Nathaniel Hawthorne Background

• Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, as

Puritanism was on the wane in the region.
• However, Puritans still
dominated Salem itself.
• Puritans were a
grouping of Protestants,
particularly English
Calvinists, who came to
the New World to worship God in a manner they
saw as purer in terms of Christian doctrine and
practice.
• This is important because Hawthorne’s relatives
were Puritans in the 1600s.
 Nathaniel Hawthorne Background
• Hawthorne’s father died when Nathaniel was four
years old; his mother was consumed by mourning as
a result. Nathaniel spent much of his childhood
alone.
• And the more Hawthorne learned about his
ancestors, his Puritan forefathers, the more
withdrawn he became.
• William Hathorne and John
Hathorne were involved in
the persecution of suspected
witches in the 1600-1700s, of which Nathaniel was
ashamed.
• In fact, Hawthorne added the W in his name to
separate himself from them.
 Nathaniel Hawthorne Background
• Hawthorne attended Bowdoin College and
graduated in 1825.
• When deciding on a career, Hawthorne said:
• “I do not wish to be a doctor
and live by men’s diseases, nor
a minister to live by their sins,
nor a lawyer to live by their
quarrels. So I don’t see that
there is anything left for me to be but a writer.”
• Soon after graduation, he wrote and published at
his own expense the novel Fanshawe. He decided
that it was poorly written and bought back and
burned as many copies of possible.
 Hawthorne Background & Style
• From 1825-1837, he spent his time in virtual solitude. It
was during this twelve year apprenticeship that he
learned his craft. In 1837, he published the collection
Twice-Told Tales. It was well-received and he was on his
way.
• In the early 1840s, Hawthorne and his wife moved to
Concord, which was filled with great minds, including
Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Bronson Alcott, and, later, Herman Melville.
• Aside from Melville, Hawthorne was virtually the only
one who held onto the Puritan view of humankind.
• The others talked of humankind’s goodness and
ability to reason effectively on his own, a clear effect
of the Enlightenment.
• A man of his time, Hawthorne was a “romantic.”
 Hawthorne & Romanticism
• Like Washington Irving, William Cullen Bryant, Edgar
Allan Poe, and others, Hawthorne was a romantic in
terms of his writing.
• This means that stories were often set in the past, and
they usually have a distant feel
• Supernatural forces are often involved
• Above all romantics seek more to illustrate a point
rather than to portray what is actually real
 Hawthorne & His Philosophy in Writing
• It was in this romantic sense that Hawthorne expressed
his views of humankind.
• Hawthorne thought that the darker side of the human
heart was being overlooked.
• In Hawthorne’s view, humankind might have good
intentions, but we are ultimately unable to escape our
natural state: we are evil, sinful, tormented by guilt,
brought down by pride, and intolerant to the extreme.
• This pride was the unpardonable sin to Hawthorne.
 Hawthorne & His Philosophy in Writing
• In Hawthorne’s view, he was never really able to separate
himself from the inherited guilt that was passed to him from
his ancestors.
• This belief is based on the concept of original sin from Adam
and Eve that passes to all of humankind. We are, at our cores,
“fallen” beings who are inherently evil because of our lineage
back to the Garden of Eden.
• Hawthorne held this view, and he believed that the
acceptance of our evil natures was better than denial of it. This
is a particularly important detail because Hawthorne saw the
intolerance of the Puritans towards other sins as the worst sin
of all: PRIDE—the belief that one is better than someone else.
• In Hawthorne’s view, since we are all sinners, we should try to
understand each other and show compassion rather than
judgment.
 His Philosophy in Writing & Major Works
• Pride, for Hawthorne, was the “unpardonable sin,”
mainly because of its natural effects.
• To Hawthorne pride could lead to isolation—whether
the isolation is caused by the self or community—and
this isolation could cause suffering, even to the point
that the prideful person is destroyed.
• In 1850, Hawthorne published The Scarlet Letter, his
most famous work.
• It is the story of love, vengeance, sin, isolation, and
suffering that envelops the lives of Hester Prynne,
Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingsworth.
• Some critics ripped the book for its sympathetic
portrayal of an adulteress.
 Other Works and Final Thoughts
• Hawthorne’s other novels included The House of the
Seven Gables, The Blithedale Romance, and The Marble
Faun.
• In addition, he produced some excellent short stories,
including Young Goodman Brown, Dr. Heidegger’s
Experiment, and The Minister’s Black Veil.
• Even though they contend with spirituality, his works
are deeply psychological and offer some deep insights
into humankind.