On the Ambiguous Attitude towards Puritanism in Hawthornes Gothic Novels论霍桑哥特小说中矛盾的清教观.docx

1、On the Ambiguous Attitude towards Puritanism in Hawthornes Gothic Novels论霍桑哥特小说中矛盾的清教观 学科分类号（二级）740.5011 本科学生毕业论文（设计）题 目On the Ambiguous Attitude towards Puritanism in Hawthornes Gothic Novels 论霍桑哥特小说中矛盾的清教观 姓 名 学 号 院、系 外语学院 英语系 专业 英语（师范G） 指导教师 职称（学历）副教授 2010年5月10号独创性声明本人声明所呈交的学位论文是我个人在导师指导下进行的研究工作及

2、取得的研究成果。尽我所知，除文中已经标明引用的内容外，本论文不包含任何其他个人或集体已经发表或撰写过的研究成果。对本文的研究做出贡献的个人和集体，均已在文中以明确方式标明。本人完全意识到本声明的法律结果由本人承担。学位论文作者签名：年 月 日学位论文版权使用授权书本学位论文作者完全了解学校有关保留、使用学位论文的规定，即：学校有权保留并向国家有关部门或机构送交论文的复印件和电子版，允许论文被查阅和借阅。本人授权云南师范大学可以将本学位论文的全部或部分内容编入有关数据库进行检索，可以采用影印、缩印或扫描等复制手段保存和汇编本学位论文。学位论文作者签名： 指导教师签名：年 月 日 年 月 日STA

3、TEMENT OF AUTHORSHIPExcept where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or part from a thesis presented by me for another degree or diploma.No other persons work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main tex

4、t of the thesis.This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma in my tertiary institution.SignedDatedAcknowledgementsI am deeply grateful to my supervisor vice Professor Xu Min for her patient guidance, general assistance, helpful advice and continual encouragement,

5、all of which have been of inestimable work to the completion of my paper. Without her helpful instruction, detailed comments, and beneficial advice, this paper would have never been finished so smoothly.My thanks also go to all the teachers who have taught me and helped me a lot during the four year

6、s of my study in Yunnan Normal University. Without their teaching, I can not learn so much.At last, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my family, who gave me great help and encouragement during my four years study and the thesis writing.AbstractLiving in that transitional period, Nathan

7、iel Hawthorne has been considered as an influential writer full of ambivalence in many aspects, especially Puritanism, which is brought to full play in his works. But, when we delve into his gothic novels, his ambivalent attitude towards Puritanism seems more conspicuous. This study aims to analyze

8、Hawthornes ambiguous Puritan attitude from his famous gothic writings, which will help readers to have a deep insight into Hawthorne. Additionally, we can see the confusion that social reform brought to Americans from Hawthornes ambivalent thoughts.Key words: ambivalence; Puritanism; gothic writings

9、; Hawthorne摘 要生活在社会的过渡时期，纳撒尼尔霍桑被认为是一个具有影响力，在很多方面都充满了矛盾思想的作家，尤其是清教主义方面，这一点在他的很多作品中都有充分的体现。但是，当我们走进他的哥特作品时，他矛盾的清教思想更加明显了。本文试图从霍桑的哥特小说中分析他矛盾的清教观，这将会帮助读者对霍桑有深层次的理解。此外，我们还可以从霍桑矛盾的思想中看出社会变革给当时的美国人所带来的困惑。关键词: 矛盾; 清教主义; 哥特小说; 霍桑Contents1. Introduction1.1 The Life and Major Works of Hathorne1.2 Significance

10、of the Study2. Literature Review2.1 On Hawthornes Negative Attitude towrds Puritanism2.2 On Hawthornes Positive Attitude towrds Puritanism3. Theoretical Framework3.1 The Features of Gothic Writing3.2 The Features of Puritanism4. The Contraditory Thoughts towards Puritanism in Some of Hawthornes Goth

11、ic Novels4.1 An Analysis of Hawthornes Negative Attitude towrds Puritanism4.2 An Analysis of Hawthornes Positive Attitude towrds Puritanism4.2.1 Hawthornes Writing Style4.2.2 Hawthornes Criticism of Sins4.3 An Analysis of Hawhornes Ambivalent Attitude towards Puritnism4.3.1 Hawhornes Way to Understa

12、nd the World4.3.2 Hawthornes View towards the Progress of the Society4.3.3 Hawthornes Ambihuous Art5. ConclusionWorks Cited1. IntroductionNathaniel Hawthorne, according to Bao Xiuwen (2008), was one of the most excellent novelists of America in the Romantic Period. Hawthorne has been the focus of ma

13、ny researchers from his age till now, because “Hawthorne has been considered to be the first great America writer of fiction to work in the moralistic tradition” (Zuo Jinmei 2000 98). Pan Yafei (2006) wrote in his paper that “Hawthornes position in American literature is undisputable and he deserves

14、 more respect and attention not only for his genius artistry but also his contribution to American literature”.1.1 The Life and Major Works of Nathaniel HawthorneHawthorne was born into a Puritan family in Salem, Massachusetts, whose father was a sea captain and later died at sea when Nathaniel Hawt

15、horne was only four years old, leaving his widow mother and him to shift for themselves. Even that, Hawthorne still read widely and had the ambition to be a writer. From 1821 to 1824, he went to Bowdoin College to further his education, where Longfellow, the future poet, and Franklin Pierce, the 14t

16、h president of US became acquainted with him. After graduation, Hawthorne moved to his hometown and produced many stories which were mostly rejected by publishers. However, the year of 1837 saw the publication of his Twice-Told Tales, a collection of short stories, which won his critical acclaim fro

17、m the reading public, but little money. Meanwhile, he left Salem to work as an editor and then took a job as a surveyor at the Boston Custom House. In the year 1846, Hawthornes another collection of short stories, Mosses from an Old Manse, was published. And “the appearance of The Scarlet Letter (18

18、50) marked the maturity of Hawthorne as a novelist” (Zuo Jinmei 2000 98). Soon he published The House of the Seven Gables (1851), The Life of Franklin Pierce (1852) and The Marble Faun (1860).1.2 Significance of the StudyNathaniel Hawthorne was one of the most influential and important writers in Am

19、erican literary history, whose works have attracted so many readers and critics both in his age and now. Moreover, many critics have pointed out that Hawthorne is a great writer full of ambiguous thoughts, especially towards Puritanism. But few critics have analyzed his conflicting attitude towards

20、Puritanism in his gothic novels under the influence of his background. Therefore, this paper will analyze Hawthornes positive and negative attitude towards Puritanism in many detailed aspects. Just as some critics say, Hawthorne is neither a Puritan nor a rebel against Puritanism. In fact, his attit

21、ude is ambivalent. To analyze his ambiguous Puritan thought will help readers to get a comprehensive and deeper understanding of Hawthorne and his gothic works, meanwhile, and help readers to make some objective assessments to both himself and his works. However, the real purpose of this thesis lies

22、 in the influence of the age on American peoples attitude towards many social and political problems. Hawthorne is among those people. His thoughts and attitude, to some extent, can be seen as other citizens view about the society and science. That is to say, we can have some general understanding o

23、f the society at that time through Hawthorne. Additionally, peoples view about the society and the progress of technology will also be reflected.2. Literature ReviewNathaniel Hawthorne is the focus of many researchers, because “Hawthorne has been considered to be the first great American writer of f

24、iction to work in the moralistic tradition” (Zuo Jinmei 2000 98). According to Zuo Jinmei, Hawthornes obvious style is his art of ambiguity towards many things, especially the belief of Puritanism. Kathleen Verduin (1980) also says that “A complex of attitudes toward religion and sexuality, establis

25、hed in seventeenth-century Puritan literature, reappears in the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne and John Updike, two authors who in their respective centuries express an affinity for a Protestant and specifically a Calvinist tradition”.2.1 On Hawthornes Negative Attitude towards PuritanismIn most of Ha

26、wthornes works, he harshly criticized the cruelty, hypocrisy and deception of the doctrines of Puritanism. Therefore, it seems that Hawthorne is a rebel against Puritanism. Though Hawthorne was born in a puritan family, Courtmanche (2006) says that “Hawthorne did not share the millennialism of his P

27、uritan ancestors”. Pass (1985) also writes in his paper that “Hawthornes canon shows clearly the impracticality of transcendentalisms idealism and the deadening harshness of Puritanism, as he defends a blending of these beliefs positive qualities”. “Nathaniel Hawthornes unorthodox religious beliefs,

28、 combined with the dramatic religious/philosophical changes which took place in the nineteenth century, allowed him to present through his canon the failure of Puritanisms austerity and inhumanity and the impractical idealism of transcendentalism”. Another writer Bao Xiuwen & Wang Weixin (2008) says

29、 in their book that Hawthorne seriously criticizes the hypocrisy of Puritanism, and his novels are intended to reveal the sin and evil of Puritanism (Wang 45 my translation).2.2 On Hawthornes Positive Attitude towards PuritanismHowever, Hawthornes real attitude towards the doctrines of Puritanism is

30、 ambiguous from a deep sense. Courtmanche (2006) commented that “Nathaniel Hawthorne was profoundly influenced by Puritan thought and Puritan typology”.Perhaps, the most powerful evidence is that his realization of criticizing Puritanism is religious. As Zuo Jinmei(2000) writes in her book “Hawthorn

31、e showed a great interest in the problem of sin and evil”(98). And “Hawthornes black vision illustrates to some extent the influence that the Calvinist doctrine of “original sin” and total depravity had upon his mind”(99). According to Bao Xiuwen(2008)s point of view, the typical characteristics of

32、Hawthornes products is that they are focus on describing the evil of the society and human beings, and exploring the problem of morality and sin. But in his novels, he advocates that people should eradicate their sins, and purify their soul by doing some good deeds to save themselves. Besides, Courtmanche (2006) writes that “The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, and The Blithedale