569). Hawthorne's modern themes were also modeled by Hawthorne's own religious beliefs. Although it was not the only reason Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter, his Puritan background contributed greatly to his portrayal of a sinner in a strict Puritan community (Litz 157). Hawthorne also raised questions concerning the morality and necessity of Hester Prynne's exile in The Scarlet Letter. One reason for these inquires was Hawthorne's disbelief in heaven, hell, angels, or devils since modern science was undermining the Bible (Magill:2 847). Unlike the frankness commonly found in modern twentieth century literature, the nature of literature in the nineteenth century was more conservative. Therefore, Hawthorne implied more modern themes through the use of symbolism. One of Hawthorne's most obvious symbols in The Scarlet Letter was Pearl, the living product of the adulterous affair between Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne. Even though some of Hawthorne's symbols were fantastical, they represented an anachronistic moral standpoint of Hawthorne himself. (Gale) An example of this symbolism was Hester's moral sin of adultery symbolized by an overly ornate scarlet 'A' on Hester's breast. In fact, few authors who worked outside realism have been as concerned with morals as Hawthorne was. (Magill:2 1572). Hawthorne also employed allegory as a way of presenting themes. Hawthorne often achieved allegory by placing characters in a situation outside of the ordinary (Magill:2 1572). In The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne presented a highly complex variation on his usual theme of human isolation and the human community (Harris 304). Hester Prynne was a superb example of both these themes since she was isolated from a strict Puritan community. Possibly, Hawthorne's recurring theme of isolation stemmed from his own experience of seclusion (Gale). Hawthorne explored the themes of penance for sins and cowardliness when Arthur Dimmesdale struggled with himself to make his sin public. In conclusion, Hawthorne's literary style did indeed contain elements such as description and dialogue, which seemed out of place when compared to modern twentieth century literature. However, Hawthorne's style was typical of the literary style of the time. Nevertheless, Hawthorne addressed modern themes and expressed his own view on human nature and religion. In addition, Hawthorne's symbolism was an essential tool in addressing topics, which were too radical to be publicly addressed in the nineteenth century. Therefore, Hawthorne's symbolism an astute way to express his own beliefs. Hawthorne also achieved a unique form of allegory by placing characters in unusual situations. Hawthorne used various symbols to imply themes of adultery, sins, and human morality. All in all, Hawthorne deeply examined every facet of human nature and drew conclusions from the experiences of the characters in his work. WORKS CITED Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter.
Fitzgerald, Sheila ed. Short Story Criticism. vol.4.

Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1989.

Gale ed. DISCovering Authors. Detroit: Gale Research Company , 1996.

Harris, Laurie Lanzen. Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism. vol. 54. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1985.

Litz, Waltona ed. American Writers. New York: Charles Scriner's Sons, 1998.

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