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Nathaniel hawthorne (Click to select text)
Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne, a man who personified a literary battle between good and evil, had an ambiguous and unique writing style that was greatly advanced for his time. Although literary works such as, The Scarlet Letter, Young Goodman Brown, and The House of Seven Gabels, have apparent themes showing Nathaniel Hawthorne's obsession with ancestral secret, guilt, and sin, perhaps the greatest ambiguities of Hawthorne literary career are the factors that fueled his writing style. Numerous readers and critics have developed theories on the events that compelled Hawthorne's writing style ranging from ancestral guilt to family abuse and sibling incest; however a definite conclusion on why his writing style shows an extreme preoccupation with secrets, guilt, and sin has not been established. Hawthorne spoke of telling secrets in his works, but "keeping the in most me behind it's veil". Close friend and respected author of the time Herman Melville believed that there was a dark secret in Hawthorne's life that, if known, would explain the mysteries of his literary career. (McGoldrick 82) Sibling incest was a theme that heavily concerned Hawthorne in two unfinished manuscripts, as well as one of his early literary works which he later retracted. The retracted piece's time set was early Salem, Massachusetts. The story involved a family structure much like that of Hawthorne's own family. The two siblings in the work, brother and sister, lived in deep affection, "lonely and sufficient to each other" since they alone survived an Indian attack. Mother and father having died, the sister becomes his, and throughout the work the theme of incest is heavily suggested. The events and family situations contained in the work closely mirror that of Hawthorne's family. His father died at age six, and his mother became solitary within their home soon after. These events left Nathaniel Hawthorne alone in the world with his sister Ebe. The two siblings were deeply attached. Fifty years later Ebe, also preoccupied with sibling incest, referred to the retracted piece by Hawthorne as, "an example of his (Hawthorne) special genius". (McGoldrick 82) Hawthorne's retracted work not only suggests his own incestuous relationship with his sister Ebe, but also alludes to events concerning Nicholas Manning that possibly served as catalyst for the creation of Hawthorne's retracted work. Manning, Hawthorne's earliest known maternal ancestor, came to America in 1662. He was brought to trail for incest with his two sisters. The presiding judge in the trial was William Hathorne, also a possible ancestor of Nathaniel Hawthorne's. (McGoldrick 83) Ancestry also played a large role in Hawthorne's literary career. The House of Seven Gables, one of Hawthorne's widely recognized works, is generally accepted to be a fictional representation of his own ancestry. The main theme that Hawthorne develops in the work is that the only ancestral curse existent in the story was the curse the Pyncheons, or the fictional representation of the Hawthorne's, brought upon themselves (Kaul 145). Hawthorne openly stated in the introduction to The Scarlet letter: I know not whether these ancestors of mine bethought themselves to repent, and ask pardon of Heaven for their cruelties; or whether they are now groaning under the heavy consequences of them, in another state of being. At all events, I, the present writer, as their representative, hereby take shame upon myself for their sakes, and pray that any curse incurred by them--as I have heard, and as the dreary and unprosperous condition of the race, for many a long year back, would argue to exist--may be now and henceforth removed (Hawthorne: Introduction to The Scarlet Letter). As the Pyncheons in The House of Seven Gables, Hawthorne took it upon himself to bear his ancestor's guilt, and he displayed the inherited guilt and sin through his literary works. In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, through diverse symbolism, Hawthorne writes of a man who in his coming of age learns that there is darkness in everyone. Upon this coming of knowledge he is forever changed. Hawthorne describes Goodman Brown as a good Puritan who is devoted to his wife Faith, a name Brown uses to shelter his soul from evil. Through Young Goodman Brown, Hawthorne writes of himself who in coming of age learns that there is darkness in his ancestry. Upon this coming of knowledge Hawthorne is forever changed. Hawthorne's description of Brown can be interpreted two ways. One may perceive that Hawthorne, through Brown, is really describing himself, or Hawthorne is satirically depicting the Puritan faith. Hawthorne's ancestors were of the Puritan faith, and to bear their sin, yet use their faith as shelter from sin is pure satire. Later in the novel Brown comes in contact with the Devil who tries to convert him. The attempted conversion is symbolized by the Devil's offering of a staff to Brown; a staff that "bore the likeness of a great black snake". The staff, which looked like a snake, is an allusion to the snake in the story of Adam and Eve. The snake led Adam and Eve to their destruction by leading them to the tree of knowledge. Adam and Eve mirror Goodman Brown (who mirrors Hawthorne) in that they are both seeking knowledge. Once Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge they were expelled from their paradise (Brown's faith). The Devil's staff eventually leads Goodman Brown to the Devil's ceremony destroying Goodman Brown's faith in his fellow man, therefore expelling him from his faith. The Devil explains that Brown's family has had dealings with evil in the past using the Salem witch trials and the killing of Indian non-combatants as examples. Brown's encounter with the devil is Hawthorne's way of dealing with guilt he might have felt over his own ancestor's actions during those times. After the devil's explanation of Brown's family's past involvement with evil, Brown explains that he couldn't bear betraying his faith. Meanwhile the Devil named people who were known and respected by him to try and prove to Brown that it wouldn't really be that bad if he joined the witches' coven. Proud of himself for denying the Devil, using his faith to strengthen himself, Brown discovers that his respected Minister, Deacon Gookin, and even the Indians are all servants of the Devil. Brown also learns that his wife, or his faith, has given into the temptation of the Devil, and his strong Christian belief he is struggling to keep is shaken from him. "My Faith is gone! There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come devil, for to thee is this world given." At the point of this quote, Brown's faith is lost. Throughout the night, Brown gained more knowledge than he ever wished to obtain about how his fellow Puritan townsmen have betrayed their faith by giving in to their dark desires. At the conclusion of Hawthorne's novel all that Young Goodman Brown learns in the night is too much for him, and it changes him from a devoted husband, bright with hope with a wife whom he loves, to a tired, beaten, and faithless man. Hawthorne utilizes symbolism to write a story that is purposely open and ambiguous to interpretation. It is rectified for one to perceive that Brown's tribulations are directly related to Hawthorne himself. After taking the staff from the devil Hawthorne remarks about the instinct guiding mortal man to evil rather than good. This is a direct statement from the author that he believes that man's natural instinct is to lean to evil rather than good. There are also numerous occasions in the story when Hawthorne questions his faith through Brown's questioning his faith by listing the examples of religious infractions of his peers. It's wondrous how Hawthorne displayed his ancestral guilt through young Goodman Brown. Another novel Hawthorne's background greatly influenced him to write is The Scarlet Letter. An important influence on the story was money. Hawthorne had never acquired a large sum as an author; and the birth of his first daughter added to the financial burden (Hawthorne "Biographical note" VII). He received a job at the Salem Custom House only to lose it three years later; and be forced to write again to support his family (IX). Consequently, The Scarlet Letter was published a year later (IX). The Scarlet Letter was only intended to be a short story, but the extra money a novel would bring in was needed (Hawthorne "Introduction" XVI). Hawthorne then wrote an introduction section titled "The Custom House" to extend the length of the book and The Scarlet Letter became a full novel (XVI). In addition to financial worries, another influence on the story is Hawthorne's rejection of his ancestors. His forefathers were strict Puritans, and John Hathorne his great grandfather, was a judge presiding during the Salem witch trials (Hawthorne "Biographical Note" VII). Hawthorne did not condone their acts, and actually spent a great deal of his life renouncing the Puritans in general (VII). Similarly, The Scarlet Letter was a literal soapbox for Hawthorne to convey to the world that the majority of Puritans were strict in punishment and callous in feeling. For example, before Hester emerges from the prison she is scorned by a group of women who feel Hester deserves a greater punishment than she receives. Instead of only being made to stand on the scaffold and wear the scarlet letter on her bosom, they suggest she have it branded on her forehead or even be put to death (Hawthorne 51). Perhaps the most important influence on the story is Hawthorne's interest in the "dark side" (Hawthorne "Introduction" VIII). Unlike the transcendentalists of the time, Hawthorne "confronted reality, rather than evading it" (Hawthorne "Introduction" VII). In retrospect, The Scarlet Letter deals with adultery, a subject that caused a small uproar when it was first published. The book revolves around sin and punishment, a far different theme from writers of the time writing about optimistic topics. This background, together with a well developed plot, solid characterization, and important literary devices enable Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter to the develop the theme of the heart as a source of guilt and sin (Hawthorne "Introduction"). The majority of Hawthorne's literary career prepared him for the writing of The Marble Faun. This novel served as Hawthorne's literary personification of man's decline. Numerous themes contained in the novel directly correlate to Hawthorne's personal life. The theme of lost innocence closely resembles Hawthorne's obsession of sibling incest. Hawthorne living with past burden and ancestral guilt is also contained in the novels theme of entering into the "complexities of experience" in a world of ambiguously mingled good and evil. (Kaul 164) A factor that greatly influenced the writing of The Marble Faun was his wife Sophia. The novel has often been interpreted as a parallel between the story and his relationship with his wife. …but the mind wanders wild and wide; and so lonely as I live and work, I have neither polestar above, nor light of cottage windows here below, to bring me home. Were you my guide, my counselor, my inmost friend, with that white wisdom which clothes you as a celestial garment, all would go well. O Hilda, guide me (Hawthorne The marble Faun). One evident interpretation of this passage is that Hawthorne found refuge in Sophia's buoyant faith, a needed counterbalance to his own "dark questionings". This passage, as well as numerous others, closely mirrors the love letters that Hawthorne wrote to Sophia through out their relationship (Kaul 163 - 165). In an attempt to probe the mysteries concerning what fueled Hawthorne's writing style, I believe Hawthorne suffered from a complex in his family structure. A recent theory developed by highly respected psychologist Murry Bowen compiles all the factors that influenced Hawthorne's writing into a single explanation. The family systems theory conceptualizes a family as one singular emotional unit or a network of interlocking relationships making each member dependent on the other. Therefore a behavioral irregularity in the ancestral framework of a family will trickle down and affect each following generation accordingly (Bowen Family Evaluation). In relation to Nathaniel Hawthorne, the majority of his ancestral history contains behavioral irregularities. Hawthorne's earliest ancestors were involved in incidents with sibling incest, suicide, and even the hanging of witches at the Salem Witch Trials. These events affected nearly all branches of Hawthorne's family structure. Under the family systems theory Nicholas Manning's, maternal ancestor of Hawthorne, irregular behavior of sibling incest explains Hawthorne's preoccupation with the subject and the incorporation of it into literary works, such as his two retracted manuscripts, generations later. Using Bowen's theory also explains Hawthorne's motives for writing The Scarlet Letter. The strict puritan religion of his ancestors together with the Salem Witch Trials, had seeped down through the generations and Hawthorne's way of dealing with the burden was to fuse the defect contained in his family structure into his writing. Perhaps the work of Hawthorne that foremost signifies the family systems theory is The House of Seven Gables. In this work of literature we are able to see Hawthorne's literary interpretation of his immediate family with respect to consequence for his ancestors actions. All the behavioral irregularities of Hawthorne's ancestors are expressed through the deterioration of the Pycheons who are the fictional interpretation of Hawthorne's family. The mother of the family is in self-seclusion, the father had left the family, and the two younger siblings were extremely close with suggestion of incest. The plot of the novel is based on the curse pronounced by Hawthorne's family by a woman condemned to death by judge Hathorne, Hawthorne's ancestor, during the Salem Witch Trials. The curse is mirrored in the decay of the Pycheon family structure along with the family's seven gabled mansion. Finally a descendent of the killed woman marries a family member and the hereditary sin ends. Coincidentally, the section of the plot dealing with heredity also coincides with a branch of the family systems theory not yet heavily explored. It has been theorized that behavioral irregularities are past down from generation to generation through genetics. So, Hawthorne's plot also agrees with the theory that through time behavioral irregularity dwindles after numerous generations have past (Bowen Family Evaluation). Taking into account all of the examples supporting Hawthorne's literature being spawned from the theory of family systems, I believe Nathaniel Hawthorne suffered numerous behavioral irregularities with in his family structure which served as a driving force in his writing. All the sins, secret, and guilt past from generation to generation weighed heavily on Hawthorne, and he used that to create the guilt filled novels thick with allegory that has made him know as one of America's
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