Nathaniel Hawthorne (born
Nathaniel Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and
short storyA short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format or medium tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels or books...
writer.
Nathaniel Hathorne was born in 1804 in the city of
Salem, MassachusettsSalem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
to Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Clarke Manning Hathorne. He later changed his name to "Hawthorne", adding a "w" to dissociate from relatives including
John HathorneJohn Hathorne was an executor in the Salem witch trials, and the only one who never repented of his actions...
, a judge during the
Salem Witch TrialsThe Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before local magistrates followed by county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in Essex, Suffolk and Middlesex counties of colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...
. Hawthorne attended
Bowdoin CollegeBowdoin College , founded in 1794, is a private liberal arts college located in the coastal New England town of Brunswick, Maine. The college enrolls approximately 1,700 students and has been coeducational since 1971. It offers 33 majors and 4 additional minors; the academic year consists of two...
, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1824, and graduated in 1825; his classmates included future president
Franklin PierceFranklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857, an American politician and lawyer. To date, he is the only President from New Hampshire....
and future poet
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowHenry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American educator and poet whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and "Evangeline"...
. Hawthorne anonymously published his first work, a novel titled
FanshaweFanshawe is a novel written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was his first published work, which he published anonymously in 1828.-Background:...
, in 1828. He published several short stories in various periodicals which he collected in 1837 as
Twice-Told TalesTwice-Told Tales is a short story collection in two volumes by Nathaniel Hawthorne first published in the spring of 1837. The stories had all been previously published in magazines and annuals, hence the name.-Publication:...
. The next year, he became engaged to Sophia Peabody. He worked at a
Custom HouseA Custom House or Customs House was a building housing the offices for the government officials who processed the paperwork for the import and export of goods into and out of a country. Customs officials also collected customs duty on imported goods....
and joined
Brook FarmBrook Farm, also called the Brook Farm Institute of Agriculture and Education or the Brook Farm Association for Industry and Education, was a utopian experiment in communal living in the United States in the 1840s...
, a
transcendentalistTranscendentalism was a group of new ideas in literature, religion, culture, and philosophy that emerged in New England in the early to middle 19th century...
community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to
The Old ManseThe Old Manse is an historic manse famous for its American literary associations. It is now owned and operated as a nonprofit museum by the Trustees of Reservations...
in
Concord, MassachusettsConcord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2000 Census, the town population was about 17,000. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature...
, later moving to Salem,
the BerkshiresThe Berkshires , located in the western parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut, is both a specific highland geologic region and a broader associated cultural region...
, then to
The WaysideThe Wayside is a house with notable literary associations in Concord, Massachusetts. It is now a part of the Minute Man National Historical Park and managed by the National Park Service.-History:The first record of the Wayside property occurs in 1717...
in Concord.
The Scarlet LetterThe Scarlet Letter is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, considered to be his "magnum opus". Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth after committing adultery and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity...
was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment took Hawthorne and family to Europe before their return to The Wayside in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, leaving behind his wife and their three children.
Much of Hawthorne's writing centers around
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
, many works featuring moral
allegoriesAllegory is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than the literal. An allegory is a device that can be presented in literary form, such as a poem or novel, or in visual form, such as in painting or sculpture...
with a
PuritanA Puritan of 16th and 17th-century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of worship and doctrine, as well as personal and group piety. Puritans felt that the English Reformation had not gone far enough, and that the Church of England was tolerant...
inspiration. His fiction works are considered part of the
Romantic movementRomanticism is a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Industrial Revolution...
and, more specifically,
dark romanticismFor the Primordial demo, see Dark Romanticism .Dark romanticism is a literary subgenre that emerged from the Transcendental philosophical movement popular in nineteenth-century America. Works in the dark romantic spirit were influenced by Transcendentalism, but did not entirely embrace the ideas of...
. His themes often center on the inherent evil and sin of humanity, and his works often have
moralA moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...
messages and deep psychological complexity. His published works include novels, short stories, and a biography of his friend
Franklin PierceFranklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857, an American politician and lawyer. To date, he is the only President from New Hampshire....
.
Early life
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in
SalemSalem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
; his
birthplaceThe Nathaniel Hawthorne Birthplace is the birthplace of American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is located at 27 Hardy Street but accessible through 54 Turner Street, Salem, Massachusetts...
is preserved and open to the public. William Hathorne, the author's great-great-great-grandfather, a
PuritanA Puritan of 16th and 17th-century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of worship and doctrine, as well as personal and group piety. Puritans felt that the English Reformation had not gone far enough, and that the Church of England was tolerant...
, was the first of the family to emigrate from England, first settling in
Dorchester, MassachusettsDorchester is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated. Dorchester, including a large portion of today's Boston, was separately incorporated in 1630. It was still a primarily rural...
before moving to Salem. There he became an important member of the
Massachusetts Bay ColonyThe Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, centered around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston...
and held many political positions including magistrate and judge, becoming infamous for his harsh sentencing. William's son and the author's great-great-grandfather,
John HathorneJohn Hathorne was an executor in the Salem witch trials, and the only one who never repented of his actions...
, was one of the judges who oversaw the
Salem Witch TrialsThe Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before local magistrates followed by county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in Essex, Suffolk and Middlesex counties of colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...
. Having learned about this, the author may have added the "w" to his surname in his early twenties, shortly after graduating from college, in an effort to dissociate himself from his notorious forebears. Hawthorne's father, Nathaniel Hathorne, Sr., was a sea captain who died in 1808 of
yellow feverYellow fever is an acute viral disease. The virus, a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus of the family of Flaviviridae is transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes...
in
SurinameSuriname , officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America....
. After his death, young Nathaniel, his mother and two sisters moved in with maternal relatives, the Mannings, in Salem, where they lived for ten years. During this time, on November 10, 1813, young Hawthorne was hit on the leg while playing "bat and ball" and became lame and bedridden for a year, though several physicians could find nothing wrong with him.
In the summer of 1816, the family lived as boarders with farmers before moving to a home recently built specifically for them by Hawthorne's uncles Richard and Robert Manning in
Raymond, MaineRaymond is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,299 at the 2000 census. It is a summer recreation area and is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, near
Sebago LakeSebago Lake is the deepest and second largest lake in the U.S. state of Maine. The lake is deep at its deepest point, with a mean depth of , covers about in surface area, has a length of and a shoreline length of . The surface is around above sea level, so the deep bottom is below the present...
. Years later, Hawthorne looked back at his time in Maine fondly: "Those were delightful days, for that part of the country was wild then, with only scattered clearings, and nine tenths of it primeval woods". In 1819, he was sent back to Salem for school and soon complained of homesickness and being too far from his mother and sisters. In spite of his homesickness, for fun, he distributed to his family seven issues of
The Spectator in August and September 1820. The homemade newspaper was written by hand and included essays, poems, and news utilizing the young author's developing adolescent humor.
Hawthorne's uncle Robert Manning insisted, despite Hawthorne's protests, that the boy attend college. With the financial support of his uncle, Hawthorne was sent to
Bowdoin CollegeBowdoin College , founded in 1794, is a private liberal arts college located in the coastal New England town of Brunswick, Maine. The college enrolls approximately 1,700 students and has been coeducational since 1971. It offers 33 majors and 4 additional minors; the academic year consists of two...
in 1821, partly because of family connections in the area. On the way to Bowdoin, at the stage stop in Portland, Hawthorne met future president
Franklin PierceFranklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857, an American politician and lawyer. To date, he is the only President from New Hampshire....
and the two became fast friends. Once at the school, he also met the future poet
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowHenry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American educator and poet whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and "Evangeline"...
, future congressman
Jonathan CilleyJonathan Cilley was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine. He served part of one term in the 25th Congress. He died in office after being killed in a duel by Congressman William J. Graves, a colleague from Kentucky...
, and future naval reformer
Horatio BridgeCommodore Horatio Bridge was a United States Naval officer who, as Chief of the Bureau of Provisions, served for many years as head of the Navy's supply organization...
. Years after his graduation with the class of 1825, he would describe his college experience to
Richard Henry StoddardRichard Henry Stoddard was an American critic and poet.-Biography:Richard Henry Stoddard was born on July 12, 1825, in Hingham, Massachusetts. He spent most of his boyhood in New York City, where he became a blacksmith and later an iron moulder, but in 1849 he gave up his trade and began to write...
:
Early career
Hawthorne was offered an appointment as weighter and gauger at the Boston
Custom HouseA Custom House or Customs House was a building housing the offices for the government officials who processed the paperwork for the import and export of goods into and out of a country. Customs officials also collected customs duty on imported goods....
at a salary of $1,500 a year, which he accepted on January 17, 1837. During his time there, he rented a room from
George Stillman HillardGeorge Stillman Hillard , American lawyer and author.-Biography:Hillard was born at Machias, Maine on September 22, 1808. After graduating at Harvard College in 1828, he taught in the Round Hill School at Northampton, Massachusetts...
, business partner of
Charles SumnerCharles Sumner was an American politician and statesman from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and...
. Hawthorne wrote in the comparative obscurity of what he called his "owl's nest" in the family home. As he looked back on this period of his life, he wrote: "I have not lived, but only dreamed about living". He contributed short stories, including "
Young Goodman Brown"Young Goodman Brown" is a short story by American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story takes place in Puritan New England, a common setting for Hawthorne's works, and addresses one of his common themes: the conflict between good and evil in human nature and, in particular, the problem of public...
" and "
The Minister's Black Veil"The Minister's Black Veil" is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was first published in the 1836 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir, edited by Samuel Goodrich...
", to various magazines and annuals, though none drew major attention to the author.
Horatio BridgeCommodore Horatio Bridge was a United States Naval officer who, as Chief of the Bureau of Provisions, served for many years as head of the Navy's supply organization...
offered to cover the risk of collecting these stories in the spring of 1837 into one volume,
Twice-Told TalesTwice-Told Tales is a short story collection in two volumes by Nathaniel Hawthorne first published in the spring of 1837. The stories had all been previously published in magazines and annuals, hence the name.-Publication:...
, which made Hawthorne known locally.
Marriage and family
While at Bowdoin, Hawthorne had bet his friend Jonathan Cilley a bottle of
Madeira wineMadeira is a fortified Portuguese wine made in the Madeira Islands. The wine is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines which can be consumed on their own as an aperitif, to sweet wines more usually consumed with dessert. Cheaper versions are often flavored with salt and pepper for...
that he would not be married in 12 years. By 1836 he had won the wager, but did not remain a bachelor for life. After public flirtations with local women Mary Silsbee and
Elizabeth PeabodyElizabeth Palmer Peabody was an American educator who opened the first English-language kindergarten in the United States. Long before most educators, Peabody embraced the premise that children's play has intrinsic developmental and educational value.-Biography:Peabody was born in Billerica,...
, he had become engaged in 1836 to the latter's sister,
illustratorAn illustrator is a graphic artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
and
transcendentalistTranscendentalism was a group of new ideas in literature, religion, culture, and philosophy that emerged in New England in the early to middle 19th century...
Sophia Peabody. Seeking a possible home for himself and Sophia, he joined the transcendentalist
UtopiaUtopia is a name for an ideal community or society, that is taken from Of the Best State of a Republic, and of the New Island Utopia, a book written in 1516 by Sir Thomas More describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean, possessing a seemingly perfect socio-politico-legal system...
n community at Brook Farm in 1841 not because he agreed with the experiment but because it helped him save money to marry Sophia. He paid a $1,000 deposit and was put in charge of shoveling the hill of manure referred to as "the Gold Mine". He left later that year, though his Brook Farm adventure would prove an inspiration for his novel
The Blithedale RomanceThe Blithedale Romance is Nathaniel Hawthorne's third major romance. In Hawthorne , Henry James called it "the lightest, the brightest, the liveliest" of Hawthorne's "unhumorous fictions."-Plot introduction:...
. Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody on July 9, 1842, at a ceremony in the Peabody parlor. The couple moved to
The Old ManseThe Old Manse is an historic manse famous for its American literary associations. It is now owned and operated as a nonprofit museum by the Trustees of Reservations...
in
Concord, MassachusettsConcord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2000 Census, the town population was about 17,000. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature...
, where they lived for three years. There he wrote most of the tales collected in
Mosses from an Old ManseMosses from an Old Manse was a short story collection by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1846.-Background and publication history:...
.
Like Hawthorne, Sophia was a reclusive person. Throughout her early life, she had frequent
migraineMigraine is a neurological syndrome characterized by altered bodily perceptions, severe headaches, and nausea. Physiologically, the migraine headache is a neurological condition more common to women than to men. The word migraine was borrowed from Old French migraigne...
s and underwent several experimental medical treatments. She was mostly bedridden until her sister introduced her to Hawthorne, after which her headaches seem to have abated. The Hawthornes enjoyed a long marriage, often taking walks in the park. Of his wife, whom he referred to as his "Dove", Hawthorne wrote that she "is, in the strictest sense, my sole companion; and I need no other—there is no vacancy in my mind, any more than in my heart... Thank God that I suffice for her boundless heart!" Sophia greatly admired her husband's work. In one of her journals, she wrote: "I am always so dazzled and bewildered with the richness, the depth, the ... jewels of beauty in his productions that I am always looking forward to a second reading where I can ponder and muse and fully take in the miraculous wealth of thoughts".
Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne had three children. Their first, a daughter, was born March 3, 1844. She was named Una, a reference to
The Faerie QueeneThe Faerie Queene is an incomplete English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. The first half was published in 1590, and a second installment was published in 1596. The Faerie Queene is notable for its form: it was the first work written in Spenserian stanza and is the longest poem in the English...
, to the displeasure of family members. In 1846, their son
JulianJulian Hawthorne was an American writer and journalist, the son of novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne and Sophia Peabody. He wrote numerous poems, novels, short stories, mystery/detective fiction, essays, travel books, biographies and histories...
was born. Hawthorne wrote to his sister Louisa on June 22, 1846, with the news: "A small troglodyte made his appearance here at ten minutes to six o'clock this morning, who claimed to be your nephew". Their final child,
RoseRose Hawthorne Lathrop was an American Roman Catholic religious sister and social worker.-Biography:Born in Lenox, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife Sophia Peabody, she was educated in London, Paris, Rome and Florence. She married author George Parsons Lathrop in 1883; both...
, was born in May 1851. Hawthorne called her "my autumnal flower".
Middle years
In April 1846, Hawthorne was officially appointed as the "Surveyor for the District of Salem and Beverly and Inspector of the Revenue for the Port of Salem" at an annual salary of $1,200. He had difficulty writing during this period, as he admitted to Longfellow: "I am trying to resume my pen... Whenever I sit alone, or walk alone, I find myself dreaming about stories, as of old; but these forenoons in the Custom House undo all that the afternoons and evenings have done. I should be happier if I could write". Like his earlier appointment to the custom house in Boston, this employment was vulnerable to the politics of the
spoils systemIn the politics of the United States, a spoil system is an informal practice where a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its voters as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party—as opposed to a system of awarding...
. A Democrat, Hawthorne lost this job due to the change of administration in Washington after the presidential election of 1848. Hawthorne wrote a letter of protest to the
Boston Daily Advertiser which was attacked by the Whigs and supported by the Democrats, making Hawthorne's dismissal a much-talked about event in New England. Hawthorne was deeply affected by the death of his mother shortly thereafter in late July, calling it, "the darkest hour I ever lived". Hawthorne was appointed the corresponding secretary of the Salem Lyceum in 1848. Guests that came to speak that season included Emerson, Thoreau,
Louis AgassizJean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a paleontologist, glaciologist, and geologist, and was a prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and became a professor of natural history at University of Neuchâtel...
and
Theodore ParkerTheodore Parker was an American Transcendentalist and reforming minister of the Unitarian church. A reformer and abolitionist, his own words and quotes he popularized would later influence Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr.-Early life:Theodore Parker was born in Lexington, Massachusetts,...
.
Hawthorne returned to writing and published
The Scarlet LetterThe Scarlet Letter is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, considered to be his "magnum opus". Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth after committing adultery and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity...
in mid-March 1850, including a preface which refers to his three-year tenure in the Custom House and makes several allusions to local politicians, who did not appreciate their treatment. One of the first mass-produced books in America, it sold 2,500 volumes within ten days and earned Hawthorne $1,500 over 14 years. The book became an immediate best-seller and initiated his most lucrative period as a writer. One of Hawthorne's friends, the critic
Edwin Percy WhippleEdwin Percy Whipple was an American essayist and critic.-Biography:He was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1819. For a time, he was the main literary critic for Philadelphia-based Graham's Magazine. Later, in 1848, he became the Boston correspondent to the Literary World under Evert Augustus...
, objected to the novel's "morbid intensity" and its dense psychological details, writing that the book "is therefore apt to become, like Hawthorne, too painfully anatomical in his exhibition of them", though 20th century writer
D. H. LawrenceDavid Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English author, poet, playwright, essayist and literary critic. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
said that there could be no more perfect work of the American imagination than
The Scarlet Letter.
Hawthorne and his family moved to a small red farmhouse near
Lenox, MassachusettsLenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. Set in Western Massachusetts, it is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,077 at the 2000 census. It is the site of Tanglewood, summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra...
at the end of March 1850. Hawthorne became friends with
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. , was an American physician, professor, lecturer, and author. Regarded by his peers as one of the best writers of the 19th century, he is considered a member of the Fireside Poets. His most famous prose works are the "Breakfast-Table" series, which began with The Autocrat...
and
Herman MelvilleHerman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist and poet who is often classified as part of dark romanticism...
beginning on August 5, 1850, when the authors met at a picnic hosted by a mutual friend. Melville had just read Hawthorne's short story collection
Mosses from an Old ManseMosses from an Old Manse was a short story collection by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1846.-Background and publication history:...
, and his unsigned review of the collection, titled "Hawthorne and His Mosses", was printed in the
Literary World on August 17 and August 24. Melville, who was composing
Moby-DickMoby-Dick is a classic novel published in 1851 by American author Herman Melville. Originally misunderstood by contemporary audiences and critics, Moby-Dick is now often referred to as "The Great American Novel" and is considered one of the treasures of world literature...
at the time, wrote that these stories revealed a dark side to Hawthorne, "shrouded in blackness, ten times black". Melville dedicated
Moby-Dick (1851) to Hawthorne: "In token of my admiration for his genius, this book is inscribed to Nathaniel Hawthorne."
Hawthorne's time in
The BerkshiresThe Berkshires , located in the western parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut, is both a specific highland geologic region and a broader associated cultural region...
was very productive.
The House of the Seven GablesThe House of the Seven Gables is a novel written in 1851 by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is a recognized classic of American literature.-The house:The novel begins:...
(1851), which poet and critic
James Russell LowellJames Russell Lowell was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets who rivaled the popularity of British poets...
said was better than
The Scarlet Letter and called "the most valuable contribution to New England history that has been made" and
The Blithedale RomanceThe Blithedale Romance is Nathaniel Hawthorne's third major romance. In Hawthorne , Henry James called it "the lightest, the brightest, the liveliest" of Hawthorne's "unhumorous fictions."-Plot introduction:...
(1852), his only work written in the first person, were written here. He also published in 1851 a collection of short stories retelling myths,
A Wonder-Book for Girls and BoysA Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys is a book by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is a re-writing of some of the most famous of the ancient Greek myths in a volume for children...
, a book he had been thinking about writing since 1846. Though the family enjoyed the scenery of The Berkshires, Hawthorne did not enjoy the winters in their small red house. They left on November 21, 1851.
Later years
In 1852, the Hawthornes returned to Concord. In February, they bought The Hillside, a home previously inhabited by
Amos Bronson AlcottAmos Bronson Alcott was an American teacher, writer and philosopher who left a legacy of forward-thinking social ideas and whose status as a well-publicized figure from the 1830s to the 1880s stemmed from his founding of two short-lived projects, an unconventional school and an utopian community...
and his family, and renamed it
The WaysideThe Wayside is a house with notable literary associations in Concord, Massachusetts. It is now a part of the Minute Man National Historical Park and managed by the National Park Service.-History:The first record of the Wayside property occurs in 1717...
. Their neighbors in Concord included
Ralph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, philosopher, and poet, best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the early 19th century. His teachings directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid 1800s...
and
Henry David ThoreauHenry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, philosopher, and leading transcendentalist...
. That year Hawthorne wrote the campaign biography of his friend
Franklin PierceFranklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857, an American politician and lawyer. To date, he is the only President from New Hampshire....
, depicting him as "a man of peaceful pursuits" in the book
The Life of Franklin Pierce. Horace Mann said, "If he makes out Pierce to be a great man or a brave man, it will be the greatest work of fiction he ever wrote". In the biography, Hawthorne left out Pierce's drinking habits despite rumors of his alcoholism and emphasized Pierce's belief that slavery could not "be remedied by human contrivances" but would, over time, "vanish like a dream". With Pierce's election as President, Hawthorne was rewarded in 1853 with the position of United States
consulThe title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the people of the country to whom he or she is...
in
LiverpoolThe United States Consulate in Liverpool, England was established in 1790, and was the first overseas consulate founded by the then fledgling United States of America...
shortly after the publication of
Tanglewood TalesTanglewood Tales for Boys and Girls is a book by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, a sequel to A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys...
. The role, considered the most lucrative foreign service position at the time, was described by Hawthorne's wife as "second in dignity to the Embassy in London". In 1857, his appointment ended at the close of the Pierce administration and the Hawthorne family toured France and Italy. During his time in Italy, the previously clean-shaven Hawthorne grew a bushy mustache.
The family returned to The Wayside in 1860, and that year saw the publication of
The Marble FaunThe Marble Faun was the last of the four major romances by Nathaniel Hawthorne. After writing The Blithedale Romance in 1852, Hawthorne, approaching fifty, turned away from publication and obtained a political appointment as American Consul in Liverpool, England, an appointment which he held from...
, his first new book in seven years. Failing health prevented him from completing several more romances. Hawthorne died in his sleep on May 19, 1864, in
Plymouth, New HampshirePlymouth is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States, in the White Mountains Region. Plymouth is located at the convergence of the Pemigewasset and Baker rivers, both of which are components of the Merrimack River watershed...
while on a tour of the
White MountainsThe White Mountains are a mountain range that covers about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the United States. Part of the Appalachian Mountains, they are considered the most rugged mountains in New England...
with Pierce. Pierce sent a telegram to
Elizabeth PeabodyElizabeth Palmer Peabody was an American educator who opened the first English-language kindergarten in the United States. Long before most educators, Peabody embraced the premise that children's play has intrinsic developmental and educational value.-Biography:Peabody was born in Billerica,...
to inform Hawthorne's wife in person; she was too saddened by the news to handle the funeral arrangements herself. Longfellow wrote a tribute poem to Hawthorne, published in 1866, called "The Bells of Lynn". Hawthorne was buried in
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, ConcordSleepy Hollow Cemetery is a cemetery located on Bedford Street near the center of Concord, Massachusetts. The cemetery is the burial site of a number of famous Concordians, including some of the United States' greatest authors and thinkers, especially on a hill known as "Author's...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
. Pallbearers included Longfellow, Emerson, Holmes, Alcott,
James Thomas FieldsJames Thomas Fields was an American publisher and author.-Biography:Fields was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. His father was a sea captain and died before Fields was three. At the age of 14, Fields took a job at the Old Corner Bookstore in Boston...
, and
Edwin Percy WhippleEdwin Percy Whipple was an American essayist and critic.-Biography:He was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1819. For a time, he was the main literary critic for Philadelphia-based Graham's Magazine. Later, in 1848, he became the Boston correspondent to the Literary World under Evert Augustus...
.
After their respective deaths, wife Sophia and daughter Una were originally buried in England. However, in June 2006, they were re-interred in plots adjacent to Hawthorne.
Writings
Literary style and themes
Hawthorne is best known today for his many
short storiesA short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format or medium tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels or books...
(he called them "tales") and his four major
romancesAs a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about the marvelous adventures of a chivalrous, heroic knight errant,...
written between 1850 and 1860:
The Scarlet LetterThe Scarlet Letter is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, considered to be his "magnum opus". Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth after committing adultery and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity...
(1850),
The House of the Seven GablesThe House of the Seven Gables is a novel written in 1851 by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is a recognized classic of American literature.-The house:The novel begins:...
(1851),
The Blithedale RomanceThe Blithedale Romance is Nathaniel Hawthorne's third major romance. In Hawthorne , Henry James called it "the lightest, the brightest, the liveliest" of Hawthorne's "unhumorous fictions."-Plot introduction:...
(1852) and
The Marble FaunThe Marble Faun was the last of the four major romances by Nathaniel Hawthorne. After writing The Blithedale Romance in 1852, Hawthorne, approaching fifty, turned away from publication and obtained a political appointment as American Consul in Liverpool, England, an appointment which he held from...
(1860). Another novel-length romance,
FanshaweFanshawe is a novel written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was his first published work, which he published anonymously in 1828.-Background:...
was published anonymously in 1828. Hawthorne defined a romance as being radically different from a novel by not being concerned with the possible or probable course of ordinary experience. Many of his works are inspired by Puritan
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
, combining historical romance loaded with symbolism and deep psychological themes, bordering on surrealism.
Hawthorne's works belong to
romanticismRomanticism is a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Industrial Revolution...
or, more specifically,
dark romanticismFor the Primordial demo, see Dark Romanticism .Dark romanticism is a literary subgenre that emerged from the Transcendental philosophical movement popular in nineteenth-century America. Works in the dark romantic spirit were influenced by Transcendentalism, but did not entirely embrace the ideas of...
, cautionary tales that suggest that guilt, sin, and evil are the most inherent natural qualities of humanity. His later writings would also reflect his negative view of the
TranscendentalismTranscendentalism was a group of new ideas in literature, religion, culture, and philosophy that emerged in New England in the early to middle 19th century...
movement.
Criticism
Contemporary response to Hawthorne's work praised his sentimentality and moral purity while more modern evaluations focus on the dark psychological complexity. One of these contemporaries,
Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the...
, wrote important and largely flattering reviews of both
Twice-Told Tales and
Mosses from an Old Manse. Poe's negative assessment was partly due to his own contempt of allegory and moral tales, and his chronic accusations of plagiarism, though he admitted, "The style of Hawthorne is purity itself. His tone is singularly effective—wild, plaintive, thoughtful, and in full accordance with his themes... We look upon him as one of the few men of indisputable genius to whom our country has as yet given birth".
Ralph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, philosopher, and poet, best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the early 19th century. His teachings directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid 1800s...
wrote that "Nathaniel Hawthorne's reputation as a writer is a very pleasing fact, because his writing is not good for anything, and this is a tribute to the man".
Henry JamesHenry James, O.M. was an American author who expatriated to England, and who acquired British nationality near the end of his life. One of the key figures of 19th century literary realism, James was born in the United States, the son of theologian Henry James, Sr., and brother of the philosopher...
praised Hawthorne, saying, "The fine thing in Hawthorne is that he cared for the deeper psychology, and that, in his way, he tried to become familiar with it". Poet
John Greenleaf WhittierJohn Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets...
wrote that he admired the "weird and subtle beauty" in Hawthorne's tales.
Evert Augustus DuyckinckEvert Augustus Duyckinck was an American publisher and biographer. He was associated with the literary side of the Young America movement in New York.-Life and work:...
said of Hawthorne, "Of the American writers destined to live, he is the most original, the one least indebted to foreign models or literary precedents of any kind".
Novels
- Fanshawe
Fanshawe is a novel written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was his first published work, which he published anonymously in 1828.-Background:...
(published anonymously, 1828)
- The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, considered to be his "magnum opus". Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth after committing adultery and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity...
(1850)
- The House of the Seven Gables
The House of the Seven Gables is a Colonial mansion in Salem, Massachusetts, as well as the title of a novel written in 1851 by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne...
(1851)
- The Blithedale Romance
The Blithedale Romance is Nathaniel Hawthorne's third major romance. In Hawthorne , Henry James called it "the lightest, the brightest, the liveliest" of Hawthorne's "unhumorous fictions."-Plot introduction:...
(1852)
- The Marble Faun
The Marble Faun was the last of the four major romances by Nathaniel Hawthorne. After writing The Blithedale Romance in 1852, Hawthorne, approaching fifty, turned away from publication and obtained a political appointment as American Consul in Liverpool, England, an appointment which he held from...
(1860)
- The Dolliver Romance (1863)(unfinished)
- Septimius Felton; or, the Elixir of Life (Published in the Atlantic Monthly, 1872)
- Doctor Grimshawe's Secret: A romance (unfinished), with Preface and Notes by Julian Hawthorne (1882)
Short story collections
- Twice-Told Tales
Twice-Told Tales is a short story collection in two volumes by Nathaniel Hawthorne first published in the spring of 1837. The stories had all been previously published in magazines and annuals, hence the name.-Publication:...
(1837)
- Grandfather's Chair (1840)
- Mosses from an Old Manse
Mosses from an Old Manse was a short story collection by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1846.-Background and publication history:...
(1846)
- The Snow-Image, and Other Twice-Told Tales
The Snow-Image, and Other Twice-Told Tales was the final collection of short stories published by Nathaniel Hawthorne in his lifetime, appearing in 1852.-Contents:* Preface * "The Snow-Image" * "The Great Stone Face"...
(1852)
- A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys
A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys is a book by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is a re-writing of some of the most famous of the ancient Greek myths in a volume for children...
(1852)
- Tanglewood Tales
Tanglewood Tales for Boys and Girls is a book by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, a sequel to A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys...
(1853)
- The Dolliver Romance and Other Pieces (1876)
- The Great Stone Face and Other Tales of the White Mountains (1889)
- The Celestial Railroad and Other Short Stories
Selected short stories
- "My Kinsman, Major Molineux
"My Kinsman, Major Molineux" is a short story written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1831. It first appeared in the 1832 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir, published by Samuel Goodrich...
" (1832)
- "Young Goodman Brown
"Young Goodman Brown" is a short story by American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story takes place in Puritan New England, a common setting for Hawthorne's works, and addresses one of his common themes: the conflict between good and evil in human nature and, in particular, the problem of public...
" (1835)
- "The Gray Champion" (1835)
- "The White Old Maid" (1835)
- "The Ambitious Guest
"The Ambitious Guest" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. First published in New-England Magazine in June of 1835, it is better known for its publication in the second volume of Twice-Told Tales in 1835.- Plot :...
" (1835)
- "The Minister's Black Veil
"The Minister's Black Veil" is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was first published in the 1836 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir, edited by Samuel Goodrich...
" (1836)
- "The Man of Adamant
"The Man of Adamant" is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was published in the 1837 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir, edited by Samuel Goodrich...
" (1837)
- "The Maypole of Merry Mount
"The Maypole of Merry Mount" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It first appeared in Twice-Told Tales, a collection of short stories, in 1837.- Plot synopsis :...
" (1837)
- "The Great Carbuncle
"The Great Carbuncle" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It first appeared in Twice-Told Tales, a collection of short stories, in 1837.-Plot synopsis:...
" (1837)
- "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
"Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" is a short story by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, about a scientist who claims to have been sent water from the Fountain of Youth. It was eventually published in Hawthorne's collection Twice-Told Tales in 1837.-Plot:...
" (1837)
- "A Virtuoso's Collection
"A Virtuoso's Collection" is the final short story in Mosses from an Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was first published in Boston Miscellany of Literature and Fashion, I , 193-200....
" (May 1842)
- "The Birth-Mark
"The Birth-Mark" is a romantic short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne that examines obsession with human perfection. It was first published in the March, 1843 edition of The Pioneer...
" (March 1843)
- "Egotism; or, The Bosom-Serpent
"Egotism; or, The Bosom-Serpent" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The author originally intended for the story to appear in a collection entitled Allegories of the Heart. It was first published in the March, 1843 edition of The United States Magazine and Democratic Review...
" (1843)
- "The Artist of the Beautiful" (1844)
- "Rappaccini's Daughter
"Rappaccini's Daughter" is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1844 concerning a medical researcher in medieval Padua. It was published in the collection Mosses from an Old Manse.-Plot summary:...
" (1844)
- "P.'s Correspondence
"P.'s Correspondence" is a 1845 short story by the 19th century American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, constituting a pioneering work of alternate history...
" (1845)
- "Ethan Brand
"Ethan Brand—A Chapter from an Abortive Romance" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1850.-Plot summary:The story begins with a lime-burner called Bartram and his son hearing a disturbing roar of laughter echo through the twilight in the hills...
" (1850)
- "Feathertop
"Feathertop" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1852.-Plot summary:In seventeenth century New England, the witch Mother Rigby builds a scarecrow to protect her garden...
" (1852)
Sources
- Cheever, Susan (2006). American Bloomsbury: Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau; Their Lives, Their Loves, Their Work. Detroit: Thorndike Press. Large print edition. ISBN 078629521X.
- McFarland, Philip (2004). Hawthorne in Concord. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 0802117767.
- Mellow, James R (1980). Nathaniel Hawthorne in His Times. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-365-27602-0.
- Miller, Edwin Haviland (1991). Salem Is My Dwelling Place: A Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. ISBN 0877453322.
- Porte, Joel (1969). The Romance in America: Studies in Cooper, Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, and James. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press.
External links
Sites
Works
About Hawthorne
- The Hawthorne in Salem Website
- Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist and poet who is often classified as part of dark romanticism...
's appreciation, "Hawthorne and His Mosses" (1851)
- Henry James
Henry James, O.M. was an American author who expatriated to England, and who acquired British nationality near the end of his life. One of the key figures of 19th century literary realism, James was born in the United States, the son of theologian Henry James, Sr., and brother of the philosopher...
's book-length studyHawthorne is a book of literary criticism by Henry James published in 1879. The book was an insightful study of James' great predecessor, Nathaniel Hawthorne. James gave extended consideration to each of Hawthorne's novels and a selection of his short stories. He also reviewed Hawthorne's life and...
, Hawthorne (1879)
- Second copy at Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain...
- WBUR's celebration of Nathaniel Hawthorne at 200
- Hawthorne Family Papers, ca. 1825-1929(1.5 linear ft.) are housed in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives at Stanford University Libraries