Transcendentalism.docx
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Transcendentalism
1。
Transcendentalism
v“WhatispopularlycalledTranscendentalismamongus,”hedeclares,“isidealism;idealism唯心主义asappearsin1842.”
2．ThemajorfeaturesofTranscendentalism
v1）.TheTranscendentalistsplacedemphasisonspirit,ortheOversoul,asthemostimportantthingintheuniverse.
v2）.TheTranscendentalistsstressedtheimportanceoftheindividual.Tothemtheindividualwasthemostimportantelementofsociety.
3）.TheTranscendentalistsofferedafreshperceptionofnatureassymbolicoftheSpiritorGod.Naturewas,tothem,notpurelymatter.Itwasalive,filledwithGod’soverwhelmingpresence
Emerson’sphilosophy
vEmersonbelievedinthetranscendenceofthe“Oversoul”.Hisemphasisonthespiritrunsthroughallhiswritings.“TheuniverseiscomposedofNatureandtheSoul”.Heseestheworldasphenomenal,andemphasizestheneedforidealism,foridealismseestheworldinGod.Heregardsnatureasthepurest,andthemostsanctifyingmoralinfluenceonmanandadvocatedadirectintuitionofaspiritualandimmanentGodinnature.
vEmersonanotherTranscendentalthesisisthattheindividual,notthecrowdisthemostimportantofall.Ifmandependsuponhimself,cultivateshimselfandbringsoutthedivineinhimself,hecanhopetobecomebetterandevenperfect.ThisiswhatEmersonmeansby“theinfinitudeofman”.Hetriedtoconvincepeoplethatthepossibilitiesformantodevelopandimprovehimselfareinfinite.Menshouldandcouldbeself-reliant.Eachmanshouldfeeltheworldashis,andtheworldexistsforhimalone.Heshoulddeterminehisownexistence.Everyoneshouldunderstandthathemakeshimselfbymakinghisworld,andthathemakestheworldbymakinghimself.
v“Trustthyself!
”
vFollowyourowncourse,andletpeopletalk. 走自己的路，让人家去说吧。
－AlghieriDante（意大利诗人但丁）
v“Makethyself!
”
Agreatmanisalwayswillingtobelittle.
伟大的人物总是愿意当小人物的。
Self-trustisthefirstsecretofsuccess.
自信乃成功之第一秘诀。
你每生氣一分鐘，就失去六十秒鐘的幸福。
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Foreveryminuteyouareangryyoulosesixtysecondsofhappiness;j}&.1;
v我們最大的榮耀不在永不跌倒，而在每次跌倒之後都能
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Lf5KH^^n Ourgreatestgloryconsistsnotinneverfalling,butinrisingeverytimeyoufall
vHewhohasathousandfriendshasnotafriendtospare,andhewhohasoneenemywillmeethimeverywhere. 有千百个朋友也不嫌多，只有一个敌人却到处可见。
HisanonymouslypublishedNature（1836）statedhisbeliefthatonecouldtranscendthematerialisticworldofsenseexperienceandbecomeconsciousoftheall-pervadingspiritoftheuniverse,andthatGodcouldbestbefoundbylookingintoone'sownsoul.TheessayhelpedinitiateTranscendentalism.
Aboveall,theTranscendentalistsbelievedintheimportanceofadirectrelationshipwithGodandwithnature.EmersonwroteinhisessayNaturethat“TheforegoinggenerationsbeheldGodandNaturefacetoface;we—throughtheireyes.Whyshouldnotwealsoenjoyanoriginalrelationtotheuniverse?
”Thoreau,whowasbornandlivedalmosthisentirelifeinConcord,wenttoliveatWaldenPondin1845toexperiencenaturedirectlyandintenselyandtotesthisTranscendentaloutlookintheconcretephysicalworld.InthechapterofhisbookWaldentitled“Solitude,”hewroteofhisconnectionwithnatureasaveryintimate,two-wayrelationship:
TheTranscendentalistscanbeunderstoodinonesensebytheircontext--bywhattheywererebellingagainst,whattheysawasthecurrentsituationandthereforeaswhattheyweretryingtobedifferentfrom.
OnewaytolookattheTranscendentalistsistoseethemasagenerationofwelleducatedpeoplewholivedinthedecadesbeforetheAmericanCivilWarandthenationaldivisionthatitbothreflectedandhelpedtocreate.Thesepeople,mostlyNewEnglanders,mostlyaroundBoston,wereattemptingtocreateauniquelyAmericanbodyofliterature.ItwasalreadydecadessincetheAmericanshadwonindependencefromEngland.Now,thesepeoplebelieved,itwastimeforliteraryindependence.Andsotheydeliberatelywentaboutcreatingliterature,essays,novels,philosophy,poetry,andotherwritingthatwereclearlydifferentfromanythingfromEngland,France,Germany,oranyotherEuropeannation.
AnotherwaytolookattheTranscendentalistsistoseethemasagenerationofpeoplestrugglingtodefinespiritualityandreligion（ourwords,notnecessarilytheirs）inawaythattookintoaccountthenewunderstandingstheiragemadeavailable.
ThenewBiblicalCriticisminGermanyandelsewherehadbeenlookingattheChristianandJewishscripturesthroughtheeyesofliteraryanalysisandhadraisedquestionsforsomeabouttheoldassumptionsofreligionheEnlightenmenthadcometonewrationalconclusionsaboutthenaturalworld,mostlybasedonexperimentationandlogicalthinking.Thependulumwasswinging,andamoreRomanticwayofthinking--lessrational,moreintuitive,moreintouchwiththesenses--wascomingintovogue.
ThespiritualhungeroftheagethatalsogaverisetoanewevangelicalChristianitygaverise,intheeducatedcentersinNewEnglandandaroundBoston,toanintuitive,experiential,passionate,more-than-just-rationalperspective.Godgavehumankindthegiftofintuition,thegiftofinsight,thegiftofinspiration.Whywastesuchagift?
AndsoTranscendentalismwasborn.InthewordsofRalphWaldoEmerson,"Wewillwalkonourownfeet;wewillworkwithourownhands;wewillspeakourownminds...Anationofmenwillforthefirsttimeexist,becauseeachbelieveshimselfinspiredbytheDivineSoulwhichalsoinspiresallmen."
Hawthorne'
theme:
Thisnovel,togetherwithsomeotherofHawthorne'swork,assumestheuniversalityofguiltandexploresthecomplexitiesandambiguitiesofman'schoices.ItismarkedbyadepthofpsychologicalandmoralinsightseldomequaledandneversurpassedbyanyAmericanwriter. Inthisparticularnove1,Hawthornedoesnotintendtotellalovestorynorastoryofsin,butfocuseshisattentiononthemoral,emotional,andpsychologicaleffectsorconsequencesofthesinonthepeopleingeneralandthosemaincharactersinparticular,soastoshowusthetensionbetweensocietyandindividuals."ToHawthorne,everybodyispotentiallyasinner,andgreatmoralcourageisthereforeindispensablefortheimprovementofhumannature,asisshownintheTheScarletLetter.
Hawthorneisamasterofsymbolism,whichhetookfromthePuritantraditionandbequeathedtoAmericanliteratureinarevivifiedform.Thesymbo1canbefoundeverywhereinhiswriting,andhismasterpieceprovidesthemostconclusiveproof.Thescarletletter"A"isthecentralsymbolofTheScarletLetter,withwhichHawthorneproveshimselftobeoneofthebestsymbolists.Asakeytothewholenovel,theletterAtakesondifferentlayersofsymbolicmeaningsastheplotdevelops.AtthebeginningofthenovelHesterwasdiscoveredtohavecommittedadulteryandwaspunishedtowearascarletletter"A"madeofclothatherbosomandthelettersymbolizedhersin-"adultery".ThenwhenHesterbecamegraduallyacceptedbythecommunitythroughherhonestyandhardwork,itstandsforHester'sintelligenceandhardwork-"able".AttheendofthenovelthesymbolhasevolvedtorepresentthehighvirtuesofHester-"angelic".Sotheletterchangesfromasymbolofsintoasymbolofabilityandatlastofthehighhumanvirtue.ByusingPearlasathematicsymbo1,Hawthorneemphasizestheconsequencethesinofadulteryhasbroughttothecommunityandpeoplelivinginthatcommunity.
Arthur Dimmesdale Arthur Dimmesdale is a well-regarded young minister, whose initials
are AD, which also stands for adultery. The author obviously tells us Author Dimmesdale is the partner in sin of Hester Prynne by giving him this name. The word Dimmesdale also has many symbolic meanings. Dim means dark
and weak, and dale means valley, so the dimdale here is actually a symbol of the "dim-interior" of the clergyman. He loves Hester deeply, and he is the father of Pearl, but he can only show his passion for her in the forest or in darkness. His response to the sin is to lie. He stands before Hester and the rest of the town and proceeds to give a moving speech about how it would be in her and the father's best interest for her to reveal
the father's name. Though he never actually says that he is not the other partner, he implies it by talking of the father in third person. Such as, "If thou feelest it to be for thy soul's peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer"（P63）. He concedes his guilt for seven years, at the same time; he is tortured by his sin for so many years. He punishes himself by believing that he can never be redeemed. He feels that he will never been seen the same in the eyes of God, and that no amount of penitence can ever return him to God's good
graces. He hates his hypocrisy to sin, but dares not tell the truth that he is the fellow-sinner of Hester. When he finally decides to expose the
truth and tell his followers of how he deceives them, his fixation on his sin has utterly corroded him to the point of death. The only good that comes out of conceding his guilt is that he passes away without any secrets, for he is already too far gone to be able to be saved. At the end of the story, the writer put the morals which press upon the readers from the poor minister's miserable experience into one sentence," Be true!
Be true!
Be true!
Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!
" （P236）
•“IbelievethatTheScarletLetter,likeallgreatnovels,enrichesoursenseofhumanexperienceandcomplicatesandhuman
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