Plot:
The story describes the illicit affair of Hester Prynne with Reverent Dimmesdale. Hester is a young woman who married Chillingworth. She had an adultery with the Reverent and gave birth to a child Pearl.
红字这本书讲的是一个Hester和Reverent之间发生一些不正当关系的故事，Hester是一个有妇之夫，他的丈夫是Chillingworth。但是她爱上了Reverent并和他孕育了一个小孩，取名为珍珠。
Character:
1)Hawthorn portrays Hester as an aristocratic and sensitive young woman who meets her sentence with dignity and courage. When she is set free, she does not flee the community but devotes her life to helping her fellow villagers, and finally she wins the admiration and love of her fellowman.
2) Arthur Dimmesdale banishes himself from the society and lives as a stranger among his admirers. He undergoes the tragic experience of physical and spiritual disintegration.
3) Chillingworth, the scholar, the embodiment of pure intellect of the story, who commits “unpardonable Sin”--the violation of the heart.
Symbolism:
1)The scarlet letter is a hymn on the moral growth of the woman. The scarlet letter undergoes changes in meaning. At first it is a token of shame, “adultery”, but then the genuine sympathy and help Hester offers to her fellow villagers changes it to “Able.”Later in the story, the letter A appears in the sky, signifying “Angel”. Her life eventually acquires a real significance when she establishes a meaningful relationship with her fellowmen.
2)The names of its character, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, are also symbolic. Dim represents dark and weak, and dale means valley, so the name is actually a symbol of the “dim-interior” of the clergyman. The word “Chillingworth” indicates this man is a merciless avenger. He is calm in temperament, but he conceals evil intention. Moreover, Pearl is a living symbol of Hester’s sin, a constant reminder of her infidelity.
Theme:
The novel assumes the universality of guilt and explores the complexities and ambiguities of man’s choices. Hawthorn does not intend to tell a love story nor a story of sin, but focuses his attention on the moral, emotional and psychological effects of the sin on the mind of the people and those characters in particular, so as to show the tension between individuals and society. To Hawthorn, everybody is potentially a sinner, life is guilty, sin is human nature, and the evil is in the hearts of men. Evil seems to be man’s birthmark and exists in human heart. Therefore, great general courage is indispensable for the improvement of human nature.
