Nathaniel Hawthorne And The Scarlet Letter Essay
, Research Paper
Nathaniel Hawthorne has a really alone and distinguishable manner of romantic authorship. He uses assorted techniques to develop his narratives, characters, and state of affairss. He besides incorporates his ain life experiences into his novels and shows facets of himself through characters. One specific novel that Hawthorne portrays himself into a character is The Scarlet Letter.
Hawthorne has led a really hard life. He was born in the ill-famed town of Salem, Massachusetts where the Salem Witch Trials took topographic point. The day of the month he was born was the 4th of July, Independence Day, in 1804. Hawthorne was non proud of his household. He was born into wealth but opprobrium, as his descendants were Judgess in the Salem Witch Trials. One of Nathaniel? s descendants, William, who lived in the 1630? s, was described as, ? grave, bearded, sable-cloaked, and steeple-crowned, ? by Hawthorne ( Geritano, 1 ) . His boy John, was such a justice against witchery that the blood of the enchantresss was stained upon him ( Geritano, 1 ) . The shame did non halt at that place for Hawthorne. His gramps, ? Bold Daniel Hathorne? belonged to the town of Salem during the Revolutionary War and was a courageous naval captain ( Geritano, 1 ) . His ascendants besides fought the Indians for land. If anything, Nathaniel Hawthorne was improbably ashamed of his household and it? s history. In fact, he was non even born Nathaniel Hawthorne. He was born Nathaniel Hathorne. He deliberately changed his name to acquire away from his household? s awful history.
One of the lone non-judge members of the Hathorne household was his male parent who was a sea captain. When Hawthorne was four old ages old, he died of febrility really far from place.
Hawthorne was non every bit decisive as his sires. He didn? T know what he wanted to be but he knew that he? didn? T want to be a physician and unrecorded by work forces? s diseases, nor a curate to populate by their wickednesss, nor a attorney and unrecorded by their wrangles? ( Geritano, 1 ) . The lone thing he saw left, was to be an writer. This all said after he attended four old ages at Bowdoin College which his uncle paid for. After college he lived in his female parent? s house for 12 old ages, in a desolate Salem small town, composing assorted novels, narratives, and verse forms. Some of which were published, and others were thrown out by Hawthorne himself.
The fist book Hawthorne published was called Fanshawe but it wasn? T published under the name Nathaniel Hawthorne, it was published anonymously. When Hawthorne saw that the book was non making good on the book shelves, he recalled every transcript he could and fire them ( Geritano, 2 ) . This showed his immatureness at being a author. Would he turn out of it? Some might state he ne’er did.
Hawthorne traveled a batch. He ever kept a notebook to compose things down. From this notebook, he published his first aggregation called Twice- Told Tales. By that clip Hawthorne was 32 old ages old and had a married woman, Sophia, to back up. While recognizing his new duties of household, Hawthorne moved out of his female parent? s house and went to work as the surveyor of the port of Salem Custom House? ( Telgen, 307 ) . This is the same Custom House which he describes in the beginning of The Scarlet Letter. When the political party he followed lost power, Hawthorne was thrown out of place. Four old ages subsequently Hawthorne? s female parent passed off and he began to compose once more get downing his most celebrated work, The Scarlet Letter.
After the success of The Scarlet Letter, people, including himself, began to take Hawthorne serious. He started to compose more and more and his novels were romantic and fabulously written. He spend about seven old ages in Europe and wrote a life for Franklin Pierce. He was rewarded by being appointed the United States Consul at Liverpool, England ( Hawthorne, x ) . While on a trip with Pierce in 1864, the ailment and down Hawthorne died in his slumber in Plymouth, New Hampshire ( Hawthorne, xi ) .
Hawthorne? s most successful novel was decidedly The Scarlet Letter. The narrative is about criminal conversation, secrets, and guilt. I believe that in this novel, Hawthorne reflects himself through the character of the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale.
One manner that I see Hawthorne through the character of Dimmesdale is the utmost guilt they both feel. Hawthorne? s guilt is that of his household? s. He is ashamed and feels guilty of all the hurting,
agony, and decease that his ascendants ( as Judgess ) have caused upon people who may hold been guiltless. Dimmesdale has besides caused hurting. He has caused hurting upon his lone love, Hester Prynne. He feels guilt for that. They committed criminal conversation and Hester took all the incrimination for it. Dimmesdale even had to interrogate her. But he does experience guilt for what he has done.
? ? Hester, ? said he, ? hast 1000 found peace? ? She smiled dismally, looking down upon her bosom.
? Hast 1000? ? she asked.
? None & # 8212 ; nil but desperation! ? he answered. ? What else could I look for, being what I am, and taking such a life as mine? ? ? ( Hawthorne, 210 ) .
This quotation mark shows how intensely Dimmesdale has suffered as he admits it to Hester. He besides feels guilt for Pearl, their girl, and has begun to dislike small kids as seen in this quotation mark when Hester asks if Dimmesdale would wish to run into Pearl ( page 224-225 ) :
& # 8220 ; ? Dost 1000 think the kid will be glad to cognize me? ? asked the curate, slightly uneasily. ? I have long shrunk from kids, because they frequently show a misgiving & # 8212 ; a retardation to be familiar with me. I have even been afraid of small Pearl! ?
It? s besides said of the last scaffold scene that Dimmesdale revealed his guilt to all and so died. He gave himself a concluding alleviation of guilt. Although Hawthorne did this earlier in his life, he relieved himself of guilt besides ; he changed his name from Hathorne to Hawthorne.
Another ground why I think Dimmesdale portrays Nathaniel Hawthorne is because of Dimmesdale? s profession as a curate. Equally stated as above, Hawthorne didn? T want to be a curate because he didn? T want to populate by other people? s wickednesss. Well Dimmesdale is a curate and the adversities of being a curate are shown, particularly when he has to populate with his ain heartache and wickednesss. It boils up inside him until it bursts. Hawthorne shows how this is non what he wanted to turn out to be and he in a sense makes the profession expression bad. So, although Hawthorne is portrayed by Dimmesdale, in kernel he might be considered a foil besides.
A large job of Hawthorne? s was that he was fundamentally his ain worst critic. During his younger old ages, if displeased by book gross revenues, he would remember all the transcripts of a book and fire them. This could be his immatureness as a author as I said above but it could besides merely be his inability to get by with failure. Hawthorne might hold been a perfectionist in a manner. He didn? T want to be misrepresented by bad novels. So if the people didn? Ts like it, he didn? T like it ( Swisher, 62 ) .
You might state Dimmesdale has a similar job. He himself is non his lone critic ( as Hester is one besides ) but he is his worst critic and enemy. He lets the guilt eat him up indoors and can? t do a thing about it. He knows he is non a respectable individual as he lets Hester take all the incrimination for their matter but he does nil about it for about seven old ages. He knows how atrocious he is but he can? t conveying himself to be disgraced by the Puritan community since it is considered such a wickedness. However he besides knows that Hester Prynne will ne’er turn him in. The merely other individual possible to turn him in would be Chillingworth, who would instead see him endure than be killed. In kernel, his wickedness wears him down. He ages, and portion of that is from Chillingworth but I believe it is his gross outing wickedness that hurts him deep down. The wickedness of criminal conversation will kill him. And he knows that. That is why he is his ain worst enemy. Hester thinks he is a good adult male who merely can? t admit to be an adulterist. In his bosom, Dimmesdale knows he is awful and in the terminal, he can? t unrecorded with himself any longer.
In decision, Nathaniel Hawthorne was a great American novelist. He wrote many books and survived a tough period ( Puritanism ) . His novels inspired many people, and the love affair has affected many besides. He uses techniques that some may state hold ne’er been better than from his pen ( Martin, 111 ) . He besides has a manner of integrating his life into his novels. Particularly in The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne portrayed himself as the Reverend Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale has shown guilt, which Hawthorne has besides. Hawthorne made Dimmesdale? s life rough because Hawthorne knew that he didn? Ts like the profession of being a curate, and he besides showed how Dimmesdale is his ain worst enemy.
