摘 要
《德伯家的苔丝》与《红字》是英美文学中两部历经百年而不衰的巨著。两部作品国别不同,时代各异,在题材和风格上也各有差异。但是通过比较,可以发现两者之间,尤其是两位女主人公—海斯特·白兰和苔丝·德伯之间，有着诸多的相似之处。本文中, 笔者将就两部小说中女主人公的命运悲剧进行比较和分析，归纳异同之处，并探讨其原因, 意在揭露宗教和男权社会的丑陋、虚伪、和残酷的一面, 并体现女性在悲惨命运面前所表现出的伟大人格魅力。
关键词：悲剧命运；相似；相异；原因
ABSTRACT
Tess of the D’Urbervilles and The Scarlet Letter are two great works, which have come through hundreds of years not to fade in the British and American literature. They are different in the writers’ nationalities and living time, and have the difference respectively in the theme and the style. But through the comparison, we can find numerous similarities between these two works, especially the two heroines - Hester and Tess. In this article, the author is going to carry on the comparison between these two heroines' tragic destiny, concluding the similarities and differences as well as discussing the reasons, with the intension of exposing the ugly, hypocritical and brutal face of the religion and male-power society, which will also show the charm of the females’ great personality displayed in front of the pitiful destiny.
Keywords：tragic destiny; differences ; similarities; reasons
Contents
1. Introduction 1
2. Similarities and differences of the tragic destiny 2
2.1 Similar destinies 2
2.1.1 Poor family 2
2.1.2 Unfortunate youth 3
2.1.3 Hypocritical lover 3
2.1.4 Social critics 5
2.2 Different ending 6
3. Reasons of the tragic destinies 7
3.1 Writer’s thoughts of writing 7
3.1.1 Hardy’s fatalism 7
3.1.2 Hawthorn’s view of sin 9
3.2 Character’s living environments 10
3.2.1 Economic condition 10
3.2.2 Political status 10
3.2.3 Cultural backgrounds 12
3.3 Character’s thoughts 14
3.3.1 Tess’s hesitance in resisting tradition 14
3.3.2 Hester’s insistence in countering tradition 15
4. Conclusion 16
Acknowledgements 17
References 18
