Contents
Abbreviations
Introduction
Note on the Text
Select Bibliography
A Chronology of Nathaniel Hawthorne
THE SCARLET LETTER
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
THE CUSTOMHOUSE—INTRODUCTORY
I THE PRISONDOOR
II THE MARKETPLACE
III THE RECOGNITION
IV THE INTERVIEW
V HESTER AT HER NEEDLE
VI PEARL
VII THE GOVERNORS HALL
VIII THE ELFCHILD AND THE MINISTER
IX THE LEECH
X THE LEECH AND HIS PATIENT
XI THE INTERIOR OF A HEART
XII THE MINISTERS VIGIL
XIII ANOTHER VIEW OF HESTER
XIV HESTER AND THE PHYSICIAN
XV HESTER AND PEARL
XVI A FOREST WALK
XVII THE PASTOR AND HIS PARISHIONER
XVIII A FLOOD OF SUNSHINE
XIX THE CHILD AT THE BROOKSE
XX THE MINISTER IN A MAZE
XXI THE NEW ENGLAND HOLAY
XXII THE PROCESSION
XXIII THE REVELATION OF THE SCARLET LETTER
XXIV CONCLUSION
EXPLANATORY NOTES
“海斯特·白兰,你和你的一切都是我的。”一位消失了两年的丈夫对他的妻子说出了这句冷酷的话。但是她紧紧抱住的孩子却不是他的,海斯特因而必须把红色的“A”字穿在胸口,让所有人知道她犯了罪。无畏而骄傲的海斯特从此见了两个不同的男人逐渐堕落,道德和法律的激烈碰撞制造了无穷的痛苦。 'Thou and thine, Hester Prynne, belong to me.' With these chilling words a husband claims his wife after a twoyear absence. But the child she clutches is not his, and Hester must wear a scarlet 'A' upon her breast, the sin of adultery visible to all. Defianndprud, Hester witnesses the degradation of two very different men, as moral codes and legal imperatives painfully collide. The text of this edition is taken from the Centenary Edition of Hawthorne's works, the most authoritative critical edition.