1. Transcendentalism

3. What does “transcendentalism” mean?
There is an ideal spiritual state which “transcends” the physical and intellectual.
A loose collection of eclectic ideas about literature, philosophy, religion, social reform, and the general state of American culture.
Transcendentalism had different meanings for each person involved in the movement.

4. Where did it come from?
Ralph Waldo Emerson gave German philosopher Immanuel Kant credit for popularizing the term “transcendentalism.”
It began as a reform movement in the Unitarian church.
It is not a religion—more accurately, it is a philosophy or form of spirituality.
It centered around Boston and Concord, MA. in the mid-1800’s.
Emerson first expressed his philosophy of transcendentalism in his essay Nature.

5. What did Transcendentalists believe?
The intuition, instead of logical or the five senses, became the means for a conscious union of the individual psyche with the world psyche also known as the Oversoul or life-force

6. Basic Premise #1
An individual is the spiritual center of the universe.

7. Basic Premise #2
All knowledge begins with self-knowledge. This is similar to Aristotle's dictum "know thyself."

8. Basic Premise #3
Transcendentalists accepted the concept of nature as a living mystery.

9. Who were the Transcendentalists?
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry David Thoreau

10. The Anti-Transcendentalists
Herman Melville
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Who were these guys?

11. The Big Two
Anti-transcendentalism was a literary movement that essentially consisted of two writers: Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville
Both men are easily two of the greatest fiction writers of their time
In opposition to the transcendentalists, their work focused on the limitations and destructiveness of the human spirit

12. Transcendental Connections
After graduating from college, Hawthorne lived in solitude at his mother’s house for 12 years working on becoming a writer
For a short time, he lived on a transcendental commune, Brook Farm
After marrying, Hawthorne moved to Concord, and became a close friend of both Emerson and Thoreau

13. Brook Farm
Brook Farm was a commune which tried to establish the transcendental ideal: individual freedom and humane relationships.
They sought harmony, the merging of values, ideas, and spiritual matters.
At Brook Farm, physical labor was considered a condition of mental well-being and health.
The members of Brook Farm believed that they could create a utopian microcosm of society.

14. Anti-Transcendental thoughts
Despite his friendship with both Emerson and Thoreau, Hawthorne found it impossible to accept their optimistic view of the world
He could not get past puritan guilt and the belief of evil as a dominant force in the world

15. His work
As a result of his beliefs, his works express a dark and gloomy view of the world
He is most widely known for The Scarlet Letter (a novel about sin and guilt in the time of puritans) and The House of Green Gables

16. Nathaniel Hawthorne
Hawthorne once said: “I do not want to be a doctor and live by man’s diseases, nor a minister to live by their sins, nor a lawyer and live by their quarrels. So, I don’t see that there is anything left for me but to be an author.”

17. About the Author
Born July 4, 1804 in Salem, Mass. to a well-to-do family
Father, a sea captain, died when Hawthorne was four
Worked in the Salem Custom House

18. About the Author
Married Sophia Peabody and fathered Una (who became the model for Pearl)
Served as the United States Consul to Liverpool
Great-great-great-great grandfather, John Hathorne, was judge at Salem witch trial
Although he was not a Puritan, he was shaped by his heritage…and so he carried a good deal of guilt

19. His End
Hawthorne lived abroad in England and Italy for a number of years
His time away provided him with time and material for another novel, The Marble Faun (not one of his better works)
He died in his sleep in 1864 on a walking tour in New Hampshire
Buried in Concord, Massachusetts

20. Hawthorne’s Style
Hawthorne worked at creating allegories (a work of literature in which events, characters, or details have symbolic meaning) in his works
At times, his allegories are difficult to identify
He used the voice of a storyteller to draw readers in and set the stage for his hidden meanings
The use of a storyteller also allows readers to consider the “truth” of such tales
Hawthorne’s argument was that readers imaginations could be manipulated through the mood and images of the text

21. By Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter
By Nathaniel Hawthorne

22. The Custom House
Hawthorne claims to have gotten the idea for this novel from the papers of Jonathan Pue. Among the papers, Hawthorne allegedly found an embroidered scarlet A and information on Hester Prynne.

23. Plot/Setting
The novel is set in the mid 1600s in Boston, Massachusetts.
The plot encompasses a seven year period.
The plot involves the love triangle of wife-lover-husband.
The major theme of the novel is developed in the context of good vs. evil.

24. Point of View
Third-Person Omniscient…Hawthorne reveals the inner and outer workings of the characters and provides social criticism, history, and psychology.

25. Characters Hester Prynne- wearer of the scarlet letter
Pearl- child of Hester; living symbol of Hester’s sin
Roger Chillingworth- learned scholar; doctor
Arthur Dimmesdale- admired young minister
Governor Bellingham- governor and magistrate of Massachusetts Bay Colony
Rev. John Wilson- senior minister of colony
Mistress Hibbins- Gov. Bellingham’s sister

26. Major Symbol
The scarlet letter itself is the central symbol. It changes meaning for the characters in the novel as Hester’s character changes. The A becomes a pathway to redemption for some characters as well. Watch the many ways Hawthorne uses the scarlet A as a symbol…