生态批评视域下霍桑的_红字_解读_李涛.docx

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1、 Decoding Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter from the Perspective of Ecocriticism A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Master Candidate: Li Tao Supervisor： Prof. Zhai Li College of Arts China University of Petroleum (East China) 关于学位论文的独创性声明 本人郑重声明：所呈交的论文是本人在指导教师指导下独立进行研宄工作所取得的 成果，论文中有关资料和数据是实事求是的。尽我所知，除文

2、中已经加以标注和致谢外， 本论文不包含其他人已经发表或撰写的研宄成果，也不包含本人或他人为获得中国石油 大学（华东 ）或其它教育机构的学位或学历证书而使用过的材料。与我一同工作的同志 对研宄所做的任何贡献均已在论文中做出了明确的说明。 若有不实之处，本人愿意承担相关法律责任。 学位论文作者签名： _ 日期： 年月日 学位论文使用授权书 本人完全同意中国石油大学（华东 ） 有权使用本学位论文（包括但不限于其印 刷版和电子版），使用方式包括但不限于：保留学位论文，按规定向国家有关部门（机 构）送交学位论文，以学术交流为目的赠送和交换学位论文，允许学位论文被查阅、 借阅和复印，将学位论文的全部或部分

3、内容编入有关数据库进行检索，采用影印、 缩印或其他复制手段保存学位论文。 保密学位论文在解密后的使用授权同上。 学位论文作者签名： 日期： 年 月 曰 指导教师签名： 日期： 年 月 曰 纳撒尼尔 霍桑是美国十九世纪杰出的浪漫主义传奇作家。他的小说在思想内容和 艺术手法上都独具特色。红字是霍桑的第一部长篇小说，同时也是美国文学史上第 一部象征主义小说，它以想象力丰富、主题思想深邃而著称。自问世以来，红字一 直是国内外专家、学者关注的焦点。 从生态批评角度解读红字是一个新的尝试。在这部经典小说中，霍桑表达了他 对人类生态失衡的深深忧思，折射出其高超的生态哲学智慧。 本文试从自然生态、社会生态、精

4、神生态三方面对红字进行解读。红字揭 示了人与自然、人与人、人与自我等错综复杂的基本关系。这三种关系是相互制约、相 互促进的，只有协调好它们之间的关系，人类才能实现真正的生态平衡与可持续发展。 本文共分六章。第一章是引言。由于人类环境日益恶化，生态批评理论应运而生。 第二章是文献综述，大体介绍了生态批评的发展历程、思想起源，霍桑及红字在国 内外的研宄状况。第三章探宄了霍桑在红字中所体现的自然生态观，体现为霍桑的 自然生态观，自然遭到的巨大破坏，人与自然的和谐等内容。第四章论述了红字中 展现的社会生态。第五章主要探讨了红字中体现的精神生态。第六章是结论。只有 人类自身的精神获得成长和改善，人类才有

5、可能与自然、社会和谐相处。 关键词 ： 红字，生态批评，自然生态，社会生态，精神生态 Abstract Nathaniel Hawthorne is an outstanding writer in the 19th century in America, whose novels are unique in thought and artistic technique. As Hawthornes first novel and his masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter serves as the first symbolic novel in the hist

6、ory of American literature as well, which is known for its great imagination and profound themes. The Scarlet Letter has attracted much attention from expects and scholars both at home and abroad since its publication. It is a new attempt to decode The Scarlet Letter from the perspective of ecocriti

7、cism. In the novel, Hawthorne has expressed his deep concern about human ecological imbalance, which reflects his excellent ecological wisdom. The thesis attempts to decode The Scarlet Letter from such aspects as natural ecology, social ecology, and spiritual ecology. The novel has revealed basic re

8、lationship between man and nature, man and man, and man and self. These three relations are restricted mutually. Only by means of coordinating their relations, can human beings realize ecological balance and sustainable development in a true sense. The thesis can be divided into six chapters. Chapte

9、r one is introduction of the theoretical basis, the structure and originality of the thesis. Chapter two is literature review, introducing the ideological origin of ecocriticism. It also studies major issues of Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter. Chapter three has discussed natural ecology in The Scar

10、let Letter, involving Hawthornes view on nature ecology, great destruction of nature and disharmony between man and nature. Chapter four studies the social ecological aspects. Chapter five probes into the spiritual ecology in the novel. Chapter six is conclusion. Key words: The Scarlet Letter, Ecocr

11、iticism, Natural ecology, Social ecology, Spiritual ecology Table of Contents 关于学位论文的独创性声明 . i 学位论文使用授权书 . i 摘要 . ii Abstract . iii Chapter 1 Introduction . 1 Chapter 2 Literature Review . 4 2.1 Introduction to Ecocriticism . 4 2.1.1 Ethnical Basis of Ecocriticism . 4 2.1.2 Aesthetic Basis of Ecocri

12、ticism . 6 2.1.3 Philosophical Basis of Ecocriticism . 8 2.2 Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter . 9 2.2.1 Hawthorne Life and The Scarlet Letter . 9 2.2.2 Major Aspects of Studies on The Scarlet Letter . 12 Chapter 3 Natural Ecology in The Scarlet Letter . 16 3.1 Hawthornes View on Natural Ecology . 16

13、 3.2 The Reflections of Nature in The Scarlet Letter . 17 3.2.1 Destruction of Nature . 17 3.2.2 The Scene of the Prison . 18 3.2.3 Bellinghams Barren Garden . 19 3.3 Exploring the Relationship between Man and Nature . 20 3.3.1 Hester Prynne: Life in Nature . 20 3.3.2 Pearl: Deep Love for Nature . 2

14、1 3.3.3 Dimmesdale: Yearning for Truthfulness in Nature . 22 Chapter 4 Social Ecology in The Scarlet Letter . 23 4.1 The Harshness of the Puritanical Social System . 23 4.2 The Conflicts between Religion and Human Nature . 24 4.2.1 The Alienation of Hester and Pearl from Society 24 4.2.2 Dimmesdale:

15、 the Conflicts of His Two Identities . 26 4.2.3 Chillingworth： a Deformed and Distorted Figure . 27 4.3 The Reestablishment of Harmonious Relationship . 29 4.3.1 Hesters Gradual Establishment of Harmony with Residents . 29 4.3.2 Pearls Final Reunion with Dimmesdale . 31 Chapter 5 Spiritual Ecology i

16、n The Scarlet Letter . 33 5.1 . The Distortion of Characters Mentality . 33 5.1.1 Misplaced Spiritual Ecology . 33 5.1.2 The Spirit of Evil and Selfishness: Chillingworth . 35 5.1.3 The Hypocrisy and Painfulness: Dimmesdale . 36 5.2 The Growth of Characters Spirit . 38 5.2.1 The Gradual Conversion o

17、f Ideology in Residents Mind . 38 5.2.2 The Ultimate Salvation of Dimmesdale Spirit . 39 5.3 The Spiritual Blooming of the Heroine . 40 Chapter 6 Conclusion . 43 References . 44 攻读硕士学位期间取得的学术成果 . 47 Acknowledgements . 48 V Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 1 Introduction Ecocriticism is a comparatively

18、 new critical approach. Up to now, scholars abroad have come up with numerous meaningful ideas, such as Aldo Leopolds ecocentrism, Holmes Rolstons environmental ethics and theory of objective value， Albert Schweitzers theory of reverence for life， Paul W. Taylors biocentrism, J. Baird Callicotts the

19、ory of subjective value, Arne Naesss deep ecology， etc. All these important ideas can be regarded as the theoretical basis of ecocriticism. With the rapid development of science and technology and its extensive application, human beings have been intervening in nature, causing a series of ecological

20、 issues. Soon afterwards, some intellectuals sense that people who respect and care for mother nature could shake off the predicament only by means of altering existing systems and jump out of the narrow anthropocentrism”(黄炎平， 2002: 64). Under such circumstance, the idea of deep ecology came into be

21、ing. The term deep ecology appeared for the first time in 1970s. Arne Naess, an ecological philosopher in Norway, has put forward two basic concepts of deep ecology biocentric equality and self-realization. First of all, biocentric equality means that all creatures in biosphere have the right to sur

22、vive and multiply. Furthermore, equality here is not the equality in narrow non-anthropocentrism but the one in thorough and equal biocentrism. According to Naess, ecosystem is a living entirety in which every creature has its own distinctive function. The difference between them only lies in their

23、different life forms, not in which one creature is superior to another. As far as deep ecologists are concerned, human beings have a close link with all other beings in nature. Therefore, like human beings, other creatures in nature also have intrinsic values that can be intuited. Second, self-reali

24、zation is a very important concept in deep ecology. In The Ecology of Wisdom (2008), Naess points out that the essence of self-realization lies in full expression of human potential. However, we need to go through three stages of development to achieve this requirement ranging from ego to social ego

25、 and ecological ego. Peoples alienation from other species will be reduced with the scope of human beings self-identification broadening gradually. Then, people would profoundly sense that we are only one part of a larger whole rather than a separate individual. Therefore, the process of self-realiz

26、ation means decreasing egos alienation from other beings, achieving a harmonious and unified Self. Self-realization, of course, becomes identified with biocentric equality. Self-realization, a process of l Masters Thesis identification with nature, demands a prerequisite that all beings are equal an

27、d should respect mutually. In 2000, Lu Shuyuan, a Chinese professor in Su Zhou University, published a book named Ecological Research in Literature and Art, which marked the emergence of a new branch of research in literature and art It is generally assumed that eco-literature mainly refers to envir

28、onmental literature, natural writing and green literature. Lu argues that it is a narrow understanding. According to him, as one of the important spiritual activities, eco-literature inevitably has close relations with peopled ecological situations, especially excellent writings of this kind. Meanwh

29、ile, he also claims that all of the literary and artistic works can be brought into the field of eco-literature to be explored. Based on these ideas, literature and art, which is placed in the whole ecosystem to be reviewed, could be confirmed its meanings. Generally speaking, natural ecology mainly

30、 probes into “relatively independent natural world”，（ 鲁枢兀 ， 2000: 146) . Social ecology mainly considers “peoples political and economic life as its research object”，（ ibid: 146) and spiritual ecology treats “peoples inner emotional life and spiritual life as its research object”（ ibid: 146). As a m

31、atter of fact, these three levels are mutually independent and contact with each other intently. Lu thinks that nature, society and spirit are three different levels of an entirety. Natural ecology and social ecology are most fundamental, but spiritual ecology belongs to a higher level. It will be h

32、elpful to construct peoples spiritual life on condition that people correctly deal with the relations between man and nature, man and man, man and society. Conversely, peoples copious and healthful spiritual life can also contribute to the construction of a harmonious man-and-man, man-and-nature rel

33、ations. The thesis attempts to explore the ecology systems of The Scarle Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. On this theoretical framework, the thesis mainly covers six chapters and its general structure is as follows: Chapter one is introduction, introducing the theory of ecocriticism came into

34、being because of peoples constant deterioration of the environment Chapter two is literature review, covering an overview of literary theory concerning ecocriticism. In this chapter, several aspects about ecocriticism will be introduced, including the ideological origin, the emergence and developmen

35、t of ecocriticism. Besides, it also studies major issues of Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter, concerning the topic, Hawthorne life and the general plot of The Scarlet Letter, with the emphasis on studies on the novel both at home and abroad. 2 Chapter 1 Introduction In chapter three, natural ecology

36、 in The Scarlet Letter would be discussed, involving three main parts: Hawthornes view on nature ecology, descriptions of nature in the novel, great destruction of nature by human civilization, the harmonious relationship between man and nature. Chapter four studies the social ecology in the novel.

37、The first part introduces Hawthornes assumptions about what human wholeness and happiness require, including the interrelationship between man and society, and interpersonal relationship. Then, disharmonious relationship between human beings will be analyzed further. Last, part three will attempt to

38、 decode harmonious elements between human beings in the fiction. Chapter five probes into the spiritual world of the main characters, mainly containing human nature restrained by Puritanism, distortion of characters spirit, and growth of characters spirit Chapter six is conclusion. We can draw the c

39、onclusion that human beings are likely to get harmony with nature and society only by means of their spirit getting growth and improvement. 3 Masters Thesis Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction to Ecocriticism The concept of ecocriticism can be traced back to 1970s. In 1972, Joseph W. Meeker

40、 came up with the concept of “literary ecology” in C 麵 e 办 伽出以 1 Ecology, which attempted to research into the biological themes in literary works. In 1978, William Rueckert in the thesis named Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism used ecocriticism for the first time, arguing that e

41、cology and its relevant concepts should be applied into literary research. Thereafter, many other scholars have done researches on it, and they have their own ideas. In this thesis, several representative definitions will be stated that are as follows: (1) Cheryll Glotfelty defines ecocriticism ascc the study of the relationship between literature and the physical e