On Nathaniel Hawthorne＇s Cultural-Political Views in Light of the Psychological Descriptions in The House of the Seven Gables

The House of the Seven Gables （1981）, Hawthorne＇s second romance, is his another masterpiece after The Scarlet Letter （1956）. The achievement of its themes and narrative skills has been greatly complimented by readers, especially its descriptions and analyses of the characters＇ psychological activities and their personalities. The notorious Salem Witch Trials of Hawthorne＇s family has a great effect on Hawthorne＇s formation of his views about the good and evil, the sin and penalty, and the psychological descriptive style in his works. In The House of the Seven Gables, Hawthorne takes this family history as the original writing background. Through exploring modem people＇s spiritual essence, using history as narrative original, Hawthorne＇s theme illustrates the past＇s influence on the present. By exploring the changes of the characters＇ psychologies and values, especially those of Holgrave, the narrator proposes a conception of general love to eradicate the actual contradictions. Hawthorne actually provides an alternative way--a nonpolitical solution to the national problems, which demonstrates not only his artistic pursuit but also his culturally political view in his writing. This paper consists of five parts.

Neutral Territory:Cultural Space in Hawthorne’s Travel Writing

The emphasis on the combination of physical space and metaphorical space is a major feature of Hawthorne’s narrative.This paper analyzes cultural space in Hawthorne’s travel writing,centering on his works The Old Manse and The Marble Faun from the perspective of neutral territory.The old manse and Rome carry different cultural metaphors,each reflecting a complex and subtle narrative space.Individually,Hawthorne transforms the old manse into Thoreauesque cabin,where American is affected by“sleepiness”and gains spiritual healing.At the national level,Hawthorne creates an allegorical Italy as borderland to explore the existence of American civilization.

From the Perspective of Conceptual Metaphor -Analyzing the Heroine＇ s Resistance in The Scarlet Letter

Conceptual metaphor has always been the study focus of cognitive linguistics. Conceptual metaphor is ubiquitous, cognitive and systematic. Nathaniel Hawthorne in his representative work The Scarlet Letter makes full use of the conceptual metaphor. A detailed description of the heroine Hester Prynne through the conceptual metaphor fully expresses Nathaniel Hawthorne＇ s feminist thoughts. Through the metaphorical analyses of the name Pearl, the scarlet letter ＂A＂, the forest and the scaffold this paper analyzes Hester Prynne＇ s resistant consciousness. On the basis of this, the positive social significance of the novel is explored.

A Tentative Defense for the Villain Roger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter

The paper makes a tentative defense for the villain Roger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter,regarding that the characterization with a devil’s image,cruel and cold-blooded is related to religious and artistic purposes.Actually,with the truth shifted from religious to psychological one,textual evidence shows that Chillingworth is far from that bad,and as one of the protagonists,she also deserves the pity and sympathy from the reader.

The Interpretation of Young Goodman Brown from the Perspective of Gothic Writing Style

Since the appearance of the Gothic novel in the late 18 th century, the usage of Gothic elements has been applied to the creation of literary works, and it has influenced many excellent writers. Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the outstanding representatives. His short story Young Goodman Brown was regarded as"one of the ten best stories written by an American"by Stephen King.Young Goodman Brown will be interpreted from the perspective of Gothic style to appreciate its unique Gothic beauty.Through the analysis of the Gothic elements reflected in Young Goodman Brown, more readers will pay attention to the charm of Hawthorne's short story, and show that Gothic novels with its terrifying atmosphere give readers a new visual experience, digging the hidden evil as well as calling for goodness of humanity.