Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Nathaniel Hawthorne

• 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.
• -Sophia Hawthorne
• January 14, 1851

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Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804-1864

• Born in Salem, Massachusetts
• Puritan Background
• Ancestor of John Hathorne one of the three
  judges in the Salem Witch Trials
• Hawthorne carried the guilt of his Puritan
  ancestry throughout his life

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Hawthornes Background

• Began writing after college at Bowdoin College in
  Maine
• Spent many years in seclusion starving artist
• Held many jobs including writer, publisher,
  working at a custom house, and consul in England

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More Background

• Married Sophie Peabody in 1825 (Peabody family
  were big supporters of his work)
• Sophie was the Peabody familys youngest daughter
• Moved from his mothers home to Concord, MA to a
  home known as The Old Manse

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More Background

• This was the happiest time in Hawthornes life,
  even though he was still relatively unknown
• Was friends with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
  Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Herman
  Melville, and President Franklin Pierce

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More Background

• Of Emerson, thought he was truly a brilliant
  thinker
• Of Thoreau, thought he was kind of a goof, but
  admired him
• Of Melville, found a fellow author who shared his
  perspective on the pessimistic view of mans
  capabilities

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More Background

• Hawthorne struggled with the idea of having to
  support a family through his work. Constant
  struggle between the life of an unpaid writer and
  a provider to his family
• In last years of his life, Hawthorne became a
  household name and money was no longer scarce

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His Themes in Writing

• Moral allegories
• The sinful man
• Hypocrisy
• The Dark side of Human Nature
• Religious in Nature

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His Most Famous Works

• Novels
• The House of Seven Gables
• The Scarlet Letter
• Short Stories
• The Ministers Black Veil
• Young Goodman Brown

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Was Hawthorne a Romantic?

• Focused on the natural setting
• Uses setting to physically position characters
• Character traits can be identified by setting
  characters spend most time in
• Contemplated deeper questions of purpose and
  society
• Did take on the alternative/pessimistic view that
  man was not always good

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Hawthornes Legacy

• Despite his life of writing, Hawthorne will be
  remembered for his masterpiece, The Scarlet
  Letter
• Hawthorne is viewed as the pessimistic romantic
  writer
• Despite his desire to separate himself from it,
  he will always be tied to his Puritan ancestry