College of Education for the Humanities – University of Kerbala, which is entitled “A Cognitive Study of Conceptual Metaphors in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.”
To be submitted by Israa Nima Mohsin, the study aims at exploring the role of conceptual metaphors in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter through appraisal theory, as well as a systematic analysis of how metaphoric language influences novel’s themes. It also seeks to identify the most prominent emotional categories.
The study finds out that negative emotional categories predominate in metaphors of sin and guilt, and that metaphors of negative judgment are a key tool in reinforcing societal condemnation of characters who violate Puritan norms.
It is also concluded that Hawthorne’s depiction of sin and guilt is profoundly influenced by repressive values of Puritan society, with negative judgment serving as a primary metaphorical framework.
