Abstract
Bu makale, Nathaniel Hawthorne'un Kızıl Damga adlı eserini Heidegger'in fenomenolojik çerçevesi üzerinden yeniden ele almaktadır. Hester Prynne'in varoluşsal durumuna odaklanan çalışma, onun “A'da varoluşunu”, atılmışlık, kamusal yorumlama ve dünyasının sembolik yapıları tarafından şekillendirilen bir Dasein biçimi olarak kavramsallaştırmaktadır. Heidegger'in Varlık, özgünlük ve kamusal alanın diktatörlüğü kavramlarını Dimmesdale, Chillingworth ve Pearl dahil olmak üzere romanın ana karakterlerine genişleterek, makale Hawthorne'un anlatısının, nasıl özgün benliğin sistematik olarak kısıtlandığı katı bir ontolojik ortam inşa ettiğini göstermektedir. 17. bölümdeki önemli karşılaşmayı yakından inceleyerek, analiz görünüş, anlam ve kimliğin birbirine nasıl çöktüğünü gösterir ve Puritan topluluğunun ahlaki kimliği sabitleyen ve varoluşsal olasılıkları sınırlayan egemen Varlık “söyleyicisi” olduğunu ortaya çıkarır. Sonuç olarak, bu makale, Kızıl Damga’nın fenomenolojik açıklığa direnmesine rağmen, bu direnişin analitik olarak üretken hale geldiğini savunur: roman, bireysel Varlık ile otoriter anlam yaratma arasındaki gerilimleri ortaya çıkararak, fenomenolojik eleştirinin kapasitelerini test eder ve aydınlatır.
Keywords
References
- Bumas, E.S. (2001). Fictions of the panopticon: Prison, utopia, and the out-penitent in the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne. American Literature, 73(1), 121-145. https://doi.org/10.1215/00029831-73-1-121
- Eagleton, T. (2003). Literary theory: an introduction. The University of Minnesota Press.
- Guerin, W.L.; Labor, E.; Morgan, L.; Reesman, J.C.; and Willingham, J.R. (1992). A handbook of critical approaches to literature. Third Edition, Oxford University Press.
- Halliburton, D. (1973). Edgar Allan Poe: A phenomenological view. Princeton University Press.
- Hawthorne, N. (1961). The scarlet letter. Macmillan.
- Heidegger, M. (1993). Basic writings (D. F. Krell, Trans.). Harper Collins.
- Heidegger, M. (1996). Being and time (J. Stambaugh, Trans.). Blackwell Publishers. (Original work published 1927)
- Heidegger, M. (2000). Introduction to metaphysics (G. Fried & R. Polt, Trans.). Yale University Press. (Original work published 1953)
- Strauss, L. (1987). History of political philosophy. Chicago University Press.
Abstract
This essay reconsiders Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter through a Heideggerian phenomenological framework. Focusing on the existential condition of Hester Prynne, the study conceptualizes her “being in A” as a mode of Dasein shaped by thrownness, public interpretation, and the symbolic structures of her world. By extending Heidegger’s notions of Being, authenticity, becoming, and the dictatorship of the public realm across the novel’s major characters—including Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and Pearl—the essay demonstrates how Hawthorne’s narrative constructs a rigid ontological environment in which authentic self-disclosure is systematically constrained. Through a close reading of the pivotal encounter in Chapter 17, the analysis shows how appearance, meaning, and identity collapse into one another, revealing the Puritan community as the dominant “sayer” of Being that fixes moral identity and limits existential possibilities. Ultimately, the essay argues that while The Scarlet Letter resists phenomenological openness, this resistance becomes analytically productive: the novel exposes the tensions between individual Being and authoritarian meaning-making, thereby testing and illuminating the capacities of phenomenological criticism itself.
Keywords
References
- Bumas, E.S. (2001). Fictions of the panopticon: Prison, utopia, and the out-penitent in the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne. American Literature, 73(1), 121-145. https://doi.org/10.1215/00029831-73-1-121
- Eagleton, T. (2003). Literary theory: an introduction. The University of Minnesota Press.
- Guerin, W.L.; Labor, E.; Morgan, L.; Reesman, J.C.; and Willingham, J.R. (1992). A handbook of critical approaches to literature. Third Edition, Oxford University Press.
- Halliburton, D. (1973). Edgar Allan Poe: A phenomenological view. Princeton University Press.
- Hawthorne, N. (1961). The scarlet letter. Macmillan.
- Heidegger, M. (1993). Basic writings (D. F. Krell, Trans.). Harper Collins.
- Heidegger, M. (1996). Being and time (J. Stambaugh, Trans.). Blackwell Publishers. (Original work published 1927)
- Heidegger, M. (2000). Introduction to metaphysics (G. Fried & R. Polt, Trans.). Yale University Press. (Original work published 1953)
- Strauss, L. (1987). History of political philosophy. Chicago University Press.
Abstract
References
- Bumas, E.S. (2001). Fictions of the panopticon: Prison, utopia, and the out-penitent in the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne. American Literature, 73(1), 121-145. https://doi.org/10.1215/00029831-73-1-121
- Eagleton, T. (2003). Literary theory: an introduction. The University of Minnesota Press.
- Guerin, W.L.; Labor, E.; Morgan, L.; Reesman, J.C.; and Willingham, J.R. (1992). A handbook of critical approaches to literature. Third Edition, Oxford University Press.
- Halliburton, D. (1973). Edgar Allan Poe: A phenomenological view. Princeton University Press.
- Hawthorne, N. (1961). The scarlet letter. Macmillan.
- Heidegger, M. (1993). Basic writings (D. F. Krell, Trans.). Harper Collins.
- Heidegger, M. (1996). Being and time (J. Stambaugh, Trans.). Blackwell Publishers. (Original work published 1927)
- Heidegger, M. (2000). Introduction to metaphysics (G. Fried & R. Polt, Trans.). Yale University Press. (Original work published 1953)
- Strauss, L. (1987). History of political philosophy. Chicago University Press.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | North American Language, Literature and Culture |
| Journal Section | Research Article |
| Authors | |
| Submission Date | November 30, 2025 |
| Acceptance Date | March 19, 2026 |
| Publication Date | April 29, 2026 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.69878/deuefad.1832740 |
| IZ | https://izlik.org/JA89WZ78UN |
| Published in Issue | Year 2026 Volume: 13 Issue: 1 |