A Study Of Puritanism And Its Influence On Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Hawthorne is one of the most influential romantic novelists as well as the pioneer of American psychological novels and symbolism in the nineteenth century. The Scarlet Letter written by Hawthorne is one of the most widespread and overwhelming novels in American literature world in the nineteenth century.Hawthorne introduces the culture of Puritanism into the novel and puts the story in the Boston in the seventeenth Century. His profound understanding of the doctrines of Puritanism is revealed in his description of different aspects of puritans' life at that time. What's more, he discloses the narrowness of Calvinism and how it ruins the humanity.By analyzing the profound influence of Puritanism on both Hawthorne's thought and his writing, this thesis attempts to interpret the elements of Puritanism reflected in The Scarlet Letter and demonstrate the influence of the Bible on his writing of The Scarlet Letter as well. Additionally, this thesis comprehensively expounds the psychological development of the main characters in The Scarlet Letter to elaborate how Puritanism affects human being's mind.Through the interpretation of Hawthorne's comprehensive views on Puritanism in The Scarlet Letter, the author of this thesis concludes that Hawthorne explains his understanding of sins and means to put forward the solutions to the sins. His views about the women and marriage partly deny traditional patriarchy in puritan families, and focus on the equality of the family members and women's independence, which has obviously modern meaning.