1. Nathaniel Hawthorne A Balanced Approach to Transcendentalism
Introduction to The Scarlet Letter
AP English Literature and Composition

2. The Life of Hawthorne
Hawthorne was born on July 4th, 1804 in Salem, Mass.
Father: Nathaniel Hathorne Sr. was a sea captain.
Mother: Elizabeth Clarke Manning was a descendent of blacksmiths

3. The Life of Hawthorne Hawthorne attended Bowdoin College
After his graduation he turned to writing.
He wrote several successful short stories which were collected in Twice-Told Tales (1837).

4. The Life of Hawthorne
Hawthorne returned to Salem where he met Sophia Peabody.
After a five year engagement, they were married in

5. The Life of Hawthorne
Unable to support his new family by writing, in Hawthorne accepted a political appointment to the Salem Custom House as Surveyor of the Port .

6. The Life of Hawthorne
This bureaucratic position stunted Hawthorne’s creativity.
A change in administration, however, led to his termination in 1849.
Hawthorne’s mother died at the same time.

7. The Life of Hawthorne
Suffering these losses, Hawthorne left Salem, which he called "that abominable city," saying that he now had no reason to remain.
He would never again return.

8. The Life of Hawthorne
Some critics have suggested that the loss of both his position and mother provided the creative impetus to write The Scarlet Letter (1850).

9. The Life of Hawthorne Hawthorne’s connection to Salem haunted him.
His great-grandfather John Hathorne was the chief-interrogator of the “Salem Witches.”

10. The Life of Hawthorne
The story that Hawthorne added the "w" to his name to distance himself from his Hathorne ancestors has no clear evidence to support it.

11. The Life of Hawthorne
In 1830, however, he published "The Hollow of the Three Hills," under the name of Nathaniel Hathorne.
After this date his name appears as Nathaniel Hawthorne.

12. The Life of Hawthorne Other Published works:
Twice-Told Tales, The House of the Seven Gables, The Mable Faun, Our Old Home, and children’s books A Wonder Book, and Tanglewood Tales.

13. The Life of Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne died on May 18, 1864 in Plymouth, New Hampshire.
He is credited with writing the first truly American novel: The Scarlet Letter.

14. Influences upon Hawthorne’s Work
Marriage
Sophia desired to paint, write, and pursue a profession
She was limited by social constraints and motherhood

15. Influences upon Hawthorne’s Work
Female characters are often portrayed as sympathetic
Idea of “Female Purity”
Influence of Puritan heritage

16. Influences upon Hawthorne’s Work
Puritan New England
Many works are set in New England
Puritan belief in an “active evil” (Devil)
Salem communities are often viewed as hypocritical – Salem Witch Trials

17. Literary Thematic Concepts
Alienation – a character is isolated due to self- cause or societal-cause
Guilt vs. Innocence – a character’s sense of guilt caused by Puritanical values/heritage

18. Literary Thematic Concepts
Individual vs. Society
Self-reliance vs. Accommodation
Hypocrisy vs. Integrity
Fate vs. Free Will
Unconventional Gender Roles
Impossibility of Human Perfection

19. Imagery Hawthorne makes use of the following patterns of images:
Light vs. Dark
Natural vs. Unnatural
Sunshine vs. Firelight or Moonlight and Reflections

20. Romantic/Gothic Motifs
Fantasies
Dreams
Reveries
Open-ended endings and unanswered questions – the open-ended possibilities of the idealistic Romantic

21. Romanticism
Started in Western Europe and migrated into America lasting from (The end of the Puritans and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution).
Reaction against “Classicism” and “The Age of Reason”.
Inspired by the nation’s westward expansion, youthful optimism, and desire for literary independence.

22. Classic Traits of Romanticism
1. Imagination reveals the depth of the human spirit.
2. Enthusiastic about national life and the common man.
3. Celebrates the beauty and mystery of nature.
4. Celebrates and focuses on improving the individual.
5. Fascination with supernatural, the afterlife, and the gothic.
6. Sense of idealism and optimism or exaggeration.

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

24. Split Romantic views led to the development of Transcendentalism
The advent of the Industrial Revolution brought on a darker vision of American life.
These romantics examined the complex and mysterious forces that motivate human behavior.
Dark Romantics: In your notes write how each of these writers exemplified “dark romantic” trends in their literary work.
Nathanial Hawthorne - Scarlet Letter
Herman Melville - Moby-Dick & “Bartleby the Scrivener”
Edgar Allan Poe - Various poems and short stories
Split Romantic views led to the development of Transcendentalism

25. 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.”

26. Hawthorne’s Views of Transcendentalism
Hawthorne believed that human fulfillment was achieved through a balance between mind, reason, heart, spirit, will, and imagination.
Hawthorne’s balanced approach placed him in opposition to other Transcendentalists – Emerson, Thoreau, and Longfellow.

27. 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, or natural order.

28. 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.

29. 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!"

30. 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.
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.

31. Hawthorne’s Novel
Hawthorne’s novel found relevance as more than mere entertainment, but as something more prophetic and integral to the American Identity.