Mrs. Kimberley Tucker Pre-AP English 10 By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Mrs. Kimberley TuckerPre-AP English 10

By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) Hawthorne was born in

Salem, Massachusetts. His great grandfather was

a judge in the 1692 Salem witch trials, responsible for the deaths of several accused witches .

He committed his life to writing.

Salem Witch Trials - 1692

Salem Witch Trials - 1692 Due to several false accusations,

individuals were believed to be witches, leading to a witch hunt, leaving at least twenty dead 19 hanged 1 pressed to death

Important Note: The novel is set 50 years prior to the witch trials.

Inherited Guilt Hawthorne’s connection to Salem

haunted him. His great-grandfather John Hathorne

was the chief-interrogator of the “Salem Witches.”

Female Influence

Hawthorne’s wife, Sophia desired to paint, write, and pursue a profession.

She was limited by social constraints and motherhood.

Females in Hawthorne’s Work

Often portrayed as sympathetic

Idea of “Female Purity” Influence of

Puritan heritage

Puritan New England Influence

Many works set in New England Puritan belief in an “active evil”

(Devil) Salem communities are often

viewed as hypocritical – Salem Witch Trials

European Romance vs. American Novel

Hawthorne struggled against the European model of the Romance.

Through The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne developed the first truly American Novel.

The European Romance

The European Romance romanticized a rich past and historic culture.

It involved archetypal adventures.

It was escapist: a means of escaping the here and now.

The European Romance

Classical Romance Characteristics: Lovers who remain true to each other,

while the woman's chastity is preserved An intricate plot, including stories within

stories Exciting and unexpected chance events

The European Romance

Classical Romance Characteristics:

Travel to faraway settings Hidden and mistaken identity Written in an elaborate and elegant style

European Romance vs. The American Novel

America, however, had no rich culture or ancient history to draw from.

It was primarily concerned with the here and now, and how to perfect it.

European Romance vs. The American Novel

While maintaining the elements of the European Romance, Hawthorne shifted the American novel’s focus to the present.

The American Novel

Hawthorne’s Novel was not a means of escape but rather a means to examine society and life.

His novel invited criticism of the worlds he reflected – Puritanism.

The American Novel Where the Romance

incorporated the Gothic elements of crime, religion, ghosts, etc. as the focus of the story, Hawthorne used these elements as a means to support his story.

The Scarlet Letter Concerned with “internal

truths” or “truths of the human heart”

Use of imagination rather than realistic representations

Embellishes relationship between human and nature

Hawthorne’s Novel

Found relevance as more than mere entertainment

Something more prophetic and integral to the American Identity

Connections Admired by Edgar Alan Poe Close friend of Herman Melville Friendly with Ralph Waldo Emerson and

Henry David Thoreau

Hawthorne the Anti-Transcendentalist Friendly with Transcendentalists – Alcott,

Emerson, Thoreau, etc. Thought it was too idealistic Struggled between the idea of man’s

perfectibility and evil nature

Brook Farm 1841 after being fired from the Boston

Custom House $500 buy into commune Emerson contemplated joining but declined. Hawthorne apparently did not enjoy the

physical labors of farming; it left him too tired to write.

Hawthorne’s Views of Transcendentalism

Hawthorne did not conform to the Romantic focus on the emotions and abandonment of reason.

Hawthorne strove to create a balance between “head and heart.”

Hawthorne’s Views of Transcendentalism

Hawthorne believed that human fulfillment was achieved through a balance between mind, reason, heart, spirit, will, and imagination.

Hawthorne’s Views of Transcendentalism

Hawthorne’s balanced approach placed him in opposition to other Transcendentalists – Emerson, Thoreau, and Longfellow.

Clash with Transcendentalism Hawthorne saw

potential problems with Emerson’s idea of self-reliance.

Self-reliance can lead to excessive pride.

Hawthorne believed in determinism, natural order.

Clash with Transcendentalism

Transcendentalists were overwhelmingly abolitionists – Hawthorne wasn’t entirely sure of his position.

He questioned the motives and principles of the Northern authorities.

Clash with Transcendentalism This point of

contention was publicized in a series of articles by Hawthorne published in the journal The Atlantic, which was founded by Emerson and Longfellow.

Clash with Transcendentalism

The editorial staff of The Atlantic deleted large portions of Hawthorne’s articles, which contained ideas that disagreed with the abolitionist beliefs of the founders of the journal.

Clash with Transcendentalism

Hawthorne also added sketches throughout his edited published articles, written from the perspective of a “dimwitted editor” to show the hypocritical nature of his transcendentalist editors.

Clash with Transcendentalism

Hawthorne’s Response:

"What a terrible thing it is to try to let off a little bit of truth into this miserable humbug of a world!"

Clash with Transcendentalism In place of an unflattering description of

President Lincoln that the editors had deleted, he wrote:

“We are compelled to omit two or three pages, in which the author describes the interview, and gives his idea of the personal appearance and deportment of the President. The sketch appears to have been written in a benign spirit, and perhaps conveys a not inaccurate impression of its august subject; but it lacks reverence.”

Clash with Transcendentalism In place of another deleted section he

wrote: “We do not thoroughly comprehend the

author's drift in the foregoing paragraph, but are inclined to think its tone reprehensible, and its tendency impolitic in the present stage of our national difficulties.”

Hawthorne’s Style Romantic

Strange and mysterious Symbolic imagination Past for subject matter

Focus on problem of evil and the nature of sin Guilt

What is sin? Sin against civil law vs.

natural law

Unity of place Boston Scaffold scenes

Formal language Imagery

Nature Plant life Light

Summary Interruptions Ambiguity

Setting 1642-1650 Boston Massachusetts Bay Colony

Remember: Hawthorne did not live during this time, and he was not a Puritan.

Boston, Mid-1600s Puritans had little personal

freedom. Laws prohibited

everything from swearing to excessive decoration on women’s caps to murder.

Those considered sinners were published publicly and harshly as an example to others in order to shame the guilty party.

Puritans Emerged from the Protestant Reformation Wanted to purify the church and take it

back to its original state, first century C.E. New England Puritans most radical of all

Puritans Did not promote religious freedom

Persecuted and banished all who held different beliefs

Puritans Minister and magistrates were to enforce

the laws of God. Theocracy – church and government

combined Self-discipline lifestyle avoiding all

temptations of the devil Complete intolerance of sin

Puritans Any sin could evoke the wrath of God Public condemnation of sin

Stocks Whippings

Dressed in brown, gray, or black No worldly pleasures Common for children to be “put out”

Puritans Valued hard work

Theater closed in England Christmas outlawed in England and colonies.

Salvation could not be earned. People could go to heaven only if they received

God’s grace in the process of conversion. Calvinist doctrine of predetermination

Themes Civil law vs. natural law Nature of sin and the effects of sin on the

individual Individual’s relationship to society

People are not self-reliant. Pearl Dimmesdale Hester