Elaboration Of Visual Imagery And Thematic Function In The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804—1864) is the first genuine masterpiece among American novels. For one century, it remains valuable because of its penetration into the truth of the human heart. It develops a school of its own in the American classic literature for its rich metaphor and subtle representative style. The pithy and elegant style of the novel, ambiguity of the symbolism, meticulous psychological analysis and the unique insight into the morality cause the concern and critics in the American and English literature circles."A tale of human frailty and sorrow"(P53), which illustrates intricate pieces of the Puritan lifestyle, The Scarlet Letter shows the conflict between individual desires and community morality, between the impulse toward self-fulfillment and social restraint. The novel probes into the inner consciousness of the major characters by focusing on the movements of remorse, revenge and repentance. With the examination of the development of the characters' self-identities, the novel explores the reciprocal relationships between the inner self and the outer self, between the different but ideally united realms of public and private sides of human identity. Hawthorne is original in his thematic interpretation. His interest in the visual images and his thoughts are related to the story-telling techniques and his choice of themes.This thesis explores the use of visual images and the different angles of expressing the theme of the novel by virtue of circling the theme of self-existence and development.The introduction gives a brief introduction to the life of Hawthorne, the characteristics of his writing technique and his status in the American literary history.There are two chapters in the thesis.Chapter one is about visual images in The Scarlet Letter. Like many Americans of his time who were directly concerned with issues of creativity and aesthetics, through all his life, Hawthorne deliberately took steps to learn more about the visual image and tried to combine his image sense into his literary creation. Although the steps are stumbling and small, they reveal much about him both as a man and an artist. His involvement with the visual image directly fed his own work. In The Scarlet letter, color, light and shade, the visual images are particularly striking. They serve the fictional motif and are very functional in the context of the whole book. Part one is Hawthorne's idea of the visual images. To the visual images, Hawthorne considers them the means whereby other creative men and women attempts to open an intercourse with fellow humans. Through the visual images, therefore, Hawthorne could aspire to a higher, better expression of his own art. That art—in his notebooks, stories and novels -still impels readers to such glimpses and such truths. Part two is about the use of the visual images in The Scarlet Letter. Besides the images, color and shade, Hawthorne practices using art objects to give realistic and symbolic touches to his setting, to help him to describe the character, and to develop the plot. While art objects help Hawthorne open an intercourse with his readers, the tableau (a striking picture or dramatic scene) are equally important for him. The skillful handing of the visual images does make The Scarlet Letter rank high in American symbolic literary works. The study of Hawthorne's knowledge and use of visual images may provide us a way to understanding his works and his life.Chapter Two is about the thematic function. This chapter contains four parts. Part One aims to have an examination of the self and the community, since much of the significance of the novel lies in its examination of the relationship between individual and society. Part Two is about the shelter of individual, which, for both thematically and structurally, is very functional. Part Three is about the message of Sphere, in which the characters maintain their own identity. Part Four deals with the metaphor of dream in the novel. Whether as metaphor or event, dreams and daydreams in Hawthorne's book give entry into the vast ranges of human experience beyond conscious control.Hawthorne's involvement in the visual images and some aesthetic principles are closely related to his artistic output, which have much impact on American literature. A study on Hawthorne's aesthetic thoughts and how he uses them to serve his writing may provide us a way to understanding his life and art as well as his far-ranging experimentation on possible effective writing techniques.