ter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers--stern and wild ones--and they had made”(Chapter 18) Therefore she has courage to incite Dimmesdale to escape with her to a place to be free.
However, after delving deeply in this novel and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s characteristics, I have another conclusion: Hester Prynne is never a Christian rebel. Instead, she always clings herself to God. And her final death is not an expiration of a sinful soul, but the resurrection of a pious heart.
First, she’s always ready and willing to give help to others. The Bible tells its believers that: “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.”(Proverbs 3:27) Hester’s behaviors are just like this. She was “quick to acknowledge her sisterhood with the race of man, whenever benefits were to be conferred.”, even though what she receives is only insult; when pestilence hit the town, she’s much more self-devoted than anyone else. All these philanthropic acts are her way of atonement. Only when she deeply and clearly recognizes her sin can she does all the things with none complaint at all and so wholeheartedly. Hester knows her crime has profaned God and she must do something good to please God and beg His forgiveness. All her benevolences are for repentance. Because she never wants to run counter to God and she never denies God’s omnipotence. We can find through these behaviors that she’s 英语论文网 【http://www.51lunwen.org】really a pious believer of God.
Second, Hester has firm religious faith. Timothy 4:12-16 records, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in love, in life, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching… Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” On the one hand, Hester Prynne firmly believes that no people in the world is guilty like herself, but on the other hand, she thinks that, “Heaven would show mercy… hadst thou but the strength to take advantage of it.” She always goes to the church, “trusting to share the Sabbbath smile of the Universal Father”. However, she finds several times that she herself is the text of the discourse. From this conduct, we can feel her belief in God. She wants to share God’s love with others and believes that she will be saved by God. Just because of her faith, the firm faith, and her behavior of atonement that make her finally saved. Her religious faith leads to her benevolence and generosity. Gospel supports the opinion that “salvation is not because of repentance, admitting guilt, praying or something else, and it is faith that can save you forever.”
Third, Hester’s plan to flee away with Dimmesdale is another error and God hel
本文来自：英语论文网 【http://www.51lunwen.org】 |
论文编号：
lw200801172058591440 
