3。1 Hester’s Attitude Towards Evil, Love and Life in Scarlet Letter。。6

3。2 Dimmesdale’s Attitude Towards Evil, Love and Life in Scarlet Letter。。7

4。The Symbolic Meaning of the Scarlet Letter 8

5。 An Analysis of Purposes for the Use of Symbolic Meanings。8

5。1 Enriching the characterization。9

5。2 Deepening the themes10

5。 Conclusion。。11

References。12

Acknowledgments。。。13 

1。 Introduction

This novel, which takes as its principal subject colonial seventeenth-century New England, was written and published in the middle of the nineteenth century。 This story happened in Boston, which was a colony of England in 17th century。 The author, Hawthorne, who was born in a puritan family and his grandfather was an authority。 Many things made him so deeply influenced by Puritanism that he created the Scarlet Letter and Hester。 In the Scarlet Letter, Hester falls in love with Dimondale and they have a baby girl named Pearl。 However, the strict Puritanism makes them separated  and Hester is convicted of adultery, so she wears a letter of “A’ and is sent into the prison。  源Q于W优E尔A论S文R网wwW.yOueRw.com 原文+QQ75201,8766

Hester, she is a beautiful, brave and strong woman who has great courage to pursue the true love and experiences tough life。 She tries her best to struggle against the adversity。 In her life, she experiences hard life, works and studies hard。 Fortunately she has a cute baby and the baby can comfort her painful heart 。Whatever happened , she always with smile to face and strong will to strive the troubles 。So her life is very hard but also happy because of Pearl。 

1。1 The Main Plot

In June 1642, in the Puritan town of Boston, a crowd gathers to witness the punishment of Hester Prynne, a young woman found guilty of adultery。 She is required to wear a scarlet "A" ("A" standing for adulteress) on her dress to shame her。 She must stand on the scaffold for three hours, to be exposed to public humiliation。 As Hester approaches the scaffold, many of the women in the crowd are angered by her beauty and quiet dignity。 When demanded and cajoled to name the father of her child, Hester refuses。

As Hester looks out over the crowd, she notices a small, misshapen man and recognizes him as her long-lost husband, who has been presumed lost at sea。 When the husband sees Hester's shame, he asks a man in the crowd about her and is told the story of his wife's adultery。 He angrily exclaims that the child's father, the partner in the adulterous act, should also be punished and vows to find the man。 He chooses a new name – Roger Chillingworth – to aid him in his plan。

The Reverend John Wilson and the minister of Hester's church, Arthur Dimmesdale, question the woman, but she refuses to name her lover。 After she returns to her prison cell, the jailer brings in Roger Chillingworth, a physician, to calm Hester and her child with his roots and herbs。 He and Hester have an open conversation regarding their marriage and the fact that they were both in the wrong。 Her lover, however, is another matter and he demands to know who it is; Hester refuses to pulge such information。 He accepts this, stating that he will find out anyway, and forces her to hide that he is her husband。 If she ever reveals him, he warns her, he will destroy the child's father。 Hester agrees to Chillingworth's terms although she suspects she will regret it。

Following her release from prison, Hester settles in a cottage at the edge of town and earns a meager living with her needlework。 She lives a quiet, sombre life with her daughter, Pearl。 She is troubled by her daughter's unusual fascination by Hester's scarlet "A"。 As she grows older, Pearl becomes capricious and unruly。 Her conduct starts rumours, and, not surprisingly, the church members suggest Pearl be taken away from Hester。