Nathaniel Hawthorne(1804-1864)

• Born in Salem, MA

• Changed the spelling of his name from Hathorne to Hawthorne in his early 20s (witch trial guilt)

•His wife, Sophia, was a Transcendentalist.

•He lived for a year at Brook Farm as part of the experimental Transcendentalist Utopian society, but left because he grew to strongly reject their tenants (objected to the claim that man is inherently good)

•Was a recluse

•Worked at the Boston and then Salem Custom Houses. Politically appointed positions.

•Published The Scarlet Letter in 1850

Where H. stored his pen

Influences on Hawthorne

1. Salem

2. Puritan family background

3. Belief in the existence of the devil.

4. Belief in determinism.

Reasons for Hawthorne's Current Popularity

1. His writing is representative of 19th century due to his use of nature, its primitiveness, and as a source of inspiration; also in his use of the exotic, the gothic, and the antiquarian. 2. Hawthorne displayed a love for allegory and symbol. He dealt with tensions involving light versus dark; warmth versus cold; faith versus doubt; heart versus mind; internal versus external worlds.

3. Hawthorne rounds off the puritan cycle in American writing - belief in the existence of an active evil (the devil) and in a sense of determinism (the concept of predestination).

4. Hawthorne's use of psychological analysis (pre-Freudian) is of interest today.

Major Themes in Hawthorne's Fiction

Alienation - a character is in a state of isolation because of self-cause, a societal cause, or a combination of both.

Problem of Guilt -a character's sense of guilt forced by the puritanical heritage or by society; also guilt vs. innocence.

Pride - Hawthorne treats pride as evil. He illustrates the following aspects of pride in various characters: physical pride, spiritual pride, and intellectual pride.

Other themes include- individual vs. society, self-fulfillment vs. accommodation or frustration, hypocrisy vs. integrity

Poe on Hawthorne:

Poe wrote important, though largely unflattering reviews of some of Hawthorne’s work, mostly due to Poe's own contempt of allegory and moral tales.

However, even Poe admitted, "The style of Hawthorne is purity itself. His tone is singularly effective--wild, plaintive, thoughtful, and in full accordance with his themes." He concluded that, "we look upon him as one of the few men of indisputable genius to whom our country has as yet given birth."

“The Minister’s Black Veil”

After discussing the short story in your small group, write a thesis statement on each of the following:

• Hawthorne’s use of symbolism• “The Minister’s Black Veil” as an example

of Romanticism• The central theme(s) in connection with

the allegory’s message