审视人性的恶之花——《七角楼》中的圣经意象探析

A Reflection on the Evil of Human Nature——The Biblical Images in The House of the Seven Gables

《圣经》是清教思想的准则和基础。霍桑的一生深受清教思想的影响。霍桑作品《七角楼》中的圣经意象反映出了作者对人性的思考:霍桑接受加尔文主义的"原罪"和"内在堕落",强调傲慢、贪婪、野心、阴谋、虚伪、妒忌、自私、堕落等与生俱来的人性之恶;认为社会上的各种丑恶现象是人类原罪的延续;人类的恶劣行径会破坏自然秩序,并会因其罪而遭天罚。基于人类的共同命运,霍桑强调人与人、人与自然之间和谐共处。这为研究该作品提供了很好的视角,在一定程度上弥补了国内学界对该作品研究的不足。

The Bible is cherished as the only guiding principle of Puritan beliefs,which exerts a profound influence on Hawthorne.The biblical images transplanted into the novel are analyzed by close reading The House of the Seven Gables,through which Hawthorne＇s mediation on human nature is further discussed.Hawthorne accepts the tenets of Calvinism-Original Sin and Total Depravity.He believes that man bears such sins as arrogance,greed,ambition,conspiracy,deceitfulness,selfishness and envy and those various kinds of social evils are only the by-products of the original sin.He believes man＇s wrongdoings can destroy the natural order,which will lead to the visitation of God for their sins.Considering man＇s common fate,Hawthorne stresses the harmonious relationship between individuals and between man and nature.That provides better perspectives for the studies on the novel,and to some extent it makes up for a deficiency in domestic studies on this work.