There could not be a more perfect work of the American imagination than The Scarlet Letter.- D. H. Lawrence"It is beautiful， admirable， extraordinary; it has in the highest degree that merit which I have spoken of as the mark of Hawthorne's best things-an indefinable purity and lightness of conception...One can often return to it; it supports familiarity and has the inexhaustible charm and mystery of great works of art."- Henry JamesThe Scarlet Letter is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne， published in 1850， and was an instant best-seller. It is also one of the first mass-produced books in America. Set in Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649， the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne who conceives a daughter through an affair and then struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. The book explores themes of legalism， sin， and guilt. The Scarlet Letter was one of the first mass-produced books in America. It was popular when first published and is considered a classic work today. It inspired numerous film， television， and stage adaptations. Critics have described it as a masterwork and novelist D. H. Lawrence called it a "perfect work of the American imagination".
纳撒尼尔·霍桑（1804-1864），美国19世纪后期浪漫主义文学的重要作家。他的代表作《红字》一经问世，便引起了巨大轰动。小说以深邃的主题，象征、隐喻等艺术手法的运用而形成了独特的风格，其象征手法影响了《白鲸》的作者麦尔维尔、法国的波德莱尔以及现代派文学的象征主义。此外，霍桑对美国文学史上一批卓有成就的作家诸如海明威、菲兹杰拉德、福克纳等都产生较大影响。
INTRODUCTORY /1
Chapter 1 THE PRISON-DOOR /43
Chapter 2 THE MARKET-PLACE /45
Chapter 3 THE RECOGNITION /55
Chapter 4 THE INTERVIEW /65
Chapter 5 HESTER AT HER NEEDLE /72
Chapter 6 PEARL /82
Chapter 7 THE GOVERNOR'S HALL /92
Chapter 8 THE ELF-CHILD AND THE MINISTER /99
Chapter 9 THE LEECH /108
Chapter 10 THE LEECH AND HIS PATIENTS /119
Chapter 11 THE INTERIOR OF A HEART /129
Chapter 12 THE MINISTER'S VIGIL /137
Chapter 13 ANOTHER VIEW OF HESTER /148
Chapter 14 HESTER AND THE PHYSICIAN /157
Chapter 15 HESTER AND PEARL /164
Chapter 16 A FOREST WALK /172
Chapter 17 THE PASTOR AND HIS PARISHIONER /179
Chapter 18 A FLOOD OF SUNSHINE /189
Chapter 19 THE CHILD AT THE BROOK-SIDE /196
Chapter 20 THE MINISTER IN A MAZE /203
Chapter 21 THE NEW ENGLAND HOLIDAY /214
Chapter 22 THE PROCESSION /224
Chapter 23 THE REVELATION OF THE SCARLET LETTER /235
Chapter 24 THE CONCLUSION /244
