ABSTRACT

Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the greatest novelists in the 19th century. Owing to the obscurity and profundity in his works, different people have different interpretation of these works. Most of Hawthorne’s works are set in New England and put emphasis on the darkness of human nature and fates of human beings. “The Birthmark” discloses evils in the laboratory and illustrates Hawthorne's point of view that any experiments performed on human is immoral and is destined to be tragic. “Rappaccini’s Daughter” reflects his suspect of rationality and negation to bigoted science which lacks humanity. “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” points out that science may bring miracles to human beings but it will destroy human’s spirit at the same time.

This thesis attempts to discuss the dark aspect of Hawthorne’s vision of science. Influenced by the Puritan family background, Hawthorne gradually shaped his own vision of science，and expressed it in his works. Through some short stories related to science, Hawthorne expresses his call for restoration of human nature and ecological balance, with the hope of giving some inspiration to people in the rapidly developing world．

Key words: Hawthorne; the vision of science; darkness; nature; technology

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

Chapter One  INTRODUCTION-1

1.1 Features and influences of Hawthorne’s Works-1

1.2 Brief introduction and connotations of “The Birthmark”, “Rappaccini’s Daughter”, and “Dr. Heidegger's Experiment”-2

1.3 The Purpose of the Present Study-2

Chapter Two  LITERATURE REVIEW-4

2.1 History of previous studies-4

2.2 Inadequacy of Past Studies and Significance of the Present Study-5

Chapter Three  SCIENTISTS UNDER HAWTHORNE’S PEN-6

3.1 Aylmer --- the Pursuer of Perfection-6

3.2 Rappaccini --- the Killer of His Own Daughter-8

3.3 Heidegger --- the Igniter of Greed-9

Chapter Four  HAWTHORNE’S VISION OF SCIENCE-11

4.1 Hawthorne’s Vision of Science.-11

  4.1.1 Partly affirmation of the fruitful achievements that science brings-12

  4.1.2 Absolute negation of science without restriction of morality and human nature-13

    4.2 Features of Hawthorne’s Vision of Science-13

  4.2.1 The darkness-14

  4.3.1 The obscurity-16

  4.3.2 Being ahead of time-17

Chapter Five  CAUSES OF HWATHORNE’S DARK VISION OF SCIENCE-19

    5.1 Social Background of The Time-19

    5.2 Hawthorne’s Life Experiences-20

Chapter Six  CONCLUSION-22

WORKS CITED-23