Different Experiences,Same Destiny

Nathaniel Hawthorne is a great romantic novelist in America in the 19th century. The Scarlet Letter is the best novel written by Hawthorne and the most significant masterpiece in American Literature. Theodore Dreiser is a great realist writer at the beginning of the 20th century and an important pioneer in American Naturalism. Jennie Gerhardt is Dreiser’s second novel that brings first true commercial success to the author even though Jennie Gerhardt is not his representative novel. Hawthorne’s and Dreiser’s writing styles influence many other contemporary writers.This thesis aims at analyzing two major female characters in detail, Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter and Jennie Gerhardt in Jennie Gerhardt, based on the two historical lines, Romanticism and Naturalism in America. It also further describes that Hester and Jennie have the same destiny but different experiences, based on Hawthorne’s and Dreiser’s different life experiences. Hester and Jennie both expose the dark cruelty and evil nature of the society at that time, and reflect their different attitudes towards life, including love, marriage and moral standards. They also reflect their different attitudes towards economic independence and patriarchal society. There is no doubt that Hester and Jennie are both pure, lovely and kind women in American literature. However, Hester’s resistance and self-confidence cause her to challenge the terrible puritan society bravely; Jennie’s weakness and lack of confidence cause her not to object to the conventional environment.The significance of this thesis lies in analyzing different social factors and personal factors that lead to the tragedy of destiny of Hester and Jennie. Their different life experiences reveal the darkness and cruelty of society in America at that time. This thesis mainly depict a real American social life, especially the lives of women from struggling, fighting and failing, to make the readers understand the practical significance of the novels better.