Analysis on the Affinities between Nathaniel Hawthorn and Pearl in The Scarlet Letter


  •  Yueming Wang    

Abstract

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter has been rated as his best work among his many works by critics. Hawthorne focuses on the evolvement of Pearl’s character in detail, reflecting his own psyche through the image of Pearl in the novel. Hawthorne portrays Pearl using his own family background. They share the origin affinity because both of their descendants are degenerative. They share the character affinity because both of them are solitary and rebellious. Hawthorne makes a picture of Pearl from his family background. Both of them share inner-thought affinity because they long for freedom and independence. Hawthorne also depicts Pearl from his religious background. They share attitude affinity because both of them are contradictory towards religion. They share symbolism affinity because Hawthorne employs ambiguity to show Pearl’s ambiguity.



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
  • ISSN(Print): 1925-4768
  • ISSN(Online): 1925-4776
  • Started: 2011
  • Frequency: quarterly

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