One of Hawthorne's unfortunately neglected fictions, and arguably the liveliest in his sizable collection of "marriage tales," "Mrs. Bullfrog" (1837) is refreshingly different from the bulk of his moralizing, life-rejecting stories. "Mrs. Bullfrog" not only runs counter to what the common reader would expect to find in Hawthorne, for example a keen awareness of Original Sin, it reflects an amoral viewpoint, a guiltfree, self-expedient or survivalist outlook somewhat like what is reflected in certain Edgar Allan Poe stories. However, while "Mrs. Bullfrog" is one of the small group of clearly atypical Hawthorne stories, it does show some similarity to his normative shorter fictions. For example, it is keen on giving controversial advice—to a specialized audience. But beyond the important issue of how "Mrs. Bullfrog" fits into the canon of Hawthorne's short stories, the tale has an element of whimsy suggesting mock seriousness in its comical...