Abstract: As a great romantic novelist in America in 19th century, Hawthorne was outstanding in handling the application of symbols. The Scarlet Letter is his most important symbolic novel. The symbolic methods used by him run through the whole book, enhancing its artistic effects. This paper focuses on the analysis of the symbolic elements of the scarlet letter “A”, names of the four major characters, and objects. All these profound and important symbols are undoubtedly vital to the novel’s success.

Key words: symbolic elements; the scarlet “A”; names; objects

摘要：霍桑是19世纪美国伟大的浪漫主义小说家，小说擅用象征手法。红字是其最重要的象征主义作品。作者在作品中采用的象征手法贯穿始终、无处不在,加强了作品的艺术效果。本文从红字的多种象征意义、主要人物的人名寓意以及景物寓意等方面入手,研究《红字》中的象征要素。这些象征要素的灵活运用,使《红字》具有了经久不衰的艺术魅力。

关键词：象征要素； 红字“A”； 人名； 物体