Ok, I'll admit that the only real exposure of Nathaniel Hawthorne I've ever had was from my 11th grade English class in which we read 'The Scarlet Letter.' I was not too fond of him and his works back then, and I can't say that I'm any more so right now. But after the reading, here's what I've come to observe:
1. Most of his works have this theme that we can't outrun the sins of our fathers and that the mistakes one generation makes will always come back to haunt future ones. This just seems un-American to me! One of the things that makes this country great is that we are not beholden to the sins of our decendents (thankfully for me!) and that you can rise (or fall) on your own ambition and abilities. I like the transcendenetalists for believeing that people should not be stuck with tradition and past prejudices. This was a huge break from European thinking, yet Hawthorne perpetuates this idea with his works. Jerk.
2. Other themes Hawthorne likes: hypocrisy, witchcraft, and Puritan guilt. Gripping reading! It seems sad when there were so many other genres to write about: the American frontier (see James Fenimore Cooper), the blank slate of American politics and psyche (see Alexis deToqueville). Instead he gets bogged down with that stuff. Lame.
3. He was always burning his unsold manuscripts and copies. This sounds pretty petty to me. Either he was too concerned with commercial success or he was overly self-conscious. This sounds like the 16 year-old girl who trashes her room becasuse she wasn't asked to prom. Sorry if I've offended any Hawthorne fans out there. Or 16 year-old girls.
4. At the risk of sounding naive, 'Young Goodman Brown' was a bit confusing. Was it all a dream or what? What's the moral of the story? I think I need more practice at reading 19th century works. As for 'A Rill from a Town Pump' it made me very thirsty. It was very entertaining to read though. I think I like his stuff that doesn't involve soul-crushing guilt.
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Brett,
ReplyDeleteI like that you called Hawthorne a 'jerk.' Hilarious.
As for 'YGB,' the best part of it is that I think Hawthorne left it deliberately ambiguous. It's dealing with all of those weighty Puritanical themes and nearly hits you over the head with symbolism-- I mean, his wife's name is 'Faith,' and at a pivotal moment, he shrieks, 'My Faith is gone!' The story continues with the same themes as _The Scarlet Letter_-- got to love hypocrisy! (Not as much as I love exclamation points, however.)
I am a Hawthorne fan, and have been since High School, but I admit that it is pretty odd the way he liked to burn his manuscripts. Once is enough, but he did it a second time. Hmmm... His reoccuring theme of sin and guilt is very much a reflection of his Puritan New England background. The more I read, I think many of the Puritans were freaking crazy!
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