A Cognitive Analysis Of Thematic Conceptual Metaphor In The Scarlet Letter And Its Translation

The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a stunning success in American fiction.This masterpiece features the profound motif and unique writing style.By using substantial symbols and metaphors,the writer vividly describes the life experiences of three main characters(Hester Prynne,Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth)in the novel.Meanwhile,the themes about "Sin","Punishment",and"Redemption" are fully conveyed.A study on the metaphors in The Scarlet Letter can be regarded as the deep research on the linguistic and extralinguistic features of the novel.Lakoff and Johnson put forward the Conceptual Metaphor Theory,which ushers in a new orientation to metaphor translation.Scholars in China have carried out a great deal of research on the translation of conceptual metaphors in literature works from different perspectives.However what they have done is a start;there is still a long way to go.This paper attempts to study the conceptual metaphors in The Scarlet Letter and three translators’ disposal of them.It systematically studies conceptual metaphors under three themes(the theme of sin,the theme of punishment and the theme of redemption)within the corpora of the source text and three translations by Han Shiheng,Yao N aiqiang and Su Fuzhong.Based on the Conceptual Metaphor Theory and cognitive contexts,this paper figures out that three translators give top priority to literal translation(reproducing the image),and their interpretations on some conceptual metaphors,which involve religious connotations,are incomplete and fail to convey the metaphorical meaning of the source text.Thereupon,this paper works out a translation model,which embraces two main translation principles(Mapping Principle and Context-sensitive Principle)and three translation strategies(Literal Translation,Literal Translation Adds Connotation Interpreting and Free Translation).This translation model plays a crucial role in the study on translation of conceptual metaphors in The Scarlet Letter and other literature works.Meanwhile,it serves its practical value in retranslation of The Scarlet Letter.