【正文】 his hand on his chest.V. ConclusionThroughout a period of one century and a half, The Scarlet Letter has been inviting not decreasing enthusiasm among critics and ordinary readers, and one of the important reasons for this might as well goes to Hawthorne’s use of ambiguity. The multiple readings and different interpretations of the novel provide both challenge and pleasure to its readers.Hawthorne’s ambiguity forces readers to reinterpret for themselves. This paper mainly concentrates on three aspects. Firstly, natural settings often take the readers a lot of efforts in search of meaning that is under the disguise of it: rosebush is the reflection between civilization and wildness。 from her parents, the individuality of her character, and from the evil Chillingworth, Hester’s rightful husband, the property and money that allow her to live a happy life.Chillingworth is another character that contributes to this moral ambiguity. Although he is described as dark, evil, even demonic, the reader’s sympathies favor him somewhat。 Hester had such strong love that she could not make Dimmesdale go through what she was going through. The second scaffold scene signifies cowardice. The reverend was suffering much and yet could not relieve his suffering through confession. The ending event signifies bravery. Even though he didn’t have to confess, Dimmesdale did The Scarlet Letter’s recurring event was very potent.For another instance, the forest has various meanings. It is a place where wiches gather, where souls are signed away to the devil, and where Dimmesdale can yield himself with deliberate choice to what he knows is deadly sin. It signifies darkness and evil of the world. It also means a place where Pearl can run and play scarlet “A”. It also means a natural world governed by natural laws―as opposed to the artificial, strict munity with its man―made Puritan law . In addition, the forest can also mean a place where one can find his way only by following a narrow, twisting path。 on the other hand, he takes the fundamental religious dogma as criteria to distinguish good from evil.Since Hawthorne’s themes are often such psychological ones as sin, concealed sin, the consequences of sin, secret guilt, the impingement of the Puritan past, the futility of the prehensive social reforms, the impossibility of getting rid of sin from the human heart, etc., in dealing with these kinds of themes, he is always ambivalent, for he knows that his success as a writers depends upon his keeping psychological analysis of people he meets, while he can never forget that invasion of the sanctity of another’s personality may harden the heart even as it enriches the mind. He knows that there is “something of the hawkeye” about him, and that the line is vague between prurient curiosity and legitimate artistic study of character. Therefore, he is often seen to evade the issues with which he confronts. Hawthorne tried to “mediate between the private vision and the monsense objective world”[2]. In so doing, it seems that he is also trying to cut himself loose from any reality. That is why Hawthorne turns to allegorical method and symbols, which cause a lot of ambiguity.In all these cases lead to Hawthorne’s use of ambiguity, which leaves the solution to the reader。17Notes 10IV. Ambiguity in Scarlet Letter “A” incredulity?！都t字》中的模糊性可見與諸多方面，對自然環(huán)境的描寫，道德觀在四個(gè)主要人物中的體現(xiàn)以及紅字本身對海絲特，珠兒以及狄姆斯臺爾的不同意義等等。源與人們對這部小說持續(xù)不斷的研究熱情，我們才得意對這部小說的不同理解與解釋有所了解，同時(shí)也激發(fā)起我們對霍桑運(yùn)用模糊性這一表現(xiàn)手法的探究興趣。在他創(chuàng)作的幾部長篇小說中，《紅字》一直被列為“霍桑式”小說中最為出色的一部?；羯Ｊ敲绹?9世紀(jì)杰出的浪漫注意小說家。也正是這個(gè)緣由，才使得霍桑的魅力有增無減，經(jīng)久不衰；從而也使他在美國文學(xué)史上的地位愈顯突出。模糊性是霍桑運(yùn)用得最為嫻熟、最為成功的藝術(shù)手法之一。關(guān)鍵詞：模糊性；不可理解性；令人困惑Title: Ambiguity in The Scarlet LetterAbstract: Nathaniel Hawthorne is an outstanding novelist of American Romanticism in the 19th century. Among his larger works, The Scarlet Letter has been generally rated as his characteristic best. Therefore, like all other great works, it continuously stimulates criticism. A good number of critical studies have been added considerably to Hawthorne’s reputation and stature. As the result of the steady studies, critics, writers and even ordinary readers have e up with many different readings and interpretations of the novel. This eventually leads to the study of Hawthorne’s perplexed ambiguity, which, though sometimes causes difficulty to the reader, helps a lot in making this novel Hawthorne’s masterpiece and a rewarding work to read even today. Hawthorne’s ambiguity is one of the features of his literary and artistic creation. This thesis attempts to argue his ambiguity in The Scarlet Letter through description of natural settings, embodiment of morality in four main characters and the different meanings of scarlet letter “A” in Hester, Pearl and Dimmesdale. Hawthorne’s application of the artistic technique of ambiguity does arouse some confusion and invites the reader’s introspection, which gives the book a certain air of mystery. Hopefully, this thesis will help, to some extent, some confused readers of The Scarlet Letter to develop a better understanding of Hawthorne’s novel.Key words: ambiguity。8 III. Ambiguity in Morality 20Bibliography 21I. IntroductionHawthorne, a descendent of Puritan immigrants, takes both pride and hatred in his ancestors. Some of his ancestors were men of prominence in the Puritan theocracy of the seventeenth century New England. However, as magistrate and judge, Hawthorne’s great–great–grand father, William Hawthorne(1607–1681),was notorious for his role in the persecution of the Quakers. From Hawthorne’s works and writings, he does feel guilty and ashamed of the two ancestors of his, however, he also takes pride in his ancestors. Hawthorne both loathes and lives his prominent and notorious ancestors.Hawthorne lives in an age with the rapid industrial and economic growth ap