不同的选择决定不同的人格存在——以存在主义解读《红字》与《荆棘鸟》

1850年问世的《红字》以及一个多世纪后的1977年面世的《荆棘鸟》可谓神父爱情悲剧的孪生篇章。通过对比可以看出,两部作品中的人物在欲望中的不同选择导致不同人格存在：在欲望中沉沦的邪恶者、在欲望中迷失的可悲者以及在欲望中自我救赎的坚守者。可以说作品中关于欲望与选择以及人性内在关联的深刻阐释使这两部小说具备了文学艺术的永恒价值。

Different Choices Decide Different Existences of Personality—— Understanding the "Scarlet Letter" and the "Thorn Birds" with Existentialism

The Scarlet Letter published in 1850 and The Thorn Birds in 1977 are similar tragedies on love stories of priests.By comparing the two,this paper indicates that it is the different choices of the characters that decide their existences – the evil one degenerates,the lamentable one gets lost and the insistent one saves him/her-self in their appetencies respectively.The two novels have explored in depth the relationship among human’s appetencies,choices and personalities,and thus become master pieces with great value in literature history.