Why Nathaniel Hawthorne Always Considered Himself a Failure: Biography (2003)

Nathaniel Hawthorne (/ˈhɔːˌθɔːrn/; born Nathaniel Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American writer, dark romantic, and short story writer.

He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, the only judge involved in the Salem witch trials who ne'er repented of his actions. Nathaniel later added a "w" to make his name "Hawthorne" in order to hide this relation. He entered Bowdoin College in 1821, was elective to Phi Beta letter in 1824,[1] and graduated in 1825. Hawthorne published his first work, a novel titled Fanshawe, in 1828; he later tried to suppress it, feeling it was not equal to the standard of his later work.[2] He published several short stories in periodicals, which he collected in 1837 as Twice-Told Tales. The next year, he became engaged to Sophia Peabody. He worked at the Boston Custom House and joined Brook Farm, a philosopher community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple affected to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The roadside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment as diplomat took Hawthorne and family to Europe before their return to Concord in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, and was survived by his married woman and their three children.

Much of Hawthorne's writing centers on New England, galore works featuring moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His fiction works are considered part of the Romantic movement and, more generally, dark romanticism. His themes often center on the inherent evil and sin of humanity, and his works often have moral messages and deep psychological complexness. His published works include novels, short stories, and a life of his college friend Franklin Pierce, the fourteenth President of the United States.

Edgar Allan Poe wrote important, and somewhat uncomplimentary, reviews of some Twice-Told Tales and Mosses from an Old Manse. Poe's negative assessment was partially due to his own contempt of allegory and moral tales, and his degenerative accusations of plagiarism, though he admitted,

The style of Hawthorne is purity itself. His tone is singularly effective—wild, mournful, thoughtful, and in full accordance with his themes ... We look upon him as one of the few men of indisputable genius to whom our country has as yet given birth.[106]

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "Nathaniel Hawthorne's reputation as a writer is a very pleasing fact, because his writing is not good for thing, and this is a tribute to the man."[107] Henry James praised Hawthorne, expression, "The fine thing in Hawthorne is that he cared for the deeper psychological science, and that, in his way, he tried to become familiar with it."[108] writer John Greenleaf Whittier wrote that he loved the "weird and subtle beauty" in Hawthorne's tales.[109] Evert Augustus Duyckinck aforesaid of Hawthorne, "Of the American writers destined to live, he is the most original, the one least indebted to foreign models or literary precedents of any kind."[110]

Contemporary response to Hawthorne's work praised his sentimentality and moral purity piece more modern evaluations focus on the dark psychological complexness.[111] Beginning in the fifties, critics have focused on symbolism and didacticism.[112]

The critic Harold Bloom has opined that only Henry James and William Faulkner challenge Hawthorne's position as the sterling American writer, although he admits that he favors James as the sterling American writer.[113][114] Bloom sees Hawthorne's sterling works to be chiefly The Scarlet Letter, followed by The Marble Roman deity and certain short stories, including "My relative, Major Molineux", "Young Goodman Brown", "Wakefield", and "Feathertop".

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