2.  Transcendentalists focused on the connection between all things. They believed in an invisible “oversoul” that bound everything together. (Think of them as the original hippies.)  “Anti-transcendentalism,” also known as dark romanticism, focuses on sin and the dark side of human nature (instead of sunny happiness like the transcendental hippies).

3.  Nathaniel Hawthorne was born soon after the American Revolution’s success, (1804) in Salem, Massachusetts.  Hawthorne was the descendant of Judge Hathorne of the Salem trials. ◦ He changed his name to avoid the embarrassment of being related to Danforth’s “lackey.”  Grew up in a home governed by Puritan ideals, and developed an obsession with sin, punishment, and the struggle between good and evil.

4.  Brook Farm was a transcendentalist community where Nathaniel Hawthorne and his painter wife Sophia Peabody lived for a while.  Brook Farmers believed that by sharing the workload, ample time would be available for leisure activities and intellectual pursuits.  Hawthorne was a founding member of Brook Farm, though he was not a strong adherent of the community's ideals.