《红字》对基督教和美国神话的理性思考

Rational reflections of The Scarlet Letter on Christianity and American Myth

十九世纪美国作家纳撒尼尔·霍桑(NathanielHawthorne,1804-1864)深受《圣经》文本的濡染。由于受到单一阶级评论模式的影响,中国学者长期忽视从继承与发扬的角度对这一涉及基督教教义的西方叙事文体进行研究。本文从宗教角度,利用《红字》借助构建美国神话的预表解经法,让人们透过罪孽与忏悔、堕落与拯救、受难与皈依这个永恒的圣经叙事主题,肯定霍桑对基督教和美国神话要义的继承,否定他对基督教反叛的说法,得出霍桑对从圣经中演绎出来的美国神话有自己理性思考的结论,这种理性的思考使他对美国神话笼罩下物质追求与道德追求失衡的现象倍加关注。

This paper compares the American Myth with the Bible and presents an in-depth analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s own rational reflections on the American Myth and the Bible which have been a great impact on Americans. The paper reveals Nathaniel Hawthorne’s attention and concerns to the imbalance between American creature comfort and moral fall through his novel The Scarlet Letter. It is concluded that Nathaniel Hawthorne is not an anti-Christian and is not against the American Myth. In fact, he is an irrational Christian and responsible writer, which Chinese scholars have long neglected from the religious perspective due to the profound influence by the single Chinese class critical model in politics.