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Comparing the Clan Hall and Scaffold in White Deer Plains and The Scarlet Letter
CHEN Yue
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5836/2025.09.004
Shandong University, Weihai, China
This article takes the theory of power space as an starting point for an in-depth comparison of the clan hall in White Deer Plains and the scaffold in The Scarlet Letter. In White Deer Plains, The clan hall, as the core place of family activities, has a spatial layout that implies a hierarchy of power, and the taboos it represents relate to various aspects such as marriage and bloodline, and maintains the order of the clan through a variety of disciplinary mechanisms. The scaffold in The Scarlet Letter is located in the town’s central square and is a symbol of Puritan social power and moral discipline, behind which Puritan taboos influence people’s behaviors and public punishments are used to achieve the discipline of the people. The research reveals the similarities and differences between the two in terms of sources of power, modes of operation and influence, and opens up new horizons for cross-cultural literary studies.
The White Deer Plains, The Scarlet Letter, Clan Hall, Scaffold
Journal of Literature and Art Studies, September 2025, Vol. 15, No. 9, 696-706
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