A Comparative Study Of Arthur Dimmesdale And His Historical Prototype John Cotton

Nathanial Hawthorne (1804-1864) is one of the most important writers in19th century American Literature and the founder of American national Literature. The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne’s masterpiece, has been ranked among ten best novels in world literature. Hawthorne and his work The Scarlet Letter have been favored by the scholars at home and abroad for hundred years. There have been already plenty of excellent researches published, which have pushed the study of Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter to a climax. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne looked back into the history of17th century New England, and by narrating the love story of puritan minister Dimmesdale and a parishioner named Hester, he introspected and explored the local culture, national characters and history trends of America. Modeling his characters based on historical figures is one of Hawthorne’s distinctive writing techniques. However, few critics in China looked to the historical figures appeared in The Scarlet Letter.This thesis under the title of "A Comparative Study of Arthur Dimmesdale and His Historical Prototype John Cotton—in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter" carefully compares the connections between the male protagonist Arthur Dimmesdale and his historical prototype John Cotton. John Cotton (1584-1652) was a puritan leader of New England’s first generation, the founder of the Congregationalism and a spokesman for the New England Way. He made great contributions to the formation of New England church and political system. This thesis makes comparison between his significance and contributions to the colony and Arthur Dimmesdale’s to Boston community and looks to the similarities and the differences between Cotton’s connections to Hutchinson and Dimmesdale’s relationship with Hester.The thesis leads to two findings. First, though Cotton and Dimmesdale are in different ages and manners, their learning, religious piety and mildness in character bear a strong resemblance. They have similar educational background and life experience. Both of them are intelligent and sophisticated and had great influence on the church and state governance. It is apparent that Dimmesdale is the younger version of John Cotton. Second, Cotton-Hutchinson connection and Dimmesdale-Hester relationship resemble a lot. While Cotton’s connection with his disciple Hutchinson was intimately religious, Dimmesdale’s relationship with his parishioner Hester was emotional.The thesis provides some direct and indirect implications. On the one hand, the findings of the thesis, to some extent, make a contribution to the researches of Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter; on the other hand, this thesis fills the blanks of the researches on John Cotton in China’s academic circle.