AsamasterpieceofHawthorne’sworks,TheScarletLettersetsuponNewEnglandintheseventiethcenturyandsuccessfullydepictsthecrueltyofPuritansocietyandthekilltohumannature.However,itseemsthatthisisnottheonlypurposefortheauthortocriticizethePuritanism.Hawthornealsoendeavorstopursuitanidealharmonythroughtheimageoftheforest,whichisomittedbymostofthescholarswhoresearchHawthorne’sworks,especiallyforTheScarletLetter.Inthisthesis,itaimstoillustratetheidealharmonyfromtwoperspectives:first,theimageoftheforeststandsfortheharmonyoftheprimitivelife;second,theimageoftheforestrepresentstheharmonyofthedevelopmentbothinbodyandmind.
