Although Nathaniel Hawthorne called himself "the obscurest man in American letters," his achievements in fiction, both as short-story writer and novelist, offer models fashioned too well for contemporary and later writers to ignore. Even though fame...

When Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, on our most patriotic holiday in 1804, his ancestral roots were already deeply planted in New England. Writing in The Scarlet Letter (1850) of his sentimental affection for the town of his...

In sketches, tales, and romances published in the second third of the nineteenth century, Nathaniel Hawthorne chose mainly American materials, drawing especially on the history of colonial New England and his native Salem in the time of his early...

From "Young Goodman Brown" (1835) Reprinted in The American Tradition in Literature in 1974 "Young Goodman Brown," a short story by nineteenth-century American fiction writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (see biography entry), was...

Nathaniel Hawthorne - (1804 - 1864) American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. Hawthorne is an acknowledged master of American fiction. His novel The Scarlet Letter (1850) is one of the most-read classics of American literature, and several of...

Born: July 4, 1804 Salem, Massachusetts Died: May 19, 1864 Plymouth, New Hampshire Writer and descendant of John Hathorne, chief magistrate in the Salem trials Although American author Nathaniel Hawthorne was born more than a hundred years after the...

Nathaniel Hawthorne (born Nathaniel Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was a 19th century American novelist and short story writer. He is seen as a key figure in the development of American literature for his tales of the nation's colonial...

Three Frank Lloyd Wright structures and nine other sites in 10 states have been designated National Historic Landmarks.The buildings by the famed American architect are the Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, Pa., a glazed glass pyramidal tower built in the 1950s; the Aline Barnsdall...

Artists, sculptors and photographers knew Abraham Lincoln's face had a good side. Now it's confirmed by science. Laser scans of two life masks, made from plaster casts of Lincoln's face, reveal the 16th president's unusual degree of facial asymmetry, according to a new study.The left...

Chalk up yet another writerly reaction to the trauma of 9/11. Four years on, we’re almost able to chart on a graph how some writers regurgitated bits of the smoke they ingested as super-realistic horror, while others about-faced into fantasy. What Jane Smiley did, as...

Chalk up yet another writerly reaction to the trauma of 9/11. Four years on, we’re almost able to chart on a graph how some writers regurgitated bits of the smoke they ingested as super-realistic horror, while others about-faced into fantasy. What Jane Smiley did, as...

In the following essay, Ringe reviews Nathaniel Hawthorne's treatment of insanity throughout his short stories and novels. Ringe argues that Hawthorne attempted to accurately portray the mental disorders of his characters, and demonstrates how Hawthorne's understanding of such disorders concurred with documentation by contemporary medical authorities. Additionally, Ringe studies the function of insanity in Hawthorne's characters, noting that madness is not always a negative trait, as m...

In the following essay, Crews argues that Hawthorne's short story "Alice Doane's Appeal" manifests a narrative tone that reflects simultaneous fascination with and repugnance toward the issue of incest.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's use of literary symbolism in four of his works: "My Kinsman," "Major Molineux," "Young Goodman Brown," and "The Maypole of Merry Mount." Symbols representing good and evil are especially common.

Nathanial Hawthrone, a writer of the dark romantic times, used light and dark images to support themes in his writings such as My Kinsman, Major Molineux, Ethan Brand, and Young Goodman Brown.

Argument of how Nathaniel Hawthorne's view of good and evil is evident in people.