Hawthorne’s Ambivalent Attitude Towards Puritanism Inheritance And Rebelliousness

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) is one of the most famous writers in the history of American literature, his works acknowledged as the19th century America’s most brilliant cultural heritage. Hawthorne was born in Salem, a Puritan establishment of the earliest colonial of the New England, long shrouded in the shadow of Puritanism. Hawthorne is under the deep influence of Puritanism, thus his works smell of Puritanism. Hawthorne lived in an age of liberalism--the nineteenth century, when the development in political, social, ideological aspects was on the rise and Puritanism has gradually lost its ideological, moral significance. Hawthorne, on the one hand, stuck to the religious morality and kept the faith in god as the premise. Meanwhile, influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson, etc. and ideological trend at that time, he showed doubt and confusion on the Puritan thoughts, thus forming his contradictory Puritanism.This thesis aims to probe into Hawthorne’s contradictory religious complex, namely both his inheritance of Puritan thought and his criticism and contradiction on Puritanism. So far, the domestic studies of Hawthorne’s Puritan thoughts are mainly concentrated on his novels as The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables and so on, with insufficient attention and research into Hawthorne’s other novels, especially the religious thoughts reflected in his short stories. On the basis of predecessors’ research, this paper delves into Hawthorne’s religious complex embodied in his works, including his novels and short stories. In terms of Hawthorne’s inheritance of Puritan thought, mainly from the Hawthorne’s ideas of original sin and the use of biblical prototypes are focused on; at the same time, for Hawthorne’s rebellion against the Puritan thoughts, the analysis is conducted mainly from those perspectives:Hawthorne’s reflection on redemption in Calvinist Puritan thoughts, two different biblical prototypes set on the same character and the exposure of cruelty, hypocrisy, and oppression of human nature of Puritanism in his works. Finally come to a conclusion that:Hawthorne is affected by the Puritan thought legacy, unconsciously forming his own conflicting religious complex, which mainly results from the comprehensive effects of his family background, social environment and the ideological trend of his time. Hawthorne is a true humanitarian writer, making great contributions to looking for the return path for human nature and more moral religion.