Nathaniel Hawthorne's unique gift was for the creation of strongly symbolic stories which touch the deepest roots of man's moral nature. The finest example is the recreation of The Scarlet Letter. It is a typical one of his ideal and artistic style and is regarded as the first American symbolic fiction, dealing with alienation, sin, punishment, and guilt. The scarlet letter "A", which covers through the whole novel, was given a variety of symbolic meanings. He expressed his feelings, emotions, will, and concept through the scarlet letter "A", natural scenery, and four major characters. This paper researches the symbolism in the novel from the following aspects: the changing symbolic meaning of the scarlet letter "A", the forest, scaffold, the names of the major characters described in the novel.
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