The Self-identity And Uses Of Visual Arts In The Scarlet Letter

For one more century, The Scarlet Letfer(1850) by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) remains valuable chiefly because of its penetration into the essential truths of the human heart.Set in the puritan Boston, and using a sexual transgression as a center, The Scarlet Letter shows the conflict between community morality and individual desires, between social restraint and the impulse toward self-fulfillment. Above all else, with the focus on the movements of remorse, repentance and revenge, the novel gives more exploration of the inner consciousness of the major characters. By examining the development of the characters' self-identities, which are tested and undermined, as much by their personal limitations as by social at large, the novel studies the reciprocal relationships between the inner self and outer self, between the different but ideally united realms of public and private sides of human identity.As a highly conscious writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne is original in his thematic interpretation. His literary thoughts, his interest with the Orient, and with the visual arts are closely related to his choice of themes, character types, and story-telling techniques.A study and appreciation of Hawthorne's literary insights and artistic skills in The Scarlet Letter, this thesis develops around the main literary modesHawthorne employed to represent the theme of self-identity. Mainly five parts are concluded in the thesis. They are 'Be in Silence', the image of 'Sphere', the narrative Daydream, Self within the 'Community', and the Visual Arts used to establish the atmosphere, interpret the theme, and describe the character.