Human Attributes in Hawthorne"s The Scarlet Letter

• 영문명: Human Attributes in Hawthorne"s The Scarlet Letter
• 발행기관: 한국영미어문학회
• 저자명: Myung-Hee Soh(소명희)
• 간행물 정보: 『영미어문학』영미어문학 제78호, 103~122쪽, 전체 20쪽
• 주제분류: 어문학 > 영어와문학
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2006.03.01

영문 초록

  Hawthorne"s The Scarlet Letter explores some human attributes in the three characters" personalities through the incidence of adultery. The scarlet letter “A”, i.e., adultery or adulteress, affects the lives of the participants. Hester Prynne"s adulterous relationship with the clergyman, Arthur Dimmesdale, provokes the anger of her husband, Roger Chillingworth.
  The free will of Hester in doing what she wants is unable to recognize her situation and brings about marital triangles. Law provides for the right thing for all men, and she has to wear the scarlet letter “A” on her gown in proof of her penalty, even if love is the only justifiable reason for adultery. Dimmesdale"s passion violates his relationship with God. The priest, who took vows of chastity and who must represent the Puritan community, seeks a meaningful relationship with Hester and neglects his duties toward God. The engraved letter “A” on his chest--which has an impact on the mental health of the guilty minister--causes the evil of Chillingworth, who notices it. Though the pain of his wife"s adultery entails suffering, he does not want to terminate the defective marriage. Instead, with evil intentions, he wishes the lovers ill.
  All of these attributes need to be taken into consideration in seeing the novel from a fully human perspective. For by understanding how such attributes as free will, passion and evil transform human beings, one may learn about the imperfection of humanity--a concern throughout history.

목차

Ⅰ. Introduction
Ⅱ. Man"s Nature and the Scarlet A
Ⅲ. Conclusion
Works Cited
Abstract

키워드

the scarlet letter “A” adultery human attributes free will passion evil imperfection