Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Balanced Approach to
Transcendentalism
The Scarlet Letter
AP English Language and
Composition
The Life of Hawthorne
Hawthorne was born
on July 4th, 1804 in
Salem, Mass.
Father: Nathaniel
Hathorne Sr. was a sea
captain.
Mother: Elizabeth
Clarke Manning was a
descendent of
blacksmiths
The Life of Hawthorne
Hawthorne attended
Bowdoin College
After his graduation
he turned to writing.
He wrote several
successful short
stories which were
collected in Twice-
Told Tales (1837).
The Life of Hawthorne
Hawthorne
returned to Salem
where he met
Sophia Peabody.
After a five year
engagement, they
were married in
1842.
The Life of Hawthorne
Unable to support
his new family by
writing, in 1846
Hawthorne
accepted a political
appointment to the
Salem Custom
House as Surveyor
of the Port .
The Life of Hawthorne
This bureaucratic
position stunted
Hawthorne’s creativity.
A change in
administration,
however, led to his
termination in 1849.
Hawthorne’s mother
died at the same time.
The Life of Hawthorne
Suffering these
losses, Hawthorne
left Salem, which he
called "that
abominable city,"
saying that he now
had no reason to
remain.
He would never
again return.
The Life of Hawthorne
Some critics have
suggested that the
loss of both his
position and mother
provided the
creative impetus to
write The Scarlet
Letter (1850).
The Life of Hawthorne
Hawthorne’s
connection to Salem
haunted him.
His great-
grandfather John
Hathorne was the
chief-interrogator of
the “Salem
Witches.”
The Life of Hawthorne
The story that
Hawthorne added
the "w" to his name
to distance himself
from his Hathorne
ancestors has no
clear evidence to
support it.
The Life of Hawthorne
In 1830, however, he
published "The Hollow
of the Three Hills,"
under the name of
Nathaniel Hathorne.
After this date his
name appears as
Nathaniel Hawthorne.
The Life of Hawthorne
Other Published works:
Twice-Told Tales, The
constraints and
motherhood
Influences upon Hawthorne’s Work
Female characters
are often portrayed
as sympathetic
Idea of “Female
Purity”
Influence of
Puritan heritage
Influences upon Hawthorne’s Work
Puritan New England
Many works are set
in New England
Puritan belief in an
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.”
European Romance vs. The
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: