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 And the more Hawthorne learned about his ancestors, his Puritan forefathers, the more withdrawn he became. Hawthorne’s ancestors 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. Inside of a Puritan church above (in Massachusetts).

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 as 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 Above is the witch scene from Young Goodman Brown. The short story uses a long dreamlike sequence which is indicative of romanticism.

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. It is thought that pride is the source of all the other sins.

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.