The Transformation of “A” in The Scarlet Letter

Abstract：The Scarlet Letter is a story about an adultery happened in a 17th-century Puritan village in North America. The story of its heroine, Hester Prynne, demonstrates her transformation from an adulterous woman to an angel through many years of her hardworking. This paper discusses this transformation into two parts: first from “adultery” to “ability” and then from “ability” to “angel”. Hester Prynne as the heroine of the novel presents her unique personality against Puritanism. Instead of calling her a vigorous and independent woman, this paper gives evidence to the fact that she is a woman with great strength, rebellion and compassion, and that is the reason why people changed the way they looked at her during this transformation.

Key words: The Scarlet Letter; Hester Prynne; transformation

摘要：《红字》这部小说讲述了在17世纪北美清教社会里，一个犯有通奸罪的女人海丝特·白兰的故事。她用实际行动改变了自己的命运，使人们对她的看法从一个通奸罪犯转变为一位天使。该论文以文本细读为主要研究方法，揭示了女主人公海丝特·白兰胸前所佩带的红字“A”的象征意义的转变过程。通过挖掘红字“A”所代表的通奸(adultery)、能力(ability)和天使(angel)等象征意义，该论文揭示了女主人公抗争清教理念的心路历程，使她从一个被众人唾弃的罪人最终成为众人仰望的天使。

关键词：红字A，海丝特白兰，转变

注：本文全文为英语所写的英语论文。只有摘要是中英语写的，全文为英文。