Bantam Classics 經(jīng)典系列：紅字SCARLET LETTER, THE簡介，目錄書摘
With The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne became the first American novelist to forge from our Puritan heritage a universal classic, a masterful exploration of humanity's unending struggle with sin, guilt and pride.
《紅字》講述的是一出發(fā)生在北美殖民時(shí)期的戀愛悲劇。女主人公海絲特·白蘭嫁給了醫(yī)生奇靈渥斯，他們之間卻沒有愛情。在孤獨(dú)中白蘭與牧師丁梅斯代爾相戀并生下女兒珠兒。白蘭被當(dāng)眾懲罰，戴上標(biāo)志“通奸”的紅色A字示眾。然而白蘭堅(jiān)貞不屈，拒不說出孩子的父親。白蘭的丈夫從英國來到北美，目睹了白蘭受罰的一幕，遂決定找出孩子的父親，進(jìn)行報(bào)復(fù)。當(dāng)時(shí)，丁梅斯代爾由于其出色的工作倍受當(dāng)?shù)鼐用竦膼鄞?，只是他在沉重的良心債?wù)壓榨下身體日漸衰頹。人民于是安排奇靈渥斯與牧師合住以治療他的病。白蘭由于有愧于丈夫，因此答應(yīng)了奇靈渥斯不公開他們之間的合法夫妻關(guān)系。于是一場殘忍的復(fù)仇行動(dòng)展開了。 最終丁梅斯代爾不堪良心的遣責(zé)，公開認(rèn)罪，死在了白蘭的懷里。奇靈渥斯卻淪為魔鬼的奴隸，成為真正的罪人。
Hawthorne was a novelist and short-story writer, born in Salem, MA. Educated at Bowdon College, he shut himself away for 12 years to learn to write fiction. His first major success was the novel The Scarlet Letter (1850), still the best known of his works. Other books include The House of the Seven Gables (1851), The Snow Image (1852), and a campaign biography of his old schoolfriend, President Franklin Pierce, on whose inauguration Hawthorne became consul at Liverpool (1853--7). Only belatedly recognized in his own country, he continued to write articles and stories, notably those for the Atlantic Monthly, collected as Our Old Home.
納撒尼爾·霍桑（1804-1864），美國作家，十九世紀(jì)后期美國浪漫主義文學(xué)的重要代表。其代表作《紅字》一經(jīng)問世便引起巨大轟動(dòng)，時(shí)至今日仍是不朽的經(jīng)典。
《紅字》描寫了二百多年以前發(fā)生在新英格蘭殖民時(shí)期一個(gè)浪漫的愛情悲劇。小說以深邃的主題，以象征、隱喻等藝術(shù)手法形成獨(dú)特的風(fēng)格，對美國文學(xué)史上一批卓有成就的作家如梅爾維爾、海明威、菲茨杰拉德、?？思{等都產(chǎn)生過影響。
京公網(wǎng)安備 11000002000088號
