1. Mrs. Kimberley Tucker Pre-AP English 10 By Nathaniel Hawthorne

2. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts. His great grandfather was a judge in the 1692 Salem witch trials, responsible for the deaths of several accused witches. He committed his life to writing.

3. Salem Witch Trials - 1692

4. Due to several false accusations, individuals were believed to be witches, leading to a witch hunt, leaving at least twenty dead 19 hanged 1 pressed to death Important Note: The novel is set 50 years prior to the witch trials.

5. Inherited Guilt Hawthorne’s connection to Salem haunted him. His great-grandfather John Hathorne was the chief-interrogator of the “Salem Witches.”

6. Female Influence Hawthorne’s wife, Sophia desired to paint, write, and pursue a profession. She was limited by social constraints and motherhood.

7. Females in Hawthorne’s Work Often portrayed as sympathetic Idea of “Female Purity” Influence of Puritan heritage

8. Puritan New England Influence Many works set in New England Puritan belief in an “active evil” (Devil) Salem communities are often viewed as hypocritical – Salem Witch Trials

9. European Romance vs. American Novel Hawthorne struggled against the European model of the Romance. Through The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne developed the first truly American Novel.

10. The European Romance The European Romance romanticized a rich past and historic culture. It involved archetypal adventures. It was escapist: a means of escaping the here and now.

11. The European Romance Classical Romance Characteristics: Lovers who remain true to each other, while the woman's chastity is preserved An intricate plot, including stories within stories Exciting and unexpected chance events

12. The European Romance Classical Romance Characteristics: Travel to faraway settings Hidden and mistaken identity Written in an elaborate and elegant style

13. European Romance vs. The American Novel America, however, had no rich culture or ancient history to draw from. It was primarily concerned with the here and now, and how to perfect it.

14. European Romance vs. The American Novel While maintaining the elements of the European Romance, Hawthorne shifted the American novel’s focus to the present.

15. The American Novel Hawthorne’s Novel was not a means of escape but rather a means to examine society and life. His novel invited criticism of the worlds he reflected – Puritanism.

16. The American Novel Where the Romance incorporated the Gothic elements of crime, religion, ghosts, etc. as the focus of the story, Hawthorne used these elements as a means to support his story.

17. The Scarlet Letter  Concerned with “internal truths” or “truths of the human heart”  Use of imagination rather than realistic representations  Embellishes relationship between human and nature

18. Hawthorne’s Novel Found relevance as more than mere entertainment Something more prophetic and integral to the American Identity

19. Connections Admired by Edgar Alan Poe Close friend of Herman Melville Friendly with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau

20. Hawthorne the Anti-Transcendentalist Friendly with Transcendentalists – Alcott, Emerson, Thoreau, etc. Thought it was too idealistic Struggled between the idea of man’s perfectibility and evil nature

21. Brook Farm 1841 after being fired from the Boston Custom House $500 buy into commune Emerson contemplated joining but declined. Hawthorne apparently did not enjoy the physical labors of farming; it left him too tired to write.

22. Hawthorne’s Views of Transcendentalism Hawthorne did not conform to the Romantic focus on the emotions and abandonment of reason. Hawthorne strove to create a balance between “head and heart.”

23. Hawthorne’s Views of Transcendentalism Hawthorne believed that human fulfillment was achieved through a balance between mind, reason, heart, spirit, will, and imagination.

24. Hawthorne’s Views of Transcendentalism Hawthorne’s balanced approach placed him in opposition to other Transcendentalists – Emerson, Thoreau, and Longfellow.

25. Clash with Transcendentalism Hawthorne saw potential problems with Emerson’s idea of self- reliance. Self-reliance can lead to excessive pride. Hawthorne believed in determinism, natural order.

26. Clash with Transcendentalism Transcendentalists were overwhelmingly abolitionists – Hawthorne wasn’t entirely sure of his position. He questioned the motives and principles of the Northern authorities.

27. Clash with Transcendentalism This point of contention was publicized in a series of articles by Hawthorne published in the journal The Atlantic, which was founded by Emerson and Longfellow.

28. Clash with Transcendentalism The editorial staff of The Atlantic deleted large portions of Hawthorne’s articles, which contained ideas that disagreed with the abolitionist beliefs of the founders of the journal.

29. Clash with Transcendentalism Hawthorne also added sketches throughout his edited published articles, written from the perspective of a “dimwitted editor” to show the hypocritical nature of his transcendentalist editors.

30. Clash with Transcendentalism Hawthorne’s Response: "What a terrible thing it is to try to let off a little bit of truth into this miserable humbug of a world!"

31. Clash with Transcendentalism In place of an unflattering description of President Lincoln that the editors had deleted, he wrote: “We are compelled to omit two or three pages, in which the author describes the interview, and gives his idea of the personal appearance and deportment of the President. The sketch appears to have been written in a benign spirit, and perhaps conveys a not inaccurate impression of its august subject; but it lacks reverence.”

32. Clash with Transcendentalism In place of another deleted section he wrote: “We do not thoroughly comprehend the author's drift in the foregoing paragraph, but are inclined to think its tone reprehensible, and its tendency impolitic in the present stage of our national difficulties.”

33. Hawthorne’s Style Romantic Strange and mysterious Symbolic imagination Past for subject matter Focus on problem of evil and the nature of sin Guilt What is sin? Sin against civil law vs. natural law Unity of place Boston Scaffold scenes Formal language Imagery Nature Plant life Light Summary Interruptions Ambiguity

34. Setting 1642-1650 Boston Massachusetts Bay Colony Remember: Hawthorne did not live during this time, and he was not a Puritan.

35. Boston, Mid-1600s Puritans had little personal freedom. Laws prohibited everything from swearing to excessive decoration on women’s caps to murder. Those considered sinners were published publicly and harshly as an example to others in order to shame the guilty party.

36. Puritans Emerged from the Protestant Reformation Wanted to purify the church and take it back to its original state, first century C.E. New England Puritans most radical of all Puritans Did not promote religious freedom Persecuted and banished all who held different beliefs

37. Puritans Minister and magistrates were to enforce the laws of God. Theocracy – church and government combined Self-discipline lifestyle avoiding all temptations of the devil Complete intolerance of sin

38. Puritans Any sin could evoke the wrath of God Public condemnation of sin Stocks Whippings Dressed in brown, gray, or black No worldly pleasures Common for children to be “put out”

39. Puritans Valued hard work Theater closed in England Christmas outlawed in England and colonies. Salvation could not be earned. People could go to heaven only if they received God’s grace in the process of conversion. Calvinist doctrine of predetermination

40. Themes Civil law vs. natural law Nature of sin and the effects of sin on the individual Individual’s relationship to society People are not self-reliant. Pearl Dimmesdale Hester