The Scarlet Letter: A Masterpiece Of Romanticism

As an important romantic writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne enjoys a high reputation in American literature for his profound thoughts and unique narrative techniques. Most of his works source from historical events or real life of New England, and give emphasis on the exploration of the truth of human nature. A good example is Hawthorne's masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter, which comes to the top as a masterpiece of American romanticism and helps him occupy a unique position in the history of American and world literature.In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne probes into the dark side of human nature, exposes the concealed evil in human heart, and reveals the tension in social reality. What Hawthorne expresses are important concerns of American romantic writers: alienation and isolation, imagination and illusion, nature and mystery, and so forth. However, Hawthorne looks on social problems from the angles of sadness and darkness, rather than that of optimism in traditional romanticism and approval of transcendentalism. Thus, the predominant mood in this novel is created at the beginning of the story by the words such as "sad-colored" and "grey," which make readers sense a lowering and depressive atmosphere. Under the influence of his Puritanical family background, Hawthorne believes in original sin and ascribes various social problems to human's evil nature. He believes that discipline and ethic are not sufficient to restrict human's inner evil, and that for human the only approach to salvation is cleansing away sin by welldoing and penance. Meanwhile, Hawthorne's physical and spiritual solitude makes him believe that human is often in dangers of alienation and isolation. In this wise, Hawthorne chooses serious settings and themes, doing his utmost to explore the dark side of human nature, various conflicts and tension between society and individual: society is ruthless with irreconcilable conflicts; human is alienated and isolated; and the relationships between individual and individual, society and individual are virulent.In the expression of profound thoughts, Hawthorne shows his peculiarity in romantic narrative techniques in two aspects, the mixture of the real and the imaginary, and the integration of the natural and the supernatural. In the preface "The Custom House" , Hawthorne writes: "if a man...cannot dream strange things, and make them look like truth, he need never try to write romances." Thus we can see Hawthorne's perseverance in imagination and illusion. The destination Hawthorne wants to reach is a neutral territory where the actual and the imaginary may meet so as to substantiate the thought-provoking themes. Another peculiar narrative technique Hawthorne employs in this novel is the integration of the natural and the supernatural, which helps to endue multiple and mysterious significance to the characters, scenes and events.This thesis is a detailed study of the profound themes of The Scarlet Letter and Hawthorne's peculiar romantic narrative utilized in this novel. Introduction of this thesis briefly introduces the plot of the story and some relevant important literary criticisms, and analyzes the development of American romanticism and its characteristics and Hawthorne's peculiar romantic narration. It also explains the intention and significance of this study.Chapter One is the analysis of Hawthorne's criticism of puritanical society. Hawthorne's puritan ancestors' wrong-doings make him haunted by a strong sense of evil and sin. Thus, Hawthorne's depiction and criticism of the severe theocratic Puritanical society is, in some sense, a reflection of his exploration of the dark side of human nature and social reality, and, at the same time, a reflection of his attitude towards the relationship between individual and society.Chapter Two deals with alienation and isolation in The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne's solitary personal experience and the social reality of his age make him realize that an individual is often alienated and isolated in society. Thus, Hawthorne reveals the social reality by substantiating the four major characters' alienation in different aspects. In this manner, Hawthorne's portraiture of alienation and isolation plays the role of probing into the dark side of human nature and revealing the ruthlessness of social reality.Chapter Three explores Hawthorne's peculiar romantic narrative technique: the mixture of the actual and the imaginary. While dealing with the two opposites, three devices are employed: light and chiaroscuro, half-dream and vision, history and fiction. Thus, in this novel, the actual and the imaginary become a special mixture to illustrate Hawthorne's profound thoughts.Chapter Four discusses Hawthorne's another peculiar romantic narrative technique, the integration of the natural and supernatural. The handling of witchcraft, superstition and mirrors in the novel add rich and varied layers of meaning to the actions, characters, and events in The Scarlet Letter. Therefore, the normal and natural things are endued with supernatural power to reveal the hidden truth and unfold the profound thoughts in the story.Conclusion part manifests the social significance and artistic value of The Scarlet Letter. At the same time, it points out Hawthorne's influence on his contemporaneous and even modernist writers by right of his profound thoughts and narrative talents.