1. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)
Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 1860s

2. Nathaniel Hawthorne Life of Hawthorne
born in 1804 as Nathaniel Hathorne in a downfallen puritan family in Salem, Massachusetts
Orphaned at 4 by his father’s death
changing his name to “Hawthorne" to dissociate from relatives including John Hathorne, one of three judges during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692
The House of Seven Gables (1851) about John Hathorne
his college classmates including future president Franklin Pierce and future poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
working at a Custom House through Franklin Pierce
The Scarlet Letter (
died on May 19, 1864, leaving behind his wife and their three children

3. The House of Seven Gables
The House of the Seven Gables in Salem, Massachusetts
Detroit Publishing Company Photograph Collection ®, Library of Congress

4. Custom House Salem, Massachusetts

5. The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter, painting by T. H. Matteson
This 1860 oil-on-canvas was made under Hawthorne's personal supervision
Dr. Neil K. Fitzgerald retains all rights to reproduce this image

6. Nathaniel Hawthorne Major works of Hawthorne
The House of Seven Gables (1851)
The Scarlet Letter (1850)
Twice-Told Tales (1837)
The Minister’s Black Veil (from Twice-Told Tales)
Rappaccini’s Daughter (from Mosses from an Old Manse, 1846)

7. Nathaniel Hawthorne Literary features of Hawthorne
Psychological analysis novel
Poe: subconscious, even abnomal psyches; crime and terro VS Hawthorne: sin against religion and morality, and its influence on the criminal; internal conflict, psychological changes and their influences
Poe: novel not sermonic or preaching; novel’s desired effect is the terror of the soul VS Hawthorne: not only psychological analysis, but also novels dealing with morality, ethics, society and history
The depth of human soul and human soul’s dark side (dark Romanticism)
Puritanism
Ambiguous attitude toward puritanism
Religious suppression on human minds.

8. Nathaniel Hawthorne Parables and symbolism
Ambiguity of literary themes and authorial attitudes towards many things
Criticism of society in light of puritanical evils
Human soul is the source of all evils
The barrier between human beings disabling communication
Negating the scientific advancement
Tight structure to create tension in reader
Cold-minded narrative style
Statement predominant
Rich imagination

9. Nathaniel Hawthorne Hawthorne’s literary contribution
Selection of odd, mysterious historical events as subject matter
Literary creation intended to disclose meaning of life
Preface to give clues for understanding a literary text (as in The Scarlet Letter)
Dark romanticism
Romantic novels

10. Nathaniel Hawthorne Reading of The Scarlet Letter
Do you find any clear theme in this novel?
What is Hawthorne’s attitude towards Puritanism?
Do you find any symbol in this novel? What does the letter A symbolize?
Do you find any supernatural element from this novel? Please give some example.
How is this novel romantic instead of realistic?
What kind of person is the heroine Hyster Prynne?
What do you think about Dimmesdale? What does he symbolize? Is he evil?

11. Nathaniel Hawthorne
What can you imagine form the name of the hero Dimmesdale?
Who is the evil person in this novel? And what does Roger Chillingworth symbolize? What does Hawthorne want to suggest by the creation of Roger Chillingworth?
Do you like the little girl Pearl, Prynne’s daughter? Why?