Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" [1 ed.] 9783954895441, 9783954890446

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Marina Boonyaprasop

Hawthorne’s Wilderness

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Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and “Young Goodman Brown"

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Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

Marina Boonyaprasop Hawthorne’s Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and “Young Goodman Brown" ISBN: 978-3-95489-544-1 Fabrication: Anchor Academic Publishing, an Imprint of Diplomica® Verlag GmbH, Hamburg, 2013

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Dieses Werk ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Die dadurch begründeten Rechte, insbesondere die der Übersetzung, des Nachdrucks, des Vortrags, der Entnahme von Abbildungen und Tabellen, der Funksendung, der Mikroverfilmung oder der Vervielfältigung auf anderen Wegen und der Speicherung in Datenverarbeitungsanlagen, bleiben, auch bei nur auszugsweiser Verwertung, vorbehalten. Eine Vervielfältigung dieses Werkes oder von Teilen dieses Werkes ist auch im Einzelfall nur in den Grenzen der gesetzlichen Bestimmungen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in der jeweils geltenden Fassung zulässig. Sie ist grundsätzlich vergütungspflichtig. Zuwiderhandlungen unterliegen den Strafbestimmungen des Urheberrechtes. Die Wiedergabe von Gebrauchsnamen, Handelsnamen, Warenbezeichnungen usw. in diesem Werk berechtigt auch ohne besondere Kennzeichnung nicht zu der Annahme, dass solche Namen im Sinne der Warenzeichen- und Markenschutz-Gesetzgebung als frei zu betrachten wären und daher von jedermann benutzt werden dürften. Die Informationen in diesem Werk wurden mit Sorgfalt erarbeitet. Dennoch können Fehler nicht vollständig ausgeschlossen werden und der Verlag, die Autoren oder Übersetzer übernehmen keine juristische Verantwortung oder irgendeine Haftung für evtl. verbliebene fehlerhafte Angaben und deren Folgen. © Diplomica Verlag GmbH http://www.diplomica-verlag.de, Hamburg 2013

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

“Thhe book, if you y would see anythinng in it, req quires to bee read in thee clear, bro own, twillight atmospphere in wh hich it wass written; iff opened in the sunshiine, it is ap pt to lookk exceedinggly like a vo olume of blaank pages.”

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Nathhaniel Hawtthorne, Prefface to Twicce-Told Talees 9

   

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

Content 1 Introduction.............................................................................................................. 1 2 Historical Background ............................................................................................ 3 2.1 The Puritans ................................................................................................ 3 2.1.1 The Rise of Puritanism in England .............................................. 3 2.1.2 Puritanism in North America ....................................................... 5 2.1.3 Puritan Beliefs.............................................................................. 9 2.2 The Concept of Nature in Western History .............................................. 11 3 Nathaniel Hawthorne – Man and Writer ............................................................ 19 3.1 Biography.................................................................................................. 19 3.2 The “absurd misconception” of Nathaniel Hawthorne ............................. 30 3.3 Nathaniel Hawthorne, “lover of nature” ................................................... 32 3.4 Hawthorne, Hathorne, and God ................................................................ 34 3.4.1 The Burden of Puritan Legacy ................................................... 34 3.4.2 Mr God, This Is Nathaniel ......................................................... 36 3.4.3 Religion and Puritanism in Hawthorne’s Works ....................... 38 3.5 Symbolism and Moral in Hawthorne’s Tales ........................................... 40 4 Consulting Major Works ...................................................................................... 43 4.1 The Reason of Choice ............................................................................... 43 4.2 The Dilemma of Young Goodman Brown................................................ 44 4.2.1 The Validity of Names ................................................................ 44 4.2.2 The Devil along the Path ........................................................... 47 4.2.3 Devout Sinners ........................................................................... 49 Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

4.2.4 Light and Darkness .................................................................... 52 4.2.4.1 The Sun upon Salem 4.2.4.2 The Darkness of the Forest

53 54

4.2.5 The Mocking Forest ................................................................... 57 4.2.6 Puritanism Upside Down ........................................................... 58

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Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

    4.3 Reading The Scarlet Letter ....................................................................... 61 4.3.1 What’s in a Name? ..................................................................... 61 4.3.2 The Color Palette of The Scarlet Letter .................................... 63 4.3.3 Light and Darkness .................................................................... 67 4.3.3.1 The Scarlet Letter on Fire

70

4.3.3.2 Mirror, Mirror

71

4.3.4 Waters of the Past and Future ................................................... 73 4.3.4.1 The Blue Babbling of a Brook

73

4.3.4.2 The Freedom of the Ocean

74

4.3.4.3 Godly Waters

76

4.3.5 Symbols in the Air ...................................................................... 77 4.3.5.1 A Breath of Fresh Air

77

4.3.5.2 Free as a Bird

78

4.3.6 Between Heathen Forest and Cultivated Land .......................... 79 4.3.6.1 The Governor’s Pride

79

4.3.6.2 The Capabilities of Forest Wilderness

80

4.3.6.3 The In-Between

82

4.3.7 Say It with Flowers .................................................................... 82 4.3.7.1 Cemetery, Prison, and a Shrub

83

4.3.7.2 A Bouquet of Flowers and Pearls

85

4.3.7.3 Tainted Flowers

86

4.3.8 Moss-Covered Memories ........................................................... 88 4.3.9 The Letter Unfolded ................................................................... 89 4.3.10 The Letter Concluded ............................................................... 92 4.4 The Scarlet Letter of Young Goodman Brown ......................................... 94

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5 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 98

Works Cited ............................................................................................................ 100 Picture Credits ........................................................................................................ 108

VII 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved. Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

   

1 Introduction Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of America’s most noted and highly praised writers, and a key figure of US literature. His works have contributed to the national identity and can be found in almost any curriculum of North American Literature Studies worldwide. Although Hawthorne struggled to become an acknowledged author for most parts of his life, today his work “stands in the limelight of the American literary consciousness” (Graham 5). Even Edgar Allan Poe, who usually had many unflattering things to say about his contemporary, honored him as “the example, par excellence, in this country of the privately admired and publicly unappreciated man of genius” (“Tale Writing” 21). During his lifespan, Hawthorne composed eight novels – some of them left unfinished, – several children’s books, close to a hundred short stories, and various non-fictional writings. Until today, his most appreciated and famous achievement is the romance novel The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850. Since the author’s passing 150 years ago, numerous scholars have discussed his works, addressing topics such as the extended use of symbolism, the didacticism of moral lessons, and the dark and gloomy atmosphere within Hawthorne’s historic fictions. Being a direct descendant of Massachusetts Bay colonists, the Puritan era of th

17 and 18th century New England served as a lifelong preoccupation for Hawthorne and inspired many of his best-known stories. Hence, in order to understand the author and his works, it is crucial to apprehend the historical background from which they arose. Awareness of both the Puritan legacy in Hawthorne’s time and their Calvinist beliefs, which contributed to the establishment of American identity, serves as a basis for fathoming the intention behind Hawthorne’s writings. His forefathers’ concept of wilderness was an important part of their religious life, and in many of Hawthorne’s tales, nature can be perceived as an active agent for both plot and moral message. Therefore, it is indispensable to consider the development behind the Puri-

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tan perception as well as the prevailing opinion on nature during the writer’s lifetime. After the historical background has been depicted, I will turn the focus on the author himself. His ambiguous character and non-persistent lifestyle are the source of many themes which can be retrieved from his works. Thus, understanding the man behind the stories is necessary in order to analyze the tales themselves. Seclusion, nature, and Puritanism are constantly recurring topics in both the author’s life and works, wherefore particular attention will be paid to these. To be familiar with Hawthorne’s relation to nature, his ancestors, and religion in general is essential in order 1 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

to understand the vast amount of symbols that can be found in his stories. The writer is known for his frequent use of this stylistic device and uses it for the conveyance of his didactic messages which I will explain before turning the focus to their realization in Hawthorne’s tales. Based on the study of both historical and biographical facts underlying many of the writer’s works and being aware of his style and purpose of writing, his stories can be brought into focus. The second part of this book will analyze two of the author’s most eminent and esteemed works according to the use of nature symbolism and the underlying moral intention. By depicting various images within “Young Goodman Brown” and The Scarlet Letter, I will examine to which extent they correspond to the formerly explained historical facts and Hawthorne’s emphasized characteristic features. The comparison of the two works will focus on the didactic lesson Hawthorne tried to include in all of his works and will thus provide an in-depth understanding of the author’s intentions and his utilization of both Puritanism and nature perception. What could be more vital to a student and teacher of US History and Literature than to understand the motives and quintessence behind some of America’s greatest literary achievements: The work of a “man of genius,” Nathaniel Haw-

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thorne.

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Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

   

2 Historical Background In order to fully understand Hawthorne, his works, and the symbolism within, history has to be taken into account. On the supposition that no author is fully free of personal and national history and the mindset of his time, one needs to understand these backgrounds and sources of inspiration. With regard to the focus of this paper, especially the history of the Puritans, their beliefs, and the Western concept of nature should be considered, as those were main influences in Hawthorne’s life and works.

2.1 The Puritans When studying Hawthorne and his writings, the comprehension of Puritanism is indispensable, as the author’s engagement with their beliefs and history cannot be denied. His lifelong preoccupation in the early colonial history, which was for large parts also a genealogical research (Wineapple 60; Rogers 13), led to the fact that many scholars perceive him as “more a man of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries than of his own” (Waggoner 33). Referring to his ancestry, some even go as far as calling him the “capital son of the old Puritans” (James 45). Before this paper focuses on Hawthorne’s attitude towards this religious movement, the origin and beliefs of Puritanism will be discussed. 2.1.1 The Rise of Puritanism in England Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter together with Arthur Miller’s The Crucible have shaped today’s perception of Puritanism probably more than anything else (Person 17). It is due to them that this religious movement is nowadays mostly associated with “superstition, excessive moralism, intolerance, and patriarchal oppression” (Person 17). De facto, these reproaches have accompanied Puritans ever since their appearance in the 1530s. The term Puritan itself was initially given by Anti-Puritans

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(cf. Collinson) “in a spirit of mockery” (Heimert and Delbanco 1). It played on their primary concern, the purification of existing religious beliefs, and thus bore a negative connotation from the beginning onwards. The Puritan movement began to emerge when King Henry VIII repudiated the authority of the pope and founded the Church of England through the Act of Supremacy in 1534, investing himself as “the supreme head”. For certain Englishmen, the newly-formed denomination did not renounce far enough from the papal reigned church, as many elements of Roman Catholic liturgy were still to be found in its ritu3 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

als (Delbanco 890). The demand for a further reformation united the people who would later be known as Puritans. Despite this common ground, they were divided into at least two different groups: The first, also called separating Puritans (Campbell), believed the Church of England to be corrupt and wrong in its ecclesiastical approach and therefore claimed autonomy for some individual communities, such as themselves (Delbanco 890). The second, less radical party, the non-separating Puritans (Campbell), aimed at reforming the doctrines and liturgy of the Church of England instead of separating from it (Delbanco 890; Campbell). This discrepancy shows that Puritanism as such does not describe a single unanimous set of beliefs, but can rather be seen as a generic term for various groups within a fairly wide spectrum of beliefs. Nevertheless, these dissensions were – at least for now – of no great importance for the different congregations themselves since the Puritan distribution stretched over entire England, facilitating autonomous communities with slightly differing notions. The ongoing dissatisfaction with the Church of England and the opposition within their own country led to an increasing number of Puritan emigrations, as their convictions were popular in some parts of continental Europe, as well. Throughout the first decades of the 17th century, the Netherlands was the most popular refuge, attracting as many immigrants as New England in the 1630s. However, the former got increasingly unappealing during the 1620s, as the Thirty Years’ War broke out. Additionally, the English government pressured the Dutch to set an end to their acquiescence of Puritan autonomy (Bremer, Puritanism 15-16). Nevertheless, a return to their initial home country was beyond dispute for most Puritans, as they believed physical separation to be the only way to both implement and enhance their religious ideals (Graham 60). One of the groups that moved to the Netherlands and later on to North America were the Pilgrims, separating Puritans who came to the New World inter alia onboard the Mayflower and founded Plymouth Colony in 1620 (Delbanco Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

891). Meanwhile, Charles I ascended the throne of England in 1625. He was highly influenced by his wife, Henrietta-Marie de Bourbon, a Roman-Catholic (Neal, Toulmin, and Choules 279) and the current Archbishop of London, William Laud. Both of his advisors considered the Puritans to be a direct threat to the Church of England and the Roman Catholic tradition alike. The growing religious intolerance, accompanied by the policy of uniformity in worship drove even more Puritans “to undertake

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Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

    the perilous journey” (Graham 60) towards a better and devout life in the New World. 2.1.2 Puritanism in North America One decade after the foundation of Plymouth Colony, another group of worshippers – mostly non-separating Puritans this time (Campbell), – started their voyage to the New World, marking the beginning of the Great Migration. On board the Arbella were several prestigious passengers, who would later shape the identity of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Among them was John Winthrop, who was elected first Governor prior to the departure, and William Hathorne, great-great-great-grandfather of the renowned author (“The Paternal Ancestors”). By the 1840s, approximately 20,000 fugitives had migrated to New England, spreading even beyond the territories of what are known as Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Maine today (Delbanco 892). The Great Migration was, contrary to norm, dominated by the exodus of whole families and contained an unusually low amount of illiterates (Delbanco 892). Although some emigrants had embarked on the journey out of economic ambition, most voyagers saw their flight as “a self-removal from a land of buzzing distraction to a place better-suited for concentrated worship” (Heimert and Delbanco 15). Having escaped the burdens of their past, the Puritans now faced a land which they could freely transform into their own social and religious ideal. Nevertheless, “American Puritanism . . . was more complicated” (Person 17). Their diverse beliefs and backgrounds turned out to be challenging in the attempt to create a new society (Bremer, “The Puritan Experiment” 128). While the different Puritan subgroups were able to autonomously hold and further their respective beliefs in Europe, they assembled and clashed in the New England colonies. Not only did they have to find a consensus on the governmental aspect of their newly-found society, but regarding reliCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

gious topics as well. During the first decade after the arrival of the Arbella, the Puritans managed to agree on a colonial government and a way of church organization (cf. Bremer, Puritanism 20). The resulting regime is usually referred to as theocracy, although it consisted of a clear separation of clerical and state powers. However, despite the actual disunity, both parties supported each other in promoting and maintaining the Calvinist doctrines and the purity of faith. Hence, church membership and

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Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

colonial citizenship were inevitably connected and only the Elect1 eligible for partaking (Campbell). Another way of coping with the divers takes on Puritanism, was the division into several self-governing colonies, such as New Haven, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. In the course of the establishment of a proper educational system, Harvard College was founded in 1636 as the “crown” (Bremer, “The Puritan Experiment” 129) thereof. With Yale, a second Ivy League university has its roots in the Puritan era (Coffey and Lim 7). Still, religious dividedness persisted and challenged the newly-found societies. The “key controversy in early Puritan New England” (Person 18) was the Antinomian Crisis of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636-38, which predominantly centered on Anne Hutchinson. On the one hand, some Christians, following the teachings of Antinomianism, believed that only God Himself could decide upon a person’s fate which would implicate the possibility of civil, moral, and ethic disobedience, since no earthly deed could change the Lord’s predestination (Covenant of Grace). Puritans, on the other hand, clearly rejected this thought, being convinced that the Elect had to work constantly on their faith and devoutness to God in order to achieve salvation (Covenant of Works) (Bremer, Puritanism 21; Ritter Dailey 530; Hutchinson). Anne Hutchinson, despite being a citizen of Massachusetts Bay Colony, strongly believed in the former idea, advocating it to such a large extent that she is described as having been “radical” and “extreme” (Ritter Dailey 530). The crucial factor of the scandal she provoked was the fact that she hosted increasingly popular and well-frequented devotional meetings in her private house (J. R. Holmes). One of her followers was then-Governor Sir Henry Vane the Younger, who started attending her lessons in 1836 (J. R. Holmes). Being supported and endorsed by a man of such high rank, Hutchinson began promoting her views more openly, and even publicly attacked the colonial religious authority. She blamed all church leaders of New England for overemphasizing the Covenant of Works (Hutchinson) and claimed that they Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

were not only “spiritually starving” (Bremer, Puritanism 21) their parishioners, but first and foremost accused them of “teaching error” (J. R. Holmes). In May 1637, Winthrop was reelected Governor. Being one of Hutchinson’s “most prominent opponents” (J. R. Holmes), he charged her with sedition in November 1637. As the theocratic regimen of Massachusetts Bay Colony based both its cleric and state powers upon the Calvinist teachings, an assault on the church was tantamount to an as                                                        1

See “2.1.3 Puritan Beliefs” for further information on the meaning of the term Elect.

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Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

    sault on the government (J. R. Holmes). Hence, Hutchinson did not only have to face a trial due to her religious agitations but also because of threatening the whole Puritan regimen. The fact that she was female must have additionally outraged the maledominated clergy and General Court. Unsurprisingly, Anne Hutchinson was found guilty, banished to Rhode Island, and formally excommunicated from the Boston Church (Bremer, Puritanism 21). Successive generations have frequently referred to Hutchinson as “the first feminist in the New World” (J. R. Holmes). Until today, she serves as an American role model, having fought for religious freedom and toleration, the freedom of speech, and the freedom to assemble (J. R. Holmes). All of these were unimaginable in early Puritan times but manifested in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution in 1791. The ongoing fight for the maintenance of religious purity resulted in one of the darkest chapters in Puritan history. The Salem Witch Trials had a long-lasting aftermath and shaped the present perception of Puritans probably more than any other of their deeds. Between 1692 and 1693, twenty people were executed and more than 150 accused of practicing witchcraft and thus of harming and threatening the colonial society (Mather, “Enchantments Encountered” 16). The persecutions were based on the belief that people could actively allow Satan to enter their souls, wield power over them, and leading them to tempt others to sin. Cotton Mather, influential Puritan minister and author, argued that the devil was angry at the settlers, who had infringed on his former realm. Because of that, he believed Satan to have laid “[a]n Horrible PLOT against the Country by WITCHCRAFT, and a Foundation of WITCHCRAFT then laid, which if it were not seasonably discovered would probably Blow up, and pull down all the Churches in the Country” (“Enchantments Encountered” 14). Despite these threatening assumptions, the pursuits ceased when the Salem magistrates came to the conclusion that the devil could not only be willingly allowed to enter one’s soul but could also do so without previous permission. The Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

victims were therefore to be released, since they could not be punished for something they did not actively approve of (Person 18). The early New England settlers did not only have to face internal religious controversies but also external threats to their society. The constant struggle with native tribes led to continuous tensions between both parties. While the Puritans eagerly tried to civilize and convert the indigenous people, they simultaneously forced the Natives out of their former habitat. Hence, the European settlers not only evoked 7 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

resentment among the tribes, but caused the loss of their “ability to sustain themselves” (Bremer, Puritanism 29). One of the most devastating controversies between Natives and Puritans was King Philip’s War in 1675, when Wampanoag sachem Metacom (King Philip) led a raid on the Puritan settlements. The outcome was disastrous for the Puritans, leaving more than a dozen cities destroyed and about one tenth of the population severely injured or dead (Bremer, Puritanism 29). However, it turned out to have been even more devastating for the Natives, who were left with having lost more than 3,000 of their own men, and many of them held captive and later sold as slaves. An aggravating factor to the steady conflict with Native Americans was that the newly-formed society was subject to permanent surveillance by their former home country. During the 1660s and 1670s, England implemented several measures to undermine Puritan power, limiting their religious freedom and practices, and preventing further development within the New England colonies. This included the ordinance to award church membership to all prospects, whether considered to be elect or not (Bremer, Puritanism 28). The Puritans tried to oppose these regulations from across the Atlantic. Adding to the threats from England was the growing amount of immigrants that moved to the colonies out of economic reasons, destroying the Puritan idea of a devout and pure society of Elect. Given the fact that most first-generation settlers had already deceased by now, compounded to the instable situation of the former solely religious society. By the time of the Salem Witch Trials, the New England colonies had already lost political control over their territories (Bremer, Puritanism 30). The late 17th century saw Puritanism in England come to an end, followed by its American counterpart during the 1730s (Coffey and Lim 6). Despite the dusk of the Puritan era almost 300 years ago, its legacy is still visible in present-day US America. Two of the country’s best universities serve as a constant reminder of the positive features within Puritan tradition, whose constitutors are ofCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

ten referred to as “‘founders’ or ‘shapers’ of American culture” (Coffey and Lim 7). Especially their eagerness to work hard (Covenant of Works), conquer new land (Mather, “Enchantments Encountered”), and support and further their ideal and the community (Winthrop), have served as a foundation for the ideas behind Manifest Destiny and the American Dream, and thus hold “the key to American identity” (Coffey and Lim 7). Opponents of these assumptions might regard them as being farfetched or idealized. However, these notions serve as an eligible counterbalance to 8 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

    the dark and gloomy picture that authors like Hawthorne and Miller evoke in modern-day minds. 2.1.3 Puritan Beliefs The history described above would not have occurred without the sternness of Puritan faith. Religion stood at the center of their lives and the awareness thereof is indispensable to the understanding of their minds and motives. Furthermore, this knowledge is crucial in order to fully comprehend the plots of Hawthorne’s historical writings, which mainly take place in 17th and 18th century New England. In order to be able to analyze the two works below and link them to the history and legacy depicted above, the following section will thematize the Puritan dogma. One of the most essential parts of Puritanism, which caused the dissociation from the Church of England, was the belief in plain style (Campbell). The Puritans were eager to find a direct, unaltered, and thus pure relation to God (Heimert and Delbanco 13), which demanded the rejection of all ecclesiastical embroidery that the Church of England had maintained after its separation from Catholicism. This especially included spiritual and liturgical customs, such as sacraments, priests, bishops, saints, prayer-books, the opportunity of indulgence, and sermons “stuff[ed] . . . with rhetorical flourishes and learned quotations” (Campbell). Instead of acknowledging “the whole panoply of religious apparatus” (Heimert and Delbanco 13), Puritans believed in the unconditional power of sermons as the center of their religious life. For them, a minister’s pure preaching was more capable of mediating God’s words and purposes and therefore of opening a path for the Holy Spirit to enter peoples’ souls, than any sacraments or other Catholic traditions (Delbanco 891). Puritan sermons, such as Winthrop’s “A Model of Christian Charity” or John Cotton’s “The Divine Right to Occupy the Land” are distinct from their Catholic counterparts. They clearly exhibit a plain structure, consisting of an excerpt from the Scripture, followed by Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

questions and answers concerning this biblical quote, and concluding with further advice on the use of that which was just heard. As Perry Miller points out, one argument follows the other “with no other transition than a period and a number,” ending a sermon “when there is nothing more to be said” (qtd. in Campbell). Cotton Mather adduced the reasons for this style in one of his most renowned books: Magnalia Christi Americana. He refers to the responsibility of a minister to solely base his sermons on the Scripture, leaving out any further embellishments:

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it was his duty to preach with such a plainness, as became the oracles of God, which are intended for the conduct of men in the paths of life, and not for theatrical ostentations and entertainments . . . he would preach a plain sermon, even such a sermon, as in his own conscience he thought would be most pleasing unto the Lord Jesus Christ; and he discoursed practically and powerfully, but very solidly upon the plain doctrine of repentance. (Polybius (Third Book) 235) The plain style, accompanied by the rejection of all “superficial glamour” (Graham 59), led to the fact that the Bible served as the central part of Puritan belief. While Puritans opposed pontifically-imposed traditions, they built their creeds on the teachings of John Calvin (1509-1564). The Five Points of Calvinism, codified in 1619, included the belief in total depravity, unconditional election and limited atonement (Delbanco 891). Therefore, Puritans were convinced that all men were tainted by sin and most of them destined for hell. Since there was no opportunity for indulgence or forgiveness of sin, the destiny of each individual lay solely in the hands of God. According to the concept of unconditional election, God was believed to have chosen only some of his followers as the Elect, who would be redeemed after death. As both Winthrop and Cotton emphasized in their sermons mentioned above, Puritans thought themselves to be a group of Elect, assigned by God to create a model and ideal society. The belief in being God’s chosen people led to the association of themselves with the biblical Israelites. Following the tradition of their Exodus from Egypt, Cotton stressed that “[t]he placing of a people in this or that country is from the appointment of the Lord.” Leaving England towards the New World was thus an obedience to God’s command and His will for the chosen people. On board the Arbella, Governor Winthrop held his renowned speech “A Model for Christian Charity.” It included the widely-known image of a “citty upon a hill,” which was to represent the new society’s ascendancy as God’s Elect. Winthrop stressed that this society had “[t]he eies of all people” upon it and was thus bound to serve as role model and

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example of moral and religious purity for the whole world. He further accentuated the importance of community, claiming that the new colonists “must be knitt together, . . . as one man . . . . one body in Christ.” Hence, for a union under God, “the care of the publique must oversway all private respects,” which underlined the fact that the Puritans should sacrifice their individual needs and longings to the common good. The characteristics of Puritan belief, as described above, played an essential role in the establishment of colonial New England and the further course of US histo10 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

    ry. As far as Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works are concerned, another important Puritan belief needs to be analyzed: The Puritan concept of nature.

2.2 The Concept of Nature in Western History One of the major pillars of New England Puritan belief was the perception of the natural surroundings which the settlers had to face in their new home. In order to thoroughly understand the Puritan concept of nature, the historical development has to be taken into account. As many of Hawthorne’s stories are set in a Puritan society, it is crucial to be aware of the Puritan point of view as well as the conception of nature current during the author’s life, to be able to analyze his writings. The following chapter will concentrate on the development of the human conception of wild, rural landscape in the course of history, so that one may profoundly comprehend the zeitgeist of 17th, 18th, and 19th century New England. Back in the time of nomadic hunter-gatherers, the word wilderness with all its connotations did not yet exist. For these early ancestors, who had lived on this planet for the majority of human existence, the unspoiled countryside was solely a source of food and a provider of habitat. It was not until mankind began to settle and invent forms of agriculture, herding, and permanent residences during the Neolithic Revolution around 10,000 BC (Junker 107-08), that their conception of the surrounding nature changed. Sedentary dwellings had to be built in order to meet the requirements of their new lifestyle. Consequently, flora and fauna were divided into two categories: useful and harmful. With this newly-attained knowledge of domestication, our forefathers “saw themselves as distinct from and . . . better than the rest of nature” (Nash xii). Thus, every living creature – animal or plant, – which was not subject to human control, was declared as being wild. This already bore the negative connotation of the rampant, savage, and perilous being, which would later be, inter alia,

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adopted by the Puritans (Nash xii). The early Neolithic thought was communicated over several millennia, accompanying every society which aimed at the establishment of a civilized habitat. At this point, it is essential to contradistinguish the Western world of later Europe from the societies of America and Asia (cf. Nash 20-21), of which the former will be thematized in the course of the discussion. In ancient Greece, people would fear Pan, god of the woods and countryside (Tresidder 366). He was believed to threaten those who entered his spheres with 11 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

alarming cries (hence the word panic). Pan is often depicted in the company of satyrs (Tresidder 425). Half goat half human, the latter did not only symbolize (male) lust (Tresidder 425) but was also associated with night and darkness, appearing only “in the darkest parts of the forest” (Nash 11). According to Hellenic folktales, these legendary figures raped women and abducted children who had entered the woods all by themselves. These two examples of ancient gods serve as a paradigm for the myths told in each and every cultivated tribe and nation within the borders of what is known as Europe today. Even the relatively advanced society of ancient Rome held onto the negative perception of uncultivated land. The people’s idea of a beautiful and enjoyable nature was merely reduced to “the fruitful or otherwise useful” (Nash 9), id est, the cultivated land. Roman poet Titus Lucretius Carus confirmed the frightful impression of uninhabited nature and the creatures living within in his most renowned poem De Rerum Natura, “On the Nature of Things:” “For savage monsters crowd the world e’en now, / Fearful and gaunt; and hills, and groves remote, / And pathless woods reecho to their roar; / Scenes, still, our feet with ease may ever shun” (46-49). Lucretius did not only depict the evil side of nature, but also showed men’s capability of adopting it as his own, “to show how nature bends” (81). These two basic principles could still be found, several centuries later, in the Puritan mindset. The foundation and spreading of Christianity intensified the fear of wilderness among Europeans as the Old Testament seemed to confirm the prevailing belief. Indeed, the term wilderness still occurs as many as 281 times in today’s New American Standard Bible (1995). The story of “The Fall of Man” (Gen. 3) deals with the sin and punishment of Adam and Eve, who are banned to a wild land containing “thorns and thistles” (Gen. 3.18) after they have eaten the forbidden fruit. Thus, from the first biblical book onwards, unfruitful wilderness, often equated with desert in the course of the Scripture, stands in strong contrast to the paradisiacal world of Eden, Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

where – with the exception of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil – all plants and fruit are edible (Gen. 2.16-17) and nothing can befall the first of mankind. It opposes the harmonious life in Paradise on both “physical and spiritual” (Nash 15) levels, not only being infertile land, but also representing God’s punishment of human sin. The Book of Isaiah further emphasizes the sharp contrast between godly land and wilderness. Predicting Zion’s future, the author claims that “waters will break forth the wilderness . . . . No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go 12 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

    up on it . . . . [People] will find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away” (35.6-10). Hence the belief that past and future of mankind will take place in a paradisiacal setting, while present life is cursed with wilderness. A more ambivalent take on wilderness is depicted by the biblical description of the Israelites’ Exodus. During their forty-year long journey through the desert, “the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions” (Deut. 8.15), they are tormented by hunger and thirst. Over the course of their migration, God punishes them and lets all those disloyal to him die (Num. 14.35). However, God sees another motive behind the Exodus from Egypt, which is already hinted at in the previous reference. Beside hunger and punishment, he wanted to put his “chosen people” (Is. 43.20) to a test in order to see “what was in [their] heart, whether [they] would keep His command or not” (Deut. 8.2). Hence, biblical wilderness also serves as a place where believers can testify their faith in God and adherence to His words and commandments. This positive display of the capability of vast nature is enhanced when taking into account that God Himself appears within the wilderness. The story of the Burning Bush (Ex. 3) as well as the receiving of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20.3-17) take place within the desert. Even God’s goodwill is exhibited in the story, as He provides the suffering Israelites with food and water (Ex. 15.22-27; Ex. 16.121; Ex. 17.1-7). In accordance with the Exodus tradition, European Christians started going into the wilderness, eager to find rededication to God and the purification of their beliefs (Nash 16). The beginning of these journeys is already established in the New Testament, when John the Baptist is described to be “preaching in the wilderness of Judea” (Mat. 3.1). After his christening, Jesus is drawn to the wilderness “to be tempted by the devil” (Mat. 4.1). Similar to the Israelites’ experience, he returns forty days later, now being able to start his ministry (Mat. 4.17). During early and medieval Christianity, several monks followed the biblical tradition and set up a monasCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

tery in the midst of uninhabited land. They believed that their escape from corrupt society might enable them to transform the earthly wilderness into its original condition of paradisiacal Eden (Nash 18). Meanwhile, many of their contemporaries felt obliged to fulfill God’s demand and “cultivate[d] the ground from which [they] were taken” (Ex. 2.23). Thus, transforming wild land into human-controlled nature was still conceived as being a good deed, willed by God.

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While these diverse thoughts dominated Christianity for centuries, St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) took a lone standpoint by believing in the equality of all living beings (Nash 19). This assumption did not only challenge the human self-perception as dominant race, which had now been sustained for almost ten thousand years, but it also contradicted the Word of God, which stated that men should “rule” (Gen. 1.26) over all remaining creatures. Although Assisi’s opinion did not coincide with the conviction of most of his compatriots, it was prominent among the people on the other side of the Atlantic. As Chief Luther Standing Bear of the Oglala Sioux would later explain, the value system of Native Americans considered the world to be “a library[,] and its books were the stones, leaves, grass, brooks, and the birds and animals”. They believed all living creatures to be alike, to share the possession of personality, and to be “made by the same hand, and filled with the essence of the Great Mystery.” Furthermore, animals were thought to hold the right to live in freedom and to be protected by humans as well as “the right to man’s indebtedness.” In his works, Standing Bear also addresses Western settlers who were, according to his opinion, “still troubled by primitive fears.” He compares the persisting clash of views in the following: Nothing the Great Mystery placed in the land of the Indian pleased the white man, and nothing escaped his transforming hand. Wherever forests have not been mowed down, . . . wherever the earth is not bereft of four-footed life – that to him is an "unbroken wilderness[.]" But, . . . for the Lakota [Oglala Sioux] there was no wilderness, because nature was not dangerous but hospitable . . . And here I find the great distinction between the faith of the Indian and the white man. Indian faith sought the harmony of man with his surroundings; the other sought the dominance of surroundings . . . . For one man the world was full of beauty, for the other it was a place of sin and ugliness. These different viewpoints on the subject matter did not only trouble the Puritans on their mission in the New World but all European settlers alike. Even before the first Puritans set foot in North America, the pioneers had to undergo an experi-

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ence quite similar to the struggle of the Neolithics. Again, wild nature threatened the life and viability of a sedentary society. The acquirement of the most basic human need – food – was one of the main reasons that drove settlers to eliminate forestlands. Being used to agriculture and permanent residences, they had to transform the landscape according to their needs. Another important factor in the rejection of wild nature was the fact that it served as a habitat for the Natives, “wild beasts[,] and still stranger creatures of the imagination” (Nash 24). Partly due to their nomadic lifestyle and their divergent attitude, inter alia, towards religion and nature, indige14 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

    nous Americans were regarded as heathen and wild, and thus perceived as a threat to the newly established community. In 1620, having arrived in the New World on board the Mayflower, William Bradford complained about the “hideous and desolate wilderness” (qtd. in Nash 2324) that revealed itself before his eyes. Following biblical tradition, the settlers aimed at conquering and thus transforming the “moral vacuum” (Nash 24) that dominated the scenery. Every difficulty along their path was blamed on the wild condition of their new habitat (Nash 26), leaving them in a constant fight with nature. However, not only extrinsic factors stoked the settlers’ fear, as another reason lay amidst the nature of man himself. Departing from the former image of nature as realm of possible religious purification and intimacy to God, early pioneers were afraid that closeness to wilderness would tempt their men to lose the endeavor to establish a civilized society. Michel Guillaume Jean de Crèvecœur (John Hector St. John) of New France critically observed that colonial happiness solely depended on social life: “He [the settler] cannot live in solitude, he must belong to some community . . . Men mutually support and add to the boldness and confidence of each other” (187). Although these thoughts might not have completely been of religious nature, the Puritans would later adopt them. Calvinist minister and missionary John Eliot referred to this topic as “wilderness-temptation” (qtd. in Nash 29). The stated reasons and consequential beliefs led to the obliteration of all positive associations with nature. Even if the Bible ties vast countryside to the appearance of God and purification of faith, the first American settlers shunned the wild, frightening, and intimidating land. The only nature-bound objects they enjoyed were the many gardens, trees, and flowers that were cultivated (cf. Gen. 2.15), planted, and cared for by the hands of mankind (Nash 33). When the Puritan belief arose, their concept of nature was neither new nor unique, as they rather adopted selected and historically established convictions. Like the first American settlers, the Puritans did not cherish nature, and especially wilderCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

ness, for various reasons. More than their direct ancestors, Puritans relied on the Words of God, since they were the groundwork of their life and “contained all they needed to know in order to hate wilderness” (Nash 35). As already mentioned above, community and parochial life were essential aspects of their religious practice. Connected to this mode was the disapproval of individuality. As Kate Rogers argues, individuals usually flee to the wilderness in order to seek, find, and finally transgress the boundaries of civilization and to explore their 15 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

personal freedom and identity (9-10). Chester E. Eisinger, however, introduces the idea of “riot and confusion” (85) which would result from man’s escape and adherence to nature. Only bound to the laws of nature, such a man would transform into “a creature of instincts” (Eisinger 85) rather than reason. Either way, both images stand in high contrast to the Calvinist doctrine and serve as an explanation for the Puritan rejection of individualism within the realms of wild nature. Similar to the experiences of the first European settlers, the Puritan repugnance of wilderness was enhanced by the fact that New England forests were inhabited by indigenous people. As a vast amount of the latter was not willing to be evangelized, the Puritans persecuted them due to their rejection of God. Cotton Mather believed Natives to be induced with evil spirit. Thus, being not only heathens but actually Satan’s minions, wilderness was transformed into the realm of devil himself, standing in high contrast to the Puritan ideal of a City upon a Hill. Mather emphasized the colonists’ ominous situation in the New World by saying that “[t]he NewEnglanders are a People of God settled in those, which were once the Devil’s Territories” (“Enchantments Encountered” 13). In order to cast off these fiendly threats, the Puritans had to fight the vast forests around them. Following God’s command in Gen. 2.15: “God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it” (emphasis added) and Gen. 3.23, where Adam and Eve are banned from Eden “to cultivate the ground from which [they] were taken” (emphasis added), the Puritans felt determined to eliminate the wilderness they were facing in the New World. Especially due to their conviction to be reliving the Israelite Exodus (Nash 34), they were certain that God would test their faith and devotion by confronting them with another desert that was to be overcome in order to create an ideal godly society. The Puritan concept of Nature remained in the minds of the people in New England for more than two centuries, and into the time of Nathaniel Hawthorne. DurCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

ing the Puritan era in New England, scientists across the Atlantic provided a reason for being fond of wild nature: Groundbreaking findings, especially in the fields of astronomy and physics, paved the way for a new notion on the landscape (cf. Greyerz; Heschl). Many people assumed that the revelation of a clearly structured, logically organized and harmonious universe suggested and emphasized the thought that all nature could be traced back to a divine creational source (Nash 45). At this point, the objection could certainly be raised that the assumption made above is already 16 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

    stated – as a matter of fact – in the first sentences of the Bible. However, Roderick Frazier Nash points out that, although nature was renowned as being God’s creation, “wilderness . . . was excluded from the category of nature” (46). Nevertheless, the new, “romantic” (Nash 44-66) take on nature was not able to replace the old, which was, inter alia, advocated by the Puritans. Nash implies that it rather “softened” (64) or relaxed (65) the current aversion to wilderness, as America was, concerning their concept of nature, “in a state of transition” (Nash 66). The emerging literary, political, and philosophical movement of Transcendentalism influenced many of Hawthorne’s contemporaries during the early 19th century and offered another opinion on nature itself. Transcendentalists believed in the unity of all creation – animate or inanimate, – the innate goodness of mankind (opposed to the Puritan belief in Innate Depravity), and “the supremacy of insight over logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truths” (Encyclopædia Britannica). Furthermore, it celebrated the individual instead of society, preferred reason over emotion, and nature over mankind (Encyclopædia Britannica). Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Nature (1836) serves as groundwork for this belief and value system. Freeing himself from the history of his ancestors (1) and the negative connotations that were made during the preceding centuries and millenniums, he regards nature as something that “never wears a mean appearance” (5) but rather serves as “the symbol of the spirit” (23). He argues that society changes a man during his lifetime, while nature provides the chance of returning to “the spirit of infancy” (7). In order to regain his mental abilities and live in harmony and unity with nature, his inner self, his religion, and his fellow humans, man needs to cast off the burden of society and open to the beauty, joy, and insight which nature has to offer. Emerson adheres to the transcendental mindset explained above by prizing nature over society, stating that he “find[s] something more dear and connate [in the wilderness] than in the streets or villages” (8). While he feels lonesome among a crowd, nature provides “the suggesCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

tion of an occult relation” (8) between all beings, conveying the feeling that one is “not alone and unacknowledged” (8). Especially the woods appear to him as “[p]lantations of God,” where “we return to reason and faith” (8). As Emerson believes all creatures and objects to be parts of a whole, nature even bears the ability to provide him with security. He notes that being in the forest, “[he] feel[s] that nothing can befall [him] in life, ‒ no disgrace, no calamity, . . . which nature cannot repair . . .

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. [he] become[s] a transparent eye-ball; [he is] nothing; [he] see[s] all . . . [he is] part or particle of God” (8). The idea of nature as the true source and place of religion and the Lord Himself – and not as formerly supposed – something of lower value, was new to the New England mindset (Nash 86). Emerson points out that nature is something humans can turn to in order to refine and regenerate their soul, feel close to God, and experience themselves as part of a greater whole. Especially the feeling of security within wilderness must have been irritating for many people. For that reason, it is to be kept in mind that this concept did not replace the Calvinistic perception, yet they coexisted. Nevertheless, the attitude towards nature slowly began to change, converting “from demonized to divinized” (Callicott and Ybarra). Henry David Thoreau, who proved his belief in the transcendental doctrine in Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854), even took part in another reformative notion. By saying that “in Wildness is the preservation of the World” (Walking 26), he was one of the first to suggest the conservation of something that was earlier proudly destroyed by several generations. In 1872, eight years after Nathaniel Hawthorne’s death, the United States Congress passed a bill that created North America’s first nature reserve: Yellowstone National Park (Rydell and Culpin 1). The preceding explanations have shown that the Puritan concept of wilderness, or nature in general, was neither unique nor new, but actually drew upon the previous thoughts and ideas of Western human evolution. Taking the further course of this study into account, the awareness of the concepts of nature present during Nathaniel Hawthorne’s life is essential. As the Puritan perception was not yet overcome, several new takes on the conception of nature arose. Hawthorne thus lived in a period of transition, torn between the belief in nature’s evil, threatening, and dark side on the one hand, and the image of wilderness as a conservation-worthy realm of self-discovery, harmony, freedom, and security on the other hand. The question in Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

need to be answered is in how far the author and his works were influenced by this era of attitude change and how Hawthorne coped with the opposing viewpoints of his Puritan ancestors and transcendental friends.

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Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

   

3 Hawthorne – Man and Writer The preceding chapter has laid the foundation for the discussion of Hawthorne’s life. The Puritan history, beliefs, and legacy as well as the change of attitude towards nature current during the writer’s lifespan, highly influenced his mind and works. In order to understand and analyze the latter, Hawthorne’s attitude towards both topics will be scrutinized. The following biography focuses on the main events and influences in the author’s life and emphasizes core characteristics that help to understand both the private man and author.

3.1 Biography Nathaniel Hawthorne’s earliest ancestors, yet still called Hathorne, lived in Wilton, Wiltshire, England. The earliest records of the Hathorne family can be dated back to the time of the discovery of the American continent by Christopher Columbus in the late 15th century (Wagenknecht 4). The first to set foot in the New World was William Hathorne (1607-1681), who settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 (Person 17). Seven years later, he moved from Dorchester to Salem, Massachusetts, where he held several influential offices. Being “the most eloquent man in the public assembly” (Woodberry, N.H. 2), he worked as a legislator, magistrate, and preacher. Furthermore, he soldiered in King Philip’s War, and was a widely-known persecutor of Indians and Quakers. One of his most sinister deeds was the conviction of Ann Coleman, a Quaker woman, who was whipped through the streets of Salem on his command (Person 17). The same fate befell colonial citizen Hester Craford, who was publicly whipped being accused of adultery. She was later suspended from society for a month to give birth to her illegitimate child; a doom quite similar to her namesake’s in The Scarlet Letter. William’s son John was also of reputable and respectable rank. Despite sev-

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eral other occupations, it was his role as “witch judge” (“The Paternal Ancestors”) during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692-1963, which earned him doubtful prominence. He is said to have been “so inhumanely in court” (Woodberry, N.H. 3) that the husband of an accused witch cursed him during one of the trials – and with him all of his descendants. This curse “lingered in the family memory like a black blot in the

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Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

blood” (Woodberry, N.H. 3), and was later even recalled by Nathaniel Hawthorne in “The Custom House” (Hawthorne, TSL 9)2. While the third generation of Hathornes in New England was devoted to farming (Woodberry, N.H. 3), the fourth and fifth descendants were drawn to the sea (“The Paternal Ancestors”). Captain Nathaniel Hathorne, fifth-generation immigrant and father of the later author, died of yellow fever in Suriname, just four years after his only son’s birth (Wineapple 16). Nathaniel the younger was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. Besides him, his father and mother Elizabeth, née Clarke Manning, had two daughters of whom Elizabeth was four years his senior and Louisa two years younger (Woodberry, N.H. 3). The early death of the patriarch left an indelible mark on all the lives of the remaining family members. Young Nathaniel sought for closeness to his father by dreaming of setting forth the family tradition and becoming a sailor, as well. For the most part of childhood, he was occupied with this thought and even his earliest writings are said to have been related to the life at sea (Wineapple 21). Although he had lost his father to the roaring ocean, he spoke of it “as a place of comfort, . . . and wonder, of adventure and male bonding” (Wineapple 21). This behavioral pattern already shows Hawthorne’s close relationship to and occupation with his paternal male ancestors, which would accompany him throughout his life. Indeed, the death of his father is said to have been the key experience to trigger his interest in family history (Warren xi). Nevertheless, Nathaniel was not the only family member to suffer from the early loss. His mother was not able to overcome her husband’s death either. As it was a custom in those days, she withdrew from society and led a life of seclusion for the rest of her life (Woodberry, N.H. 3). This manner was adopted by her children and especially the only son who would seek refuge in the realms of solitude throughout his lifespan. This reclusive way of living was even enhanced when he, as a nine-year-old, wounded his foot at Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

school (Wineapple 26). Although this injury did not seem to be severe, the young boy secluded himself from the outside world (Waggoner 2). Brenda Wineapple, based on the writings of Hawthorne’s sister Elizabeth, makes the supposition that the loss of several male family members, such as his father, his maternal grandfather, and some of his closest uncles, led the young boy to the idea of running away, but “[u]nable to do this, he did the opposite” (26). Nevertheless, the restricted mobility                                                         2

See “3.4.1 The Burden of Puritan Legacy” for further information on Hawthorne’s handling of the curse.

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    drew him closer to reading and within these years he developed a deep love of literature that would last a lifetime (McFarland 17). After his recovery four years later, Elizabeth and her three children moved to Raymond, Maine, now residing in one of the Manning’s family residences. Having vast forests and Lake Sebago in close proximity, Nathaniel was able to experience and enjoy the beauty of nature (Wagenknecht 5). This acquaintance majorly contributed to the memory of his boyhood in Maine, which he describes as the happiest childhood experience he ever had (Woodberry, N.H. 5). In a letter to his mother, he remembers his time in Raymond: “shut out from the world, and nothing to disturb [them,] . . . a second Garden of Eden” (qtd. in Woodberry, N.H. 10). As the letter reveals, the solitude of his earlier years continued in Maine. Instead of finding playmates (Wineapple 40), he kept himself busy with the exploration of the natural surroundings, reading, and writing his first diary, a habit he would not break until his death (Wineapple 35; cf. Hawthorne, The American Note-Books). The latter already contained what his later notebooks would confirm: his emotional attachment to nature and especially the forest (Woodberry, N.H. 6-7). Despite the feeling of comfort, Nathaniel had to leave his family and moved back to Salem to further his education when he was fifteen years old. There, he not only continued his eager reading but also published his first work, The Spectator, a weekly magazine (Woodberry, N.H. 8), which he printed himself and distributed among family members (Turner viii). According to Wineapple, it can be seen as his “declaration of independence and his passport to literature” (41). Unlike his later publications, it contained mostly commentaries and descriptions of the real life surrounding him, “without . . . the veil of fiction” (Wineapple 41), which he would later disclose in his tales. During the subsequent months, Hawthorne started to think about his future career. Having abandoned his childhood dreams of becoming a sailor, he considered Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

the professions preferred by his family, such as minister, lawyer, or physician (The Selected Letters 27). In a letter to his mother in March 1821, he states that the occupations mentioned above would not satisfy him and suggests becoming an author instead and “relying for support upon [his] pen” (The Letters 139). In the summer of 1821, he entered Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he “took nothing more important away . . . than the friendships he made there” (Person 3). One of his college mates was Franklin Pierce, who would later serve as 21 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

President of the United States of America. During their years at Bowdoin, they start.

ed a cordial friendship, which would last their whole lives. Although fellow writer Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was also one of Hawthorne’s contemporaries at Bowdoin, it was future United States Naval officer Horatio Bridge, who became “[h]is closest confidant . . . encourag[ing] him, then and later, as a writer when he needed it most” (Wineapple 50). Hawthorne himself would later refer to him as “the best friend [he] ever had or shall have” (qtd. in Wineapple 50). Although Hawthorne did not withdraw from social life in college, he was described as being secluded in some way. One of his college companions, Jonathan Cilleys, recalls his perception of Nathaniel as follows: “I love Hawthorne, I admire him; but I do not know him. He lives in a mysterious world of thought and imagination which he never permits me to enter” (qtd. in Wineapple 52). Apart from the important friendships he found in college, there is no evidence of him getting too involved or eager in his college career, as he seems to have taken his private reading pleasures more seriously than his studies (Woodberry, N.H. 13). However, his life, friends, or books must have aroused the desire to slightly change his surname. The first recordings of the “fanciful spelling” (Woodberry, N.H. 14) date back to 1825, but it was not until two years later that he used it more frequently (Wineapple 63). Although it is often assumed that Hawthorne made the change due to his eagerness to break with his paternal ancestors, no reliable source for this supposition can be found (“The Family”). After his graduation in September 1825, he returned to his family which had meanwhile moved to Salem, Massachusetts. Being back with his mother and sisters, Nathaniel immediately reverted to the family’s habitual life in solitude. For the following dozen years, he predominantly spent his time in his room, his “haunted chamber” (Hawthorne, “Hawthorne in the Boston Custom-House”), which scholars usually refer to as “the chamber under the eaves” (e.g. Woodberry, N.H. 15). Besides staying at home, dedicating his time and thoughts to writing and reading, he enjoyed Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

long walks in the realm of nature. This period of “intellectual solitude” (Woodberry, N.H. 16) was essential for the composition of his future works. The inspiration he got from nature and his readings would eventually form the essence of his works and Hawthorne’s self as an author. In a letter to his later wife Sophia, he underlines the importance of this era in the “haunted chamber,” since “thousands upon thousands of visions have appeared on [him] in it; and some few of them have become visible to the world . . . and here [his] mind and character were formed” (The Selected Letters 22 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

    79). Now, more than ever before, was Hawthorne’s mind occupied with his Puritan legacy, as it represented an important part of his identity. Like his son Julian later recalls, “Hawthorne, during those ten years, breathed and walked in the Salem of his day, but lived in the Salem of one and two centuries before” (“The Salem of Hawthorne” 13). His Puritan forefathers, the surrounding nature, and the great amount of books he read, inspired him. He started to write his first sketches, trying to include his thoughts and fancies. In 1828, he anonymously published Fanshawe at his own expense (Wagenknecht 5). Being “a man of high standards” (Wineapple 58), and a selfcritical perfectionist, he later considered the novel to be displeasing and imperfect, and tried to destroy every accessible copy (Woodberry, N.H. 18). Nevertheless, he released several of his tales in various magazines and newspapers during the following years. The Democratic Review, The New-England Magazine, and especially The Token published numerous stories anonymously or under a variety of pseudonyms, which could be interpreted as a sign of Hawthorne’s insecurity concerning his work. Many of those early tales were later compiled in Hawthorne’s Twice-Told Tales (1837, 1842), Mosses from an Old Manse (1846), or The Snow-Image and Other Twice-Told Tales (1952). After having worked in several, not very profit-yielding jobs within the literary scope, Hawthorne realized that he needed to escape from his solitary life. In a letter to his college mate Longfellow he wrote in 1838: “[L]ike the owl, I seldom venture abroad till after dusk . . . . I have secluded myself from society; . . . I have made a captive of myself, and put me into a dungeon, and now I cannot find the key to let myself out . . . . For the last ten years, I have not lived, but only dreamed of living” (The Selected Letters 42). Alongside his family, college friends, and work companions, a third person had a positive and lasting effect on changing the author’s life. The reunion with his childhood neighbor Sophia Peabody (Woodberry, N.H. Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

43), marked a significant point in his life. Being “like [Hawthorne], rather a ‘visitant’ than an inhabitant of this planet” (Woodberry, N.H. 43), and also inspired by “natural beauty, effects of sky and weather and color” (Woodberry, N.H. 44-45), she achieved retrieving the author out of his gloomy, lonesome mood – at least to a certain extent. As Leland S. Person describes, Sophia changed Hawthorne in a way “that must have seemed like a rebirth” (4), allowing him to finally get to know himself. The latter is testified in one of his 109 surviving love-letters to Sophia (Person 3), in which Haw23 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

thorne himself admits that “[she] only ha[d] revealed [him] to [him]self” (The Letters 495). Yet, this happy twist in life could not change the fact that Nathaniel was not able to afford a living from his writing only and therefore needed to search employment outside the literary world. In January 1839, he started working at the Boston Custom House, a job which served as a welcomed change. Being able to lead a life apart from his seclusion, pursue practical work, and be close by the sea, put him in a happy mood (Woodberry, N.H. 48-49). After the first couple of months, he realized that his work outside the world of literature prompted a writer’s block. He hoped to get out of “this unblest Custom House” (Hawthorne, “Hawthorne in the Boston Custom-House”) soon in order to be able to pursue his writing career. During his time at the Boston Custom House, he only achieved publishing a few works, including some children’s books. It can be assumed that his future sister-in-law, Elizabeth Peabody, encouraged him to the composition of the latter, as she was an aspiring educator herself, who would later establish the first American kindergarten (Turner ix). In 1841, following a change of administration, Hawthorne attained his wishes and lost his job at the Custom House. Although he had already been secretly engaged to Sophia since 1839 (Cheever 46), he decided upon a life without her and moved to Brook Farm. This utopian transcendental society aimed at a “more natural union between intellectual and manual labor than [then] exist[ed]; to combine the thinker and the worker, as far as possible, in the same individual,” as co-founder George Ripley is quoted (in Person 5). Although it can be supposed that Hawthorne sympathized with the idea of blending both labor and time for intellectual thoughts and works, George E. Woodberry states that his participation in this experiment was “purely incidental” (N.H. 55), since the betrothed was not only completely uninterested in any form of social or political reform but moreover “anxious to be married” (56). However, instead of leading the balanced life he had hoped for, the men and women Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

of Brook Farm had to work hard. The project was not able to recruit the expected quantity of participants, which left the residents with a major amount of work and no time for artistic jaunts (Person 5). Subsequently, Hawthorne, who had already proven not to be a man of hard, physical work, felt even more uncomfortable at Brook Farm than he had felt working at the Custom House (Hawthorne, The Letters 545). However, the manual labor was not the only distracting circumstance. Nathaniel realized that he needed his life of solitude in order to succeed in writing (Hawthorne, The 24 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

    Letters 550), as the “real” Hawthorne “was never an associate of the community” (Hawthorne, The American Note-Books 120). On July 9, 1842, Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne finally got married and moved to the Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts. Their new home was located at the edge of nature, being close to both the forest and a brook. As he had already done in reference to Raymond, Hawthorne would later call Concord his personal “Eden” (Cheever 5), with Sophia and him being “Adam and Eve” (J. Hawthorne, “Scenes of Hawthorne’s Romances” 380; cf. Hawthorne, “The New Adam and Eve”). Their time in the Old Manse as well as their entire marriage are described as “idyllically” (Wagenknecht 6; Warren xv) or even “unusually” (Waggoner 2) happy throughout most scholarly works. After his two burdensome work experiences, Hawthorne was now positive to have found time and space for his literary work. His marriage provided him with strength, courage, and support (Warren xvi), “kindle[d] his imagination[,] and cause[d] an outpouring of literary production” (Person 4). Nevertheless, he felt the need to return to his pattern of seclusion in order to be creative. Fortunately, his wife understood his requirement and witnessed the inspiration that not only her own presence but also her husband’s isolation were able to offer (Warren xvi). Beside his surpassingly happy matrimony, his regained solitude, and the ability to enjoy the beauty of nature, his new hometown presented another inspirational and literarily interesting feature. It was the home of an “intellectual utopian community” (Person 6), including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, Amos Bronson Alcott, and William Ellery Channing. However, Hawthorne himself did not seem to be very impressed by their literary achievements, and referred to the Concordians as a people “queer, strangely-dressed, oddly behaved . . . most of whom took themselves to be important agents of the world’s destiny, yet were simply bores of a very intense water” (Hawthorne, “The Old Manse” 38). Despite this inner repugnance and his desire to distance himself from society (WoodberCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

ry, N.H. 61), he befriended most of his fellow writers. His distaste for local writers subtly remained in his relationship to Emerson, whom he never got profoundly close with (Person 8). This might have been due to their “opposition of genius” (Woodberry, N.H. 61), the possibility that Hawthorne was jaundiced and disgruntled with the attention this “philosopher-in-residence” (Person 8) received, or the simple fact that they were contrasting in their natures (McFarland 59). Yet, the two writers frequently accompanied each other on day-long walks through nature. Thoreau, on the contrary, 25 

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became one of Hawthorne’s closest friends (Cheever 51). The latter especially enjoyed their talks about nature and described Thoreau as a “genuine and exquisite observer” (The Letters 656) thereof. Having the opportunity to enjoy the vast countryside, his family, solitude, and newly-gained friends, Hawthorne finally resumed the ability to write stories beyond the branch of children’s books. The tales and sketches he composed during his life in Concord, including “Young Goodman Brown,” “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” and “The Birthmark,” were later compiled in Mosses from an Old Manse (1846). At the same time, these publications marked the end of Hawthorne’s occupation with short stories (Woodberry, N.H. 89). Overall, his tales can be seen as “studies, the ‘prentice work of his learning hand” (Woodberry, N.H. 65) and the preparation for his literary achievements to come. In 1844, Sophia gave birth to their first daughter, Una. Having to furnish a living for a whole family without any notable income, left Hawthorne financially burdened (Woodberry, N.H. 62). He was not able to afford a life in Concord any longer and decided to move back to Salem (Person 9). When Democrat James K. Polk was elected President of the United States in 1945, Hawthorne’s college friend Pierce was able to provide him with a job as surveyor at the Salem Custom House (Woodberry, N.H. 83). By the time his son Julian was born in 1846, Hawthorne was financially stable (Person 9). Nevertheless, his appointment at a Custom House caused a writer’s block once again. In a letter to Longfellow, he admits that he is “trying to resume [his] pen; but the influences of [his] situation and customary associates are so anti-literary, that [he] know[s] not whether [he] shall succeed. . . . [He] should be happier if [he] could write” (The Selected Letters 126). Yet, he felt more content this time, as he was now following the family tradition of being an important part of Salem life (Woodberry, N.H. 84). In 1849, when Whig Zachary Taylor replaced Polk as United States President, Hawthorne had to leave his position due to the accusation of political partisanship. Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

Being least interested in politics and not involved in any political debate (More 194), Nathaniel was outraged by this outcome. He regarded the case not merely as a political stroke, but rather as an attack on him as a private person (Woodberry, N.H. 90). His gloom was even intensified, when his beloved mother died shortly afterwards, which he described as “the darkest hour [he] ever lived” (qtd. in Cheever 90). At least he was now able to return to his literary workmanship, starting his new writing project right after his dismissal from the Custom House. As his wife 26 

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    recalled in a letter to her mother, he was more engaged in this work than any other before and writing “immensely” (Sophia Hawthorne qtd. in Cheever 90). Infused with anger at the Salemites, whom he not only blamed for the just undergone incident, but had a lifelong reluctance towards, he compiled his new romance in less than a year. The Scarlet Letter was first written to be a short story within a compilation, since Hawthorne was of the opinion that it was “too gloomy to stand alone” (Woodberry, N.H. 95). His publisher and friend James T. Fields, however, urged him to embellish the story and add Hawthorne’s sketch “The Custom House” as an introduction to it (Kennedy-Andrews 5). After putting “his whole energy into the book” (Woodberry, N.H. 97), The Scarlet Letter was finally published in 1850, marking the turning point of his career and attributing its author with the resounding success he had always aimed for. The residents of Salem were outraged that the notable achievement of their fellow citizen was associated with a discredit of their own (Woodberry, N.H. 105). Nevertheless, Hawthorne now entered the most fruitful period of his life, the “real beginning of his career” (Cheever 91). During the following year and a half, the Hawthornes spent a “secluded happy family life” (Woodberry, N.H. 106), within nature’s clime near the Berkshire Hills. On one of his journeys to the mountains, Hawthorne met fellow writer Herman Melville; and “before the day was over, . . . Melville decided Hawthorne was the most fascinating American he had ever met” (Hershel Parker in Person 10). Hawthorne for his part “did something phenomenal” (Hershel Parker in Person 10): Returning Melville’s profound sympathy and regardless of his love of seclusion from society, he invited him to stay at his house for a few days. Many scholars have disputed if the friendship resulting from this first encounter had a homoerotic background (Person 11) but they all agree that their conversations about the art of writing have brought inspiration and influence to Melville (Person 10), who was currently writing his masterpiece Moby-Dick; or, the Whale, which he later dedicated to HawCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

thorne, “IN TOKEN OF [his] ADMIRATION FOR HIS GENIUS” (xix). In 1851, Sophia and Nathaniel’s third child Rose was born. After having completed The House of the Seven Gables (1851) and working on The Blithedale Romance (1852) and his short story collection The Snow-Image, and Other TwiceTold Tales (1852), Hawthorne spent much time with his children. As Woodberry remarks, a “happier childhood seldom gets into books than that which appears in the reminiscences of this small family” (N.H. 113). Julian Hawthorne remembered his 27 

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childhood with great joy, being introduced to the beauty of nature by his father: “He made those spring days memorable to his children. He made them boats to sail on the lake, and kites to fly in the air; he took them fishing and flower-gathering” (qtd. in Woodberry, N.H. 113). Inspired by the jolly time with his offspring, Hawthorne returned to his profession as an author of children’s books, publishing A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys in 1852 and Tanglewood Tales in the subsequent year. Not being very fond of living at the mountainside, the family moved back to Concord in 1852, where their newly-gained assets allowed them to purchase a new dwelling place, formerly owned by Bronson Alcott, which Hawthorne renamed in The Wayside (Meltzer 105-6). While Hawthorne was now living a contented life, spending much time with his family and in the beautiful nature of Concord, his former classmate Franklin Pierce was appointed Democratic nominee for presidency of the USA. In order to support his friend, Hawthorne made the offer to write a campaign biography, which was gladly taken by Pierce. In 1852, Life of Franklin Pierce was published, followed by his inauguration as the 14th President of the United States in 1853. By the way of thanks and empathy, Pierce offered Hawthorne “the best office in his gift” (Woodberry, N.H. 123), the position of consul in Liverpool, England. As with Brook Farm and the Salem Custom House before, Hawthorne made yet another decision in life which was not based on his personal views or convictions. Referring to both Transcendentalism and the currently politically discussed antislavery campaign, Woodberry makes the apt remark that “neither of these two main movements in the life of his times touched him at all in a personal way” (N.H. 123). However, Nathaniel was, as he had ever been, worried about the future financial stability of his family. By accepting the offer, he did not only enable himself and his family to explore the world beyond the Atlantic Ocean, but had found a reason to leave his home country and with it the pressure and lifelong burden of the past (Woodberry, N.H. 123; WineCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

apple 268). In England, just as in the New World before, Nathaniel did not enjoy his daily work. Although he loved being away from America and believed in “his philosophy of the usefulness of manual toil and regular occupation” outside the literary world, “the touch of work always disenchanted his mind” (Woodberry, N.H. 124). After James Buchanan, Jr. had taken the office of Presidency in 1857, Hawthorne resigned from his position. 28 

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    Having saved enough money to lead an unworried life, the Hawthornes travelled through France and Italy. Especially the latter seemed to appeal to both Sophia and Nathaniel, as there was a recognizable change of attitude toward life in the author’s mind. With financial stability to draw on to, and without the pressure of having to work again, Hawthorne “appear[ed] for the first time in his life really to live with other people” (Woodberry, N.H. 134). The only incident to temper his delight during these fruitful years was the illness of his youngest daughter Una, who came down with an almost lethal malaria from which she never fully recovered (Meltzer 129). Nathaniel, thus suffering from another writer’s block, decided to return to England in 1859, where he finished his last novel The Marble-Faun (1860). During the following year, the family moved back to the United States (Woodberry, N.H. 139; 143). At The Wayside, Hawthorne continued his writing profession by recurring to the composition of tales. While Hawthorne had always been described as “an exceptionally healthy man” (Wagenknecht 12), his health condition worsened during the subsequent years. Nevertheless, the friend and admirer of nature continued his excursions to the surrounding wilderness. On one of his trips to the White Mountains of New Hampshire in May 1864, accompanied by his friend Franklin Pierce, Hawthorne passed away. On May 24, 1864, the author was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, his personal Eden. In the presence of his friends and with his last unfinished romance lying on his coffin (Woodberry, N.H. 150), he was given back to nature. Hawthorne was one of the first “of the distinguished group to which he belonged to lay down the pen” (Woodberry, N.H. 150-51). During the following years, many of his fellow writers would accompany him “in that secluded spot” (Woodberry, N.H. 151), and even the remains of his wife and daughter Una were interred from their initial graves in England in 2006 to lie by his side. This transfer was conducted due to a quote from Sophia, which proves the genuine love both shared: “[N]o power on earth Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

should ever induce me to live without thee, and especially . . . an ocean should never roll between us” (qtd. in Mishra and Heaney).

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3.2 The “absurd misconception” of Nathaniel Hawthorne Hawthorne’s biography has shown that several aspects of his character were recurrent. His constant longing for seclusion, his love of nature, and his preoccupation with his Puritan ancestors have shaped his personality probably more than anything else. In order to understand the man and his works, the following three sections will give detailed attention to these salient characteristics. Hawthorne’s lifelong preference of solitude to a life among society, and the dark atmosphere found in many of his works, suggests the assumption that the author was generally depressed and mirthless. Nevertheless, many authors and contemporaries point out that Hawthorne’s dark tales should not be understood as a proof of the writer’s personal mental state but should rather be seen as to reflect one facet of Hawthorne’s versatile character. Hyatt H. Waggoner argues that it is almost impossible to fully understand the man and writer with all his shades and colors (7), having “in fact several Hawthornes and all of them [being] to a certain extent masks” (3). Even Hawthorne’s close friend and admirer Herman Melville writes that “the world is mistaken in this Nathaniel Hawthorne. He himself must often have smiled at its absurd misconception of him” (“Hawthorne and His Mosses” 33). Julian Hawthorne emphasizes the fact that the gloomy mood in many of his father’s writings should not be projected onto the author himself, since “it is important to remember that the man and the writer were, in Hawthorne’s case, as different as a mountain from a cloud” (“The Salem of Hawthorne” 6). Although his eager longing to return to a life in seclusion ought not to be understood as proof of Hawthorne’s mental state, it is still noticeable and significant for the analysis of his works and will therefore be depicted in the following. Referring to the author’s fondness of solitude and the projection thereof in his writings, Paul Elmore More states that “never lived a man to whom ordinary contact

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with his fellows was more impossible, and . . . the mysterious solitude in which his fictitious characters move is a mere shadow of his own imperial loneliness of soul” (194). His yearning for sequestration from society was partly caused by his insurmountable shyness (O.W. Holmes 194). He is described as being an attentive listener rather than a speaker in public gatherings, sensing “no impulse . . . to confide in others” (Warren xv). One of Hawthorne’s friends, O.W. Holmes, remarks that “talking with him was almost like love-making,” a rare but enjoyable moment when Hawthorne decided to withstand “all his obvious depression” (194). Contrary to this im30 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

    pression, Austin Warren describes the author based on family statements as being “quiet, pensive but not morose; cheerful, even, in an autumnal fashion” (xv). Despite the dissents about Hawthorne’s character, scholars agree upon the fact that he used his lonesome time to further his genealogical research as well as his writings. Having made “a captive of [him]self” (Hawthorne, The Selected Letters 42), as he writes in a letter to Longfellow, Hawthorne stood in a constant struggle between his shyness and the eager wish to make attempts “very imperfectly successful ones, to open an intercourse with the world” (Hawthorne, Preface to Twice-Told Tales 10). His chosen vehicle for this “intercourse with the world” was his writing. Here, he assigned his fondness – or obstacle – of living a secluded life onto his characters. Hester and Pearl, young goodman Brown, and Beatrice Rappaccini are just some of Hawthorne’s protagonists, who live at least parts of their lives mentally and physically segregated from society. Being a vigilant observer of his surroundings (Waggoner 28), Hawthorne used his knowledge in order to examine the nature of mankind. His works can be regarded as moral teachings, focusing on the flaws of both individuals and society. More even compares him to the great literates of the past by saying that [o]ther poets of the past have excelled him in giving expression to certain problems in our inner life, and in stirring the depths of our emotional nature; but not in the tragedies of Greece, or the epics of Italy, or the drama of Shakespeare will you find any presentation of this one truth of the penalty of solitude laid upon the human soul so fully and profoundly works out as in the romances of Hawthorne. (194) These words suggest the question as to which further inspiration led Hawthorne to write such powerful tales and novels. Though he was never fond of social intercourse or intellectual exchange of ideas with his fellow writers, he was very enthusiastic about the comfort and stimulation vast nature had to offer. Together with his constant

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preoccupation and struggle with his Puritan ancestors and their era, his perception of nature can be seen as one of the most important sources of his works. Therefore, closer attention should be devoted to Hawthorne’s attitude towards these two topics, which the previous chapter has already theoretically discussed.

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3.3 Nathaniel Hawthorne, “lover of nature” As the preceding chapter has already shown, the American mindset towards nature was in a “state of transition” (Nash 66) during Hawthorne’s lifetime. While Puritans and various generations before them had regarded nature as something wild, heathen, and frightful, Hawthorne’s romantic and transcendental contemporaries vindicated a considerably more positive or even sacred image of wilderness. As both “Young Goodman Brown” and The Scarlet Letter are partly set in the midst of nature, the depiction of Hawthorne’s standpoint regarding the current era of change is indispensable in order to understand both works. His biography has already revealed that Hawthorne frequently turned to nature. In the midst of the wilderness, he was able to find solitude, harmony, and inspiration. His short story “Footprints on the Sea Shore” could be regarded as the author’s homage to the natural world. Standing alone, it could reveal all there is to say about Hawthorne’s attitude towards the vast landscape. His affection for nature is closely related to his love of seclusion, as the vast countryside serves as his personal retreat from society. The author knows that “[i]n a forest, solitude would be life; in a city, it is death” (Hawthorne, “The New Adam and Eve” 8). Additionally, he remarks that “the forest and the ocean summon [him] . . . forth from the haunts of men” (“Footprints” 253). Therefore, it can be assumed that he enjoyed nature more than the community with other men. His days outside remind him of the fact that “[he] shall walk among men kindly and as a brother . . . but yet shall not melt into the indistinguishable mass of human kind” (“Footprints” 266). The author hence turned to the vast uninhibited land whenever he wanted to free himself from society, a habit quite equal to what Emerson described in Nature. Although Hawthorne was not a declared Transcendentalist, he still experienced a mentally cleansing effect within the realms of nature. Opposing his solitary behavior

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within human society, the great outdoors allowed him to reveal his innermost self and to be social in some way: “[T]he great sea has been my companion, and the little sea birds my friends, and the wind has told me his secrets, and airy shapes have flitted around me in my hermitage” (“Footprints” 265). Here, he found “magic” and “beauty” (“Footprints” 262-63). He admired the serenity and harmony within this lonesome place and felt the urgent need to be “in tune with nature” (Wagenknecht 66) as it offered him the happiness and safety, society was unable to provide.

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    In “Footsteps on the Sea Shore,” Hawthorne also depicts the inspirational character of his wanderings. He felt connected with the countryside, which provided him with the space needed to develop his ideas and thoughts, which would later be committed to his stories: His “musings [have] melted into its rocky walls and sandy floor, and made them a portion of [him]self” (261). The secureness he experienced among natural surroundings quickened his imagination and thoughts. This inspiring effect of the landscape remote from society was later described by his son Julian: “[F]or Hawthorne there was nothing but the night and the day, the sunshine and the rain, the changes of the seasons, the leaves of the forest and the waves of the sea . . . to quicken and nourish his imagination” (“The Salem of Hawthorne” 12). The indispensable role nature played in Hawthorne’s life is also revealed in his notebooks. The greatest amount of lines dedicated to his observation of and pleasure in the beauty of nature disclose the fact that he did not simply enjoy being outside, but actually paid close attention to his natural surroundings (cf. Hawthorne, The American Note-Books). While these descriptions of nature are rather realistic, Hawthorne transformed his observations into fiction during the process of writing. In his poem “Hawthorne,” even Longfellow acknowledges the “tender undertone” (289) of the natural images, which can be found in all of Hawthorne’s tales and novels. In many of his fictional works, such as “Young Goodman Brown” or The Scarlet Letter, nature descriptions occupy a considerable amount of space. Thus they might be regarded as additional characters or agents which enhance another figure’s personality. In both stories, they are essential to the plot and the moral lesson within. While he dedicated much of his private and literary life to nature, also his funeral seemed to have been embroidered by the exquisiteness of nature. In his moving obituary, O.W. Holmes called his friend “a lover of nature” (194). It seemed to him that on Hawthorne’s burial day, the entire flora was displaying its beauty “as if Nature herself were sighing for our loss” (194). These memories, filled with numerous Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

references to flowers and the sun, exemplify Hawthorne’s striking affection for the vast countryside once more. Nevertheless, despite the joyful and inspirational experiences in the realms of nature, Hawthorne was not able to free himself from the constant engagement with his Puritan ancestors. “Sometimes,” he admits, “the Past comes back” (“Footprints” 263). In these moments he wished “that [his] hiding-place were lonelier, so that the past might not find [him]!” (“Footprints” 263). This oppressive quote is striking 33 

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when keeping in mind that the remaining story is – besides Hawthorne’s slight criticism of society – rather jovially and light. It serves as an example for the author’s permanent mental burden, which the following section will scrutinize in further detail.

3.4 Hawthorne, Hathorne, and God Hawthorne’s lifelong preoccupation with his Puritan ancestors has already been pointed out in the course of this paper. In order to understand many of his historical stories, which are set in 17th and 18th century New England, the author’s relation towards Puritanism has to be regarded. Since scholars have argued if the author was Calvinist or not, I will examine his religious identity in the following section in order to be able to analyze and comprehend the purpose of and intent behind Hawthorne’s writings. 3.4.1 The Burden of Puritan Legacy Within Hawthorne’s fictional and autobiographical works, the topic of Puritanism is recurrent (cf. “Young Goodman Brown;” The Scarlet Letter; The American NoteBooks). The Calvinist mindset, such as the Puritan conception of wilderness, belief in the Elect, and preoccupation with the concept of unforgivable sin, is clearly hinted at in both stories central to this paper. Given Hawthorne’s lifelong devotion to this subject and the major influence it had on his writings, an examination of his attitude towards Puritanism seems warranted. Throughout his life, Hawthorne was an extensive reader, taking great interest th

in 17 and 18th century literature (Person 16). Reading works by and about Puritans, he soon became “at home in the early New England history” (James 52). During his years in the Chamber under the Eaves, Hawthorne turned to the history of his forefa-

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thers more frequently than before. However, he was not a usual amateur genealogist. Living in Salem, where apparently “[p]edigree counts as much as money, frequently more” (Wineapple 14) and being the member of a family which was exceedingly proud of its history (Reverend Dr. Bentley qtd. in Wineapple 14), Nathaniel was – maybe more than others – forced and driven to deal with his past. The early loss of his father additionally enhanced Hawthorne’s interest in his paternal ancestors. For him, as well as his hometown, “the past was never dead” (Wineapple 15).

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    Rogers reasonably states that “[a]s a nation and a people we define ourselves in comparison to our forebears” (8). Alas, Hawthorne’s genealogical research did not lead him to individuals to be entirely proud of. Being a descendant of Puritan immigrants and moreover of two of the leading characters in the persecution of Quakers, Indians, and alleged witches, placed a heavy burden on the author’s mind. In “The Custom House,” he recalls that the story of his ancestors “was present to [his] boyish imagination as far back as [he] can remember” (TSL 8), even admitting that “[i]t still haunts [him]” (TSL 8). His rejection of his forefathers’ aforementioned deeds becomes evident when Hawthorne ponders over the retribution of their sins: “I know not whether these ancestors of mine bethought themselves to repent, and ask pardon of Heaven for their cruelties; or whether they are now groaning under the heavy consequences of them” (TSL 9). The significant effect William and John Hathorne’s actions had on Nathaniel himself is elucidated by the anecdote whereupon the husband of one of the accused witches cursed John and with him all of his descendants. Julian Hawthorne recalls that his father “felt the burden of their misdeeds almost as his own; and [that he has] often heard him [his father] speak . . . of the curse” (“The Salem of Hawthorne” 9). In “The Custom House,” Hawthorne tries to absolve himself from the repercussions of this malediction by taking the shame of his ancestors upon himself (TSL 9). Beside all these negative associations, the writer was aware of the fact that the Puritans were not altogether sinister. Writing about William, he remarks that “he had all the Puritanic traits, both good and evil” (TSL 9, emphasis added). This quote serves as a proof of Hawthorne’s appreciation of at least some Puritan characteristics. Although he was burdened by their misdeeds, he also cherished the historical importance and positive influence the Puritan era had on the development of the US American identity. As Arlin Turner suggests, Hawthorne preferred “to see things in the grays rather than simply black and white” (28). This take on the subject, as antiCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

Puritan as it can be, resulted in the fact that Hawthorne neither praised nor condemned his ancestors. In order to summarize Hawthorne’s attitude towards Puritanism, J. Golden Thomas found a single and fitting word: “ambivalent” (qtd. in Graham 57). Regarding the reasons just given for Hawthorne’s mixed feelings on Puritanism, it is apparent that only his forefathers’ deeds were considered. In order to fully understand the author’s use of not only Puritan history but their beliefs, his own religion shall be examined. 35 

Hawthorne's Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "Young Goodman Brown" : Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and

3.4.2 Mr God, This is Nathaniel Inter alia due to the predominance of Puritan characters in Hawthorne’s works, scholars have long argued about Hawthorne’s actual conformity with the religious beliefs of his forbears. In “The Custom House,” Hawthorne admits that “strong traits of their nature have intertwined themselves with [his]” (TSL 10) which suggests the assumption that he de facto consented to the Puritan mindset. The following section will depict the author’s actual religious views as they are crucial for the analysis and comprehension of his works. When scrutinizing Hawthorne’s attitude towards Puritanism, it becomes apparent that his ancestors’ belief was never forced upon him, as no one in his immediate social surroundings is known to have been Calvinist. Due to its doubtful past, Hawthorne’s hometown Salem is nowadays predominantly associated with Puritanism, although it was actually one of the first cities in New England to establish a Unitarian community (Warren xx). Among its parishioners were Hawthorne’s mother and sister. The author himself, however, described Sabbath days as the “purgatory of [his] childhood” (Our Old Home 53), avoiding services whenever possible. At Bowdoin college, he “ducked all forms of public worship[,] . . . [c]ompulsory Bible lessons irritated him” (Wineapple 47). This dislike underlines Hawthorne’s profound distrust in the church as an institution, personified by the mostly “hypocritical” (Wagenknecht 172) clergy. Like his Puritan ancestors, he objected to any beliefs and manners that surpassed the laws handed down by God. Instead of turning toward more modern and liberal groups within the wide spectrum of Christian denominations, he felt attracted to the “older and sterner faith” (Warren xxii) Puritanism had to offer. His disapproval of the Christian ceremonies of his time was intensified by his criticism of the hypocrisy of many regular attendees. In “Sunday at Home,” Hawthorne admits that “though [his] form be absent, [his] inner man goes constantly to church” (27). He bases his decision on the unacceptable behavior of some members Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

of the congregation whose “bodily presence fills the accustomed seats” but who, according to the author’s opinion, “have left their souls at home” (27). Despite being a voracious reader, theological works were not able to arouse the author’s attention. He ignored many important, and mostly liberal religious works of his time, referring to them as “trash” (Hawthorne and Hawthorne 85). Instead, he spent much time studying the Scripture. Hawthorne “knew his Bible well”

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    (Wagenknecht 174) and based his faith solely upon it – an approach very much like the Puritan. His constant occupation with the consciousness of sin, which is also dominant in both “Young Goodman Brown” and The Scarlet Letter, has been a central aspect in the scholarly discussion about Hawthorne’s closeness to Puritanism. Herman Melville detected “a touch of Puritanic gloom” (“Hawthorne and His Mosses” 33) within his close friend. Indeed, the dark atmosphere in many of Hawthorne’s historic fictions might be traced back to the Calvinistic belief in Innate Depravity and unforgivable sin, “from whose visitations . . . no deeply thinking man is always and wholly free” (Melville, “Hawthorne and His Mosses” 33). Putting his fictional works aside, and concentrating on the author himself again, it is striking that his English notebooks seem to contain that same “Puritanic gloom” Melville referred to. Henry James hints at passages, “which might almost have been written by the grimmest of the old Salem worthies” (8), concluding that “[t]he Puritan stain in his [Hawthorne’s] blood ran clear” (8). After having regarded these arguments, Hawthorne’s Puritan identity seems to be justified. Indeed, some scholars are convinced that Hawthorne, although repelling the cruel deeds, concurred with his forefathers’ religion. Warren, for instance, admits that the question if Hawthorne was, in fact, Puritan “cannot be answered Yes or No” (Warren xxiv). Nevertheless, he is certain that “the blend must contain a predominance of Yes” (xxiv), although he is aware of the fact that Hawthorne clearly rejected the Puritan misdeeds and overall intolerance towards others. Waggoner holds a slightly different view, stating that Hawthorne “has had some very harsh – and some unfair things to say about the Puritans in his writings” (14). Still, he acknowledges that “where they were central and orthodox, rather than heretical, he agreed with them in substance” (14). In order to make further assumptions about Hawthorne’s religious bias, it has Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

to be taken into account that his convictions, are not solely Puritan. Especially the ideas of Original Sin and Innate Depravity did not originate within the Puritan mind but are rather central to overall Christianity (Wagenknecht 15). Nevertheless, the Calvinist doctrines have put greater emphasis on them. Hence, Edward Wagenknecht suggests Hawthorne being more likely conservative and orthodox than slightly Puritan (178).

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At this point, it is important to say that all of the implications mentioned above are solely assumptions made on the basis of Hawthorne’s fictional and autobiographical writings. Although scholars have tried – and individually succeeded – in classifying Hawthorne’s religious belief according to the Christian scope, Hawthorne himself was not as certain about his religious orientation; a fact that all of the authors cited above agree on. More even states that Hawthorne was “indifferent” or even displaying “coldness” (194) towards almost any question concerning religion. These harsh words are striking, given the fact that many of Hawthorne’s works, including “Young Goodman Brown” and The Scarlet Letter, contain a high amount of religious symbols, as I will show below. Following the thought that instead of his physical self his “inner man” (Hawthorne, “Sunday at Home” 27) attended Sunday services, it could be assumed that Hawthorne kept his entire religion private. Not having to vindicate himself to anyone, Hawthorne “never joined church, never took part in theological controversy” (Warren xx), and never had to declare affiliation to a distinct denomination. Underlining this theory is the fact that Hawthorne never seemed to thematize religion in front of his children (Warren xix), which resulted in the circumstance that not even Julian was capable of clarifying his father’s religious bias. “He had deep and reverent religious faith,” he recalls, but “of what precise purpot I am unable to say” (qtd. in Warren xix). Hawthorne’s faith is described as being “unshakable” (Waggoner 7), yet uncommitted and unrefined. This fact is summarized by Henry S. Kariel, who was of the opinion that Hawthorne “found his religion, but not his theology” (qtd. in Wagenknecht 176). It can be concluded that the term Puritan in context with Hawthorne’s religious bias is misapplied. Although he was proud of some aspects of his Puritan heritage and “had a greater respect for the Calvinist tradition in religion than he did for the religious liberalism of his day” (Gross 5), it seems more reasonable to refer to his religious bias as orthodox and conservative rather than Puritan. However, it has to be Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

kept in mind that he was a faithful Christian but never openly joined or decided upon any distinct denomination. 3.4.3 Religion and Puritanism in Hawthorne’s Works Being aware that Hawthorne did not share the Calvinist beliefs of his forefathers altogether, is vital for the interpretation of his works. Instead of promoting the Calvinist doctrine, he used his in-depth knowledge of Puritanism and New England history 38 

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    in order to convey moral teachings within his stories. James illustrates this thought by saying that the author “had ample cognizance of the Puritan conscience; it was his natural heritage; it was reproduced in him; looking into his soul, he found it there. However, his relation to it was only, as one may say, intellectual; it was not moral and theological. He played with it and used it as a pigment; he treated it . . . objectively” (57). Despite adopting their religion, James is of the opinion that Hawthorne used his expertise as “toys” (58), and Puritan beliefs as his “play-ground” (57). Nevertheless, one has to keep in mind that Hawthorne did not “caricature” (Wagenknecht 175) his forefathers but rather used his expert knowledge in a didactic way. Considering Hawthorne’s many works set in a Puritan environment, it becomes quite obvious that many of his characters, such as young goodman Brown or Arthur Dimmesdale, are – at least in the beginning of the stories – “unquestioning Calvinists” (Turner 57) and their sins absolute. Nevertheless, if regarded as “toys” for the conveyance of his morals, they have to be viewed in a different light. As stated above, Hawthorne was well aware of the fact that Puritanism contained “both good and evil” (emphasis added) characteristics. This assumption is of vital importance as it suggests that Puritans possessed the average blend of good and flawed character traits. Hence, the conjecture arises that these Calvinist characters do not only stand for themselves but symbolize humankind beyond the borders of Puritan New England. Hawthorne strongly disapproved of the atrocity of the Salem Witch Trials and was moreover concerned about the fact that still today “[m]ost human beings preserve and use the arrogance that killed the Salem witches” (Bunge 4). Thus, instead of directly addressing his 19th century readers, which might have resulted in misconceptions and disapproval of his works, he disguised his moral lessons as Puritan stories. By showing the hypocrisy, ambiguity, and falseness within this 17th and 18th century society, he was able to subtly point at general flaws of human nature and thinking, aiming at the readers’ (re-)evaluation of their own convictions and behavior Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

patterns. In order to convey these moral teachings in a rather subtle way, disguising them in Puritan settings, Hawthorne uses a certain stylistic device: the symbol.

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3.5 Symbolism and Moral in Hawthorne’s Tales Throughout Hawthorne’s works, Puritan settings and characters as well as objects of nature serve as conveyors of his didactic messages. In order to achieve this aim, the author converted the components of his stories into symbols. The following chapter will aim at the description of Hawthorne’s fondness of symbolism along with his intention to include moral lessons in his tales. Although some critics, such as Horace Walpole, claim that Hawthorne “sat down and began to write, without knowing in the least what [he] intended to say or relate” (qtd. in Graham 22), Wendy C. Graham is convinced that his stories “are the result of extended research, long contemplation and arduous crafting” (22). Regarding the richness of symbols within Hawthorne’s works, the latter opinion seems more likely. Before making the author’s use of and intention behind symbols a subject of discussion, the stylistic device as such has to be defined. Deriving from Greek symballein (to throw together) and symbolon, (emblem, token or sign), a symbol is by definition “an object, animate or inanimate, which represents . . . something else” (Cuddon 885). Thus, it can stand for itself but also suggests a deeper, more complex meaning. Not only persons, animals, nature, and other objects can be symbolic, but also gestures and habits. It should be noted that scholars do not agree in consensus if Hawthorne’s tales consist of symbols or should rather be regarded as whole allegories (cf. Waggoner 58). Either way, most of them concur with the fact that Hawthorne was very fond of supplying his tales with a deeper level of meaning – be it through single symbols or whole allegories. As Warren states, “[f]or him [Hawthorne] . . . everything means something else . . . image always equates idea. Material objects serve rarely . . . for décor or atmosphere; they are rather signs and tokens” (lxiv). The presence of a mor-

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al message within his tales was so important to Hawthorne that he even burned Fanshawe and other early writings for the simple reason that they contained no satisfying moral (J. Hawthorne, “The Salem of Hawthorne” 9). Hamilton Mabie even goes as far as calling Hawthorne “the prophet of symbolists,” founding his conviction on the idea that “he thought . . . and acted in symbols[,] . . . he saw things as symbols[,] . . . [h]e saw through symbols; he revealed through symbols” (qtd. in Turner 121-22). This statement, as well as Graham’s idea of Hawthorne living in an “Allegoryland” (70), leads to the impression that the author actually carried the art of using symbols 40 

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    or allegories to an excess. Looking closely at many of his fictional works, one could assume that they indeed brimmed over with hints to another level of understanding. In order to comprehend his tales without being at risk to interpret more signs than the author intended the reader has to be quite careful. It is interesting to know that even Hawthorne himself was sometimes not capable of fully apprehending the entire symbolic scope of his stories. In a letter to his publisher James T. Fields, he admits that he is “not quite sure that [he] comprehend[s] [his] own meaning in some of these blasted allegories” (Hawthorne, The Selected Letters 181). Being as self-critical as he was, Hawthorne was even concerned that his bias for figurative speech would cost him his success. In the introduction to “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” he states about himself3 that “[h]is writings . . . might have won him greater reputation but for an inveterate love of allegory” (1313). This opinion is confirmed by Edgar Allan Poe, who was not very enthusiastic about Hawthorne’s works in general. In his essay “Tale Writing – Nathaniel Hawthorne,” he claims that “[h]e is infinitely too fond of allegory, and can never hope for popularity so long as he persist in it,” even calling Hawthorne’s tales a “metaphor run-mad” (26). Overall, Poe insists upon the idea that allegories are “a very, very imperfectly satisfied sense of the writer’s ingenuity in overcoming a difficulty we should have preferred his not having attempted to overcome” (26). Although Hawthorne’s style of writing evokes Poe’s aversion, the majority of scholars approach it with praise. One main argument of the latter is Hawthorne’s ability to create credible stories on both the actual and the deeper level. Matthew Browne calls this talent “the brand of the Hawthorne genius” (119). And indeed, Hawthorne tells his tales interestingly and entertaining, while inflicting a subtle moral undertone. Through his narratives he is able to infuse his didactic message, challenging the reader’s minds, beliefs, and opinions, their stereotypes, and behavior (Tuckerman 56). This ability is, as Henry T. Tuckerman puts it, “the triumph of all Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

art” (56). As has been pointed out before, the reader himself is Hawthorne’s central concern and his well-chosen symbols serve as vehicles to convey his moral teachings to the audience. By utilizing Christian symbology and describing Puritan societies and objects of nature, Hawthorne used three fields of common knowledge. It is safe                                                         3

In the preface of “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” the narrator is referred to as “M. de l’Aupépine” (1313), which is French for Hathorne. Thus, it can be assumed that Hawthorne was actually talking about himself.

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to assume that the New Englanders of his time, like all other potential readers living in the Western hemisphere, were familiar with the biblical stories. Like them, Hawthorne was acquainted with the Scripture (Wagenknecht 174) and can therefore be expected to have used the vast amount of Bible references intentionally and in full awareness of their significance. The Calvinist doctrines along with the associated concept of nature were still present in the minds of the people, as just one century had passed since the Puritan era had come to an end. Thus, Hawthorne used the current era of transition regarding the perception of nature, as well as the difference of religious biases that distinguished the people of the 19th century from their Puritan forefathers, in order to emphasize his moral intent. Because of this common knowledge and mindset, Hawthorne could assume that his readers would clearly recognize the used symbols. He was well aware of the fact that they would immediately connect the received images with certain ideas and pictures. However, instead of reinforcing their assumptions, he altered the traditional linkage between symbol and evoked image, as I will show later in this paper. This unsatisfying and to a certain extent even disturbing reading experience serves as the basis for Hawthorne’s intentions as a writer: He wanted his readers to re-think their own moral values (Bunge 3). Thus, instead of providing the already known, he forces the reader to newly adjust his thoughts. This might also be the reason for the varying accuracy of narrative. While his tales contain, for the most part, fully developed story lines, he also leaves room for imagination. The endings of both “Young Goodman Brown” and The Scarlet Letter, although referring to the tombstones of both protagonists, do not precisely point out, what actually happened during the last periods of their lives. While Hester and Brown at least return to their villages after their life changing experiences, Pearl does not only leave the country but also vanishes almost completely from the story itself. The author only provides his audience with a distanced perspective on actual events, while the preceding parts of both stories have Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

been rather personal and narrated in detail. Hawthorne offers only little information, hints at certain events, but leaves it to the reader’s own imagination, to embellish the formerly well developed story. This circumstance has the effect that the reader is invited, or forced, to think for himself. Hawthorne introduces him to a conflict without offering a satisfying solution or happy ending. The Puritan societies in both stories mainly stay the same and the reader is hence challenged to depict the flaws within it – and maybe within himself alike. 42 

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4 Consulting Major Works Having thoroughly analyzed the historical events and mindsets which had a major influence on Hawthorne, and being aware of the most outstanding of his characteristics as both man and author, the focus now lies on two of his highest literary achievements. “Young Goodman Brown” and The Scarlet Letter belong to Hawthorne’s most read and widely-praised works and can serve as an example for the author’s use of his personal experiences in the creation of his stories and the implementation of moral teachings through symbols within them. As described above, his Puritan ancestry played an important role in Hawthorne’s life, while his closeness to nature and fondness of solitude provided him with the required serenity. This chapter will concentrate on the question how Hawthorne achieved conveying his intentions as an author, namely the didactic morals, and including his personality as a private man in his writings. As nature played an important role in Hawthorne’s life, the following analyses will depict the didactic teachings conveyed by the means of nature symbols and will examine to which extent his stories correspond to his own life.

4.1 The Reason of Choice The historical short story “Young Goodman Brown” was first published anonymously in The New-England Magazine in April 1835, during Hawthorne’s decade of solitude. Along with several other tales, it was later compiled in Mosses from an Old Manse (1846) and published under the author’s actual name. Hawthorne himself was certain that this early piece of writing would not cause any effect on the outside world. To him, it was “comprising the whole of the writer’s young manhood, without making (as far as he has ever been aware) the slightest impression on the public” (Hawthorne qtd. in McFarland 22). His reviewers could not disagree more: Gross states that “Young Goodman Brown” is “probably Hawthorne’s most famous story”

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(7), Warren adds the remark that it is “perhaps his finest tale” (lxix), and Waggoner believes, that Hawthorne had, by then, “achieved his full artistic stature” (44). Additionally taking its gloomy Puritan setting into account, “Young Goodman Brown” can be regarded as a preparation and signifier of Hawthorne’s best-known work, The Scarlet Letter. Prior to its publication in 1850, Hawthorne – once again – doubted that his novel would lead to success (Gross vii). However, during his lifetime up until the present critics have declared The Scarlet Letter to be Hawthorne’s greatest literary 43 

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achievement. Although the meaning behind it evoked numerous discussions, which led to more dissent than consensus, scholars agree that this romance is “Hawthorne’s genius at its height” (Warren lxxi). While Seymour L. Gross identifies it as “America’s first literary masterpiece and one of the perennial classics of the Western world” (2), Kennedy-Andrews even elevates it to “America’s declaration of cultural independence” (5). Julian Hawthorne explains the beauty and fascination that emanated from this work: “It combines the strength and substance of an oak with the subtle organization of a rose . . . It goes to the root of the matter, and reaches some unconventional conclusions, which . . . would scarce be apprehended by one reader in twenty” (“TSL: A Review”). The following pages will be dedicated not only to the revelation of the rose symbolism Julian presumably unintentionally mentioned, but also to the disclosure of “some unconventional conclusions” that can be drawn when analyzing both “Young Goodman Brown” and The Scarlet Letter.

4.2 The Dilemma of Young Goodman Brown As has been previously shown, the implementation of a moral lesson to all of his fictional works was one of Hawthorne’s major concerns. His frequent use of symbolism, which resulted in the fact that “everything means something else” (Warren lxiv), served as his medium. Consequently, “Young Goodman Brown” displays numerous symbols. As many of them are connected to Hawthorne’s favorite place of solitude and inspiration, the following analysis will center upon nature-bound symbols. While the first topic is not related to nature but serves as a basis for understanding the story, the themes hereafter will concentrate on the use of nature images. 4.2.1 The Validity of Names The first symbol of Hawthorne’s short story “Young Goodman Brown” appears even

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before the actual plot begins. The three words that form the title bear essential information. Each single one of them implies the author’s intention of providing a moral lesson. As the protagonist is called young goodman Brown4, two assumptions can be made. On the one hand, this description could serve to indicate some kind of family history or tradition, since it suggests the conjecture that there might be an old goodman Brown. On the other hand, the term young could imply the protagonist’s inno                                                        4

Although young goodman Brown could be regarded as a proper name, I will use the spelling of the initial letters found in the source consulted and thus I will not capitalize the titles young and goodman.

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    cence, naïvité, and lack of experience. Both presumptions will be strengthened in the course of the story. Connected with the latter idea is the interpretation of the second word of the title. The term goodman indicates the association of Brown being a good man, someone of goodwill and noble intentions, who might also believe in the goodness of other people. While these first two items of the title serve the purpose of characterizing the protagonist, his surname plays a decisive role in the allusion to the tale’s deeper moral level of understanding. In color symbolism, brown usually stands for humility and the renunciation of the earthly world (Gray; Tresidder 79). While these associations might also be true of the character himself, it can be assumed that Hawthorne chose this name mainly due to another fact. According to U.S. Federal Census records, Brown was one of the most common and widely-spread surnames in the United States of America. In 1840, the time when “Young Goodman Brown” was published, 6% of all Massachusetts citizens bore the name Brown (“The Brown Surname”), and still today, it is the fourth most common name in the US (U.S. Census Bureau). Hence, it can be concluded that the story told does not only refer to the individual character of the protagonist, but to every man. Thus, as has been explained before, a universally applicable moral serves as the main goal of Hawthorne’s writing. The protagonist’s name is not the only one with a symbolic meaning. The aptronym Faith is given to his wife. As the story centers on young goodman Brown, Faith might be regarded as a vehicle to further characterize and describe the protagonist’s emotions and thoughts. Like her husband, Faith is still very young. Her childlike innocence is enhanced by her most prominent feature: pink ribbons (“YGB” 1264). Associating her with her husband’s faith, the assumptions made above are validated. Young goodman Brown’s religious creeds still seem to be innocent, naïve, and non-reflected. Since their marriage is only three months old (“YGB” 1264), it could be argued that Brown’s relation to (his) Faith is not very firm yet and therefore Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

an object to be tested. Nevertheless, he feels not confident leaving her alone in Salem and departing to the woods (“YGB” 1264). Faith is described as being “troubled with such dreams and such thoughts that she’s afeard of herself sometimes” (“YGB” 1264), hinting at the aforementioned instability of Brown’s personal religious convictions. Being aware of the dangers and tests that will encounter him in the realms of the forest, Faith hopes that he “may . . . find all well when [he] come[s] back” (“YGB” 1264). For his part, Brown intends to “cling to her skirts and follow her to 45 

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heaven” (“YGB” 1264) after his return. His hopeful wish for the future already foreshadows the evil and testing errand he is to carry out in the forest. The first words he utters upon meeting his devilish companion in the forest are “‘Faith kept me back a while’” (“YGB” 1264), emphasizing the doubts he entertains concerning the forthcoming journey. In the middle of their passage, these doubts recur. He is afraid, that his intention could cause Faith any harm (“YGB” 1266) and hence disrupts his travel and stays behind alone shortly afterwards. Relieved and proud that he has parted from the devil, he looks forward to spending the rest of the night “in the arms of Faith” (“YGB” 1267). He is certain that “‘[w]ith heaven above and Faith below, [he] will yet stand firm against the devil’” (“YGB” 1268). After a while, watching several townsmen cross his path, he desperately cries for Faith and notices her pink ribbons hanging from a tree. He recognizes that “‘[his] Faith is gone!’” and hence realizes that “‘[t]here is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil; for to thee is this world given’” (“YGB” 1269). Brown decides to follow his wife and fellow villagers and enters a satanic ceremony in the midst of the forest. As he is standing face to face with Faith before they are supposed to be baptized and thus affiliated to devil’s society, he anxiously cries: “‘Faith! Faith! . . . Look upon Heaven, and resist the Wicked One!’” (“YGB” 1272). Brown succeeds in renouncing himself from the congregation, but Hawthorne does not tell his readers, what actually happened to Faith during the further proceedings. However, the audience learns that goodman Brown has lost his trust in her. Upon his return to Salem the next morning, he “looked sternly and sadly into her face, and passed on without a greeting” (“YGB” 1272). During the remaining years of his life, he seems to live beside rather than with his wife, feeling uncomfortable. The keen disappointment of meeting his Faith in the midst of a satanic ceremony has left him with suspicion and doubt. Hawthorne has deliberately displayed Faith as an individual person, apart from the character of goodman Brown. Although they are tied together by the bond Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

of marriage, they are still two single persons. Faith is a part of society and has found the way to the forest meeting all by herself. Thus, it can be assumed that Brown’s faith is highly dependent on his fellow townsmen and implemented accordingly. Being aware of the fact that Hawthorne kept his religion private, the assumption lies near that he suggests this mode of belief to others as well. If Brown had trusted and relied upon his own faith instead of his wife, his frustration might not have been as

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    tragic as described. Still, as the community was essential in Puritan New England, one’s faith could never be solely private and was thus object to be belied. The third name to be depicted here is the first setting of the story. “Young Goodman Brown” starts and ends in Puritan Salem, which is a highly recognizable symbol itself. Due to the well-known Salem Witch Trials, readers of all centuries mainly associate this town with Puritanism, and especially the misdeeds it contained. Nevertheless, the city of Salem was initially found as a landmark for Puritan belief, religious purity, home of the Elect and eventually the City upon a Hill. Therefore, the holy city of Jerusalem served as its eponym. Hence, Salem’s history evokes both positive and negative connotations: It implicates the good intents of building an ideal society upon the laws of God, as well as the dreadful results of religious zeal. Choosing a setting that is so ambiguous itself, symbolizing “all the Puritanic traits, both good and evil” (Hawthorne, TSL 9), Hawthorne creates an atmosphere of skepticism and instability from the beginning. 4.2.2 The Devil along the Path The reason for Brown’s departure from Salem is his appointment with an unknown stranger, whom he is to meet at the verge of the forest. Brown is astonished when he realizes that “they might have been taken for father and son” (“YGB” 1265). The reader is told that the two men share commonalities, the details of which are yet unknown. The depiction of them as father and son is striking, as God is often referred to as the father of mankind. This image is enhanced by the fact that the peculiar figure guides Brown through the deserted wilderness, just as God is described to have led the Israelites through a desert during their Exodus from Egypt. This linkage is discarded very soon, when the stranger is described carrying a “staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake . . . like a living serpent” (“YGB” 1265). The usage of both “black” and “serpent” in association with Brown’s companion leads to the theoCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

ry about his identity in the reverse direction. Both items belong to the most prominent and well-known symbols of Christianity. Black is the color of mourning and grief, and therefore clearly connected to death (Gray). Ferber points out that this color does not only refer to the death of a person but is moreover “a sign of death to this world” (29) and is thus symbolizing evil forces and hell. The serpent is a highly recognizable token of the devil as well. It was a snake which persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and thus constituted the Fall of Man and Original Sin (Gen. 3). In the 47 

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Book of Revelation, this animal is directly characterized as evil, being “the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan” (20.2). Although this association reveals the true identity of goodman Brown’s fellow traveler quite obviously, goody Cloyse is the one to silence all remaining doubts by immediately identifying him as “[t]he devil!” (“YGB” 1266). Being aware of this fact, the aforementioned similarities between the two men are to be scrutinized. The reader is told that the stranger is “apparently in the same rank of life as goodman Brown, and bearing considerable resemblance to him, though perhaps more in expression than features” (“YGB” 1265). It could be argued that the devil serves as a counterpart to Brown’s wife Faith, both personifying and symbolizing polar parts of the protagonist’s inner self and belief. Indeed, Brown’s behavior towards both bears parallels. He leaves Faith behind in order to meet with the devil and parts from him when he recollects his wife. Satan provides him with a replica of his staff for guidance if he decided to pursue his journey into the woods, and it is Faith’s lost pink ribbons that persuade him to do so. If his wife’s ribbons are to symbolize innocence, the stranger’s staff could be perceived as the embodiment of sin. Similar to Eve’s temptation in the Fall of Man, the serpent staff represents the sin which is passed on to goodman Brown. When he accepts it, his innocence, the pink ribbons of Faith, are lost. Holding on to the staff, his personal forbidden fruit, Brown is guided through the forest and finds himself in the middle of a black mass. While both forces, the good and the evil, are spatially divided in the beginning, their concurrence at the black mass bewilders and discomfits the protagonist. As his Faith appears to have joined the devil’s society, her husband finds himself in a desolate position. Leaving both Satan and Faith behind, the future of his belief and identity is doomed. As he has laid his personal religious convictions and beliefs in the hands of others, he is now left alone, without any guidance. The topic of guidance is further emphasized as Satan himself accompanies young goodman Brown on his journey through the forests. The path they are taking Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

for this purpose can be seen as a symbol for itself. After the farewell from his wife Faith, Brown leaves Salem and enters the forest on a “dreary road” (“YGB” 1264). Despite its many symbolic meanings, the description of a path foreshadows the atmosphere and events lying ahead of Brown. The actual presence of a visible route, leading from the holy town of Salem to the midst of the heathen forest, might imply the high frequency of wanderings along this way. Goodman Brown feels intimidated by it as it is “darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood 48 

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    aside to let the narrow path creep through” (“YGB” 1264). As Michael Ferber points out, a path often symbolizes one’s life as “[l]ife is a path or a journey on a path” (150). The path presented in this context provides Brown with two possibilities for his future life. While it leads Brown and his companion into the depths of the woods, it also offers the prospect of guiding him back to the village, although this direction would be hindered by and more difficult due to the trees that “closed immediately behind” (“YGB” 1264) the path after Brown has past them. Thus, the protagonist is presented with the two options of either entering the dark and frightening woods or returning to Salem on a way which is full of obstacles. The Old Testament equates walking with God with the belief in him (Gen. 5.22). However, instead of being accompanied by the Lord, Brown’s journey is conducted by the devil. During their travels, the protagonist realizes that many of his fellow village inhabitants are following the path towards the deep forest. Having scruples about his own purpose within the woods, Brown wants to part from his companion. Satan does not force him to continue his journey, saying: “‘Betake you to the woods, and let me keep the path’” (“YGB” 1266). Hence, the path is clearly characterized as the road of the devil, leading to his realm. When Brown continues his travel into the midst of the forest, he realizes that “[t]he road grew wilder and drearier, and more faintly traced, . . . leaving him in the heart of the dark wilderness” (“YGB” 1269), where he is soon to find the congregation of a dark mass. The depiction of the frightful path between Salem and the devil’s ceremony is characteristic of the whole story. While biblical references usually describe a path as guidance with God as its leader, Brown’s forest path is dominated by Satan. 4.2.3 Devout Sinners The most important part of the plot and the understanding thereof is the fact that Brown and his evil companion are not solely by themselves in the realms of the forCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

est. During the first moments of his encounter with the devil, young goodman Brown is profoundly convinced that his family has been “a race of honest men and good Christians” (“YGB” 1264). Even after his evil companion informs him that Brown’s father, grandfather, and numerous Puritans with them, have joined his forces, Brown insists upon the fact that his people are ones “of prayer, and good works, to boot, and abide no such wickedness” (“YGB” 1265). Satan’s description of the deeds in which he has helped Brown’s ancestors bears a high resemblance to Hawthorne’s own 49 

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family history. The whipping of a Quaker woman through the streets of Salem and the cruelties against Natives during King Philip’s War are thus marked as the devil’s handiwork. Furthermore, Satan claims compliancy with both clergy and statesmen, making clear that it was not him who forced New Englanders into this peculiar collaboration but the Puritans themselves, who turned to him (“YGB” 1265). This version contradicts the claims of the General Court towards the end of the Salem Witch Trials, which assumed that Satan’s victims were unwillingly forced to their misdeeds. The presence of free will and choice is further emphasized by the fact that his companion allows Brown to part with him and decide for himself if he wants to continue his journey towards the middle of the forest (“YGB” 1266-67). By the linkage of Puritan acts to the presence and accompliceship of the devil and furthermore underlining the gratuitousness of this collaboration, Hawthorne criticizes his forefathers. The sheer magnitude of his censure is revealed in the further process of the short story. During the course of their journey, Brown has to realize that the devil has indeed told the truth. Many – if not all – of the village’s most respectable and devout citizens cross his path toward the middle of the dark forest. Meeting goody Cloyse, who has taught him his catechism and is “still his moral and spiritual adviser” (“YGB” 1266), is probably the most irritating and disturbing encounter for goodman Brown, besides the meeting of Faith. Cloyse recognizes the devil at first sight and identifies herself as a witch before she continues her way towards the darkness of the forest. The deacon is one of the other numerous travelers on their way to the black mass. He admits that “‘[he] had rather miss an ordination-dinner than to-night’s meeting’” (“YGB” 1268), which clarifies his priority of the devil’s company over the events in Salem. Having reached the heart of the woods, Brown has to face the plain and ultimate confirmation of his fellow villagers’ companionship with the devil, who reCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

minds them that “‘Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be [their] only happiness’” (“YGB” 1271). Among Satan’s parishioners are the most reputable and deeply religious citizens alongside members of other Puritan colonies and “Indian priests, or powows” (“YGB” 1270). This odd and inconceivable gathering unsettles Brown since “the good shrank not from the wicked, nor were the sinners abashed by the saints” (“YGB” 1270). The congregation jointly struck up a hymn which highly resembled its counterpart “in the choir of the village meeting-house” (“YGB” 1269). 50 

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    Although this view already horrifies Brown, he is additionally exposed to an odd, almost church-like setting. The site of the devilish meeting contains “a rock, bearing some rude, natural resemblance either to an altar or a pulpit” (“YGB” 1269) in its midst. In Christian symbology, a rock usually refers to God (“The LORD is my rock” Ps. 18.2) and his good will, as he provides the thirsty Israelites with water, which was brought forth by a rock (Ex. 17.6). In this case, however, the rock is the center of a black mass, which additionally contains “blazing pines, their tops a flame, . . . like candles at an evening meeting” (“YGB” 1269). While candles are usually lit during mass as a symbol of “spiritual illumination in the darkness of ignorance” (Tresidder 86) or in order to represent the presence of Jesus Christ during the Holy Communion (Tresidder 86), the candle-substitutes used here prompt feelings of threat and insecurity. Not only single trees seem to be inflamed but “[e]ach pendent twig and leafy festoon was in a blaze” (“YGB” 1269). Although God often appears to believers in midst of a fire (Ex. 3.2; 19.18; Deut. 4.12), the vast amount of “hellkindled torches” (“YGB” 1271), rather stand for the realm of Satan, as hell is usually pictured as being filled with fire (Matt. 5.22). The strong resemblance of the scenery to Christian traditions is taken further when a basin is described. Used for baptisms, it “contain[s] water, . . . or was it blood?” (“YGB” 1271). According to Christian belief, the sacrament of baptism is a rite of purification and regeneration, involving the usage of holy water. Brown, in contrast, depicts blood within the font. The liquid used in the forest might symbolize Christ’s blood which he gave for “the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Eph. 1.7) or stand for the numerous martyrs, who have shed their blood in the name of the Lord. The usage of blood in a black mass bears a negative connotation. The symbolism of its color is very ambiguous itself. While red often stands for love and health (Tresidder 409) it can also denote the opposite: danger, threat, and hate (Pebble). Furthermore, blood symbolizes family, ancestry, and tradition (Ferber 29). Being aware of Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

the fact that the Salemites described in the short story have a long history of collaboration with Satan, this circumstance could be paid homage and gratitude by pouring blood over the heads of new parishioners. The whole scenery is highly distressing to Brown as it copies the well-known elements of a Christian ceremony, yet it is to be found in the middle of “heathen wilderness” (“YGB” 1268). Hawthorne makes sure that the elements of the black mass resemble their Christian counterparts. For Christians or western readers in general, 51 

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this analogy is disturbing, as the different items are all closely connected to God, Jesus Christ, and their goodwill. Hawthorne seems to imply that good and evil are closer intertwined than believed by the Puritans, and probably even inextricably linked with each other. Furthermore, the author succeeds in using common and wellknown objects and turns them into the complete opposite, again. This effect is even taken further by Brown’s return to Salem. He has to face the villagers’ hypocrisy, which is underlined by the fact that they pursue their daily work as if nothing uncommon had happened the night before. The most striking image is the description of a young girl drinking milk while being catechized by goody Cloyse. The Second Book of Moses refers to the sacred land promised to the Israelites as “a land of flowing milk and honey” (Ex. 3.8). As milk is “the standard of whiteness” (Ferber 123) and the drink of infants, it is clearly connected to purity and innocence and hence stands in high contrast to the dark mass and evil deeds that are now associated with the Puritans. This picture of utter innocence and paradisiacal purity in the midst of a duplicitous society is incongruous and irritating. Overall, it can be said that Hawthorne used numerous symbols in order to describe the hypocritical society of Salem. He merely uses ambiguous tokens, which would refer to God and goodwill in their initial meaning but are now associated with the devil. 4.2.4 Light and Darkness Already the Old Testament depicts the dualism between light and darkness. When the young earth was dominated by darkness, God created light on the fourth day. He divided light from darkness in order to separate “the day from the night . . . . [a]nd God saw that it was good” (Gen. 1.14-18). A similar use of light and darkness symbolism can be found in every culture and religion of the world. Its strong and universal force of expression is striking and mostly unmistakably in meaning. This leads to Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

the fact that “light and darkness are probably the most fundamental and inescapable terms, used literally or metaphorically, in the description of anything in life or literature” (Ferber 112). In “Young Goodman Brown,” images of light and darkness are omnipresent, referring to both the village and the forest.

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    4.2.4.1 The Sun upon Salem As described before, the city of Salem was founded in order to create a second holy city. Hawthorne emphasizes the original intention of establishing an ideal society by utilization of strong light symbolism. The events taking place in Salem are solely restricted to daytime. The story begins in front of Brown’s house “at sunset” (“YGB” 1263). Hence, the last rays of the sun still illuminate the streets. As the protagonist is about to start his voyage into the woods, his wife tries to hold him back, imploring him to “‘put off [his] journey until sunrise’” (“YGB” 1264). Disregarding his wife’s pleas, Brown stresses that “‘[his] journey . . . must needs to be done ‘twixt now and sunrise’” (“YGB” 1264). Just before his departure, he advises her to “‘go to bed at dusk’” since then “‘no harm will come to [her]’” (“YGB” 1264). These quotes introduce the distinct connection between darkness and danger; light and safety, which will prevail throughout the story. During his passage in the nightly forest, Brown recognizes familiar voices, which are usually only heard “in the sunshine at Salem village” (“YGB” 1268). By adding a reference to the sun, the connection between the vivid light and the religiously devoted townsmen is emphasized. Instead of just naming the town itself, Hawthorne chooses to accentuate the marked contrast between the bright day of Salem and the dark night of the forest. After his night in the woods, Brown returns to Salem the next morning, finding it enlightened “in the early sunshine” (“YGB” 1272). Christian symbology uses the image of light and darkness in order to distinguish between believers and nonbelievers, connecting light with the former and the divine power of God and Jesus. God is referred to as “light and . . . salvation” (Ps. 27.1), which emphasizes the positive connotation of light as it provides the opportunity of redemption. In the Gospel according to John, Jesus is connected to both life and light: “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

darkness . . . . I am the way, and the truth, and the life’” (8.12; 14.6). The First Epistle to the Thessalonians reinforces this belief by saying that “for you are all sons of light and sons of day We are not of night nor of darkness” (5.5). The depiction of Puritan Salem as a place of daytime and light is thus conform with the Christian belief of God and Jesus being the light. The connections made between light, life, righteous living, and the divine, are essential to Puritan belief and reinforce the association of light with goodness and hope. Thus, fearing the darkness of the woods and 53 

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restricting their lives to the daytime within the city, just as Mrs Brown suggests, seems coherent. While Hawthorne implied these characteristics in his story, another feature of light and sun is more fatal to goodman Brown. The bright morning sunshine on the day of his return enables him to immediately recognize the village inhabitants, while the darkness and trees of the forest hindered him in his sight. This criterion is one of the most prominent tokens of light symbolism. Sunshine and light both empower people to see the truth and attain knowledge (Tresidder 289; 454). While they usually bear positive connotations, light and sun provide Brown with devastating insight. While the subtle light of his departure at sunset leads him to believe in the sincerity and devoutness of the Salemites and the presence of his Faith, the bright morning sunshine aids him in detecting the hypocrisy within his fellow citizens. Hence, he is not able to return to his former way of life, being constantly reminded of the feigned piety of the congregation. The light symbolism is connected to the depiction of Salem, which is the setting for the first and last paragraphs of the text, whereas the majority of scenes take place in the forest, which serves as a counterpart to the illuminated town. 4.2.4.2 The Darkness of the Forest Based on the Puritan concept of wilderness, the description of atmosphere within the forest completes the symbolic dualism of light and darkness. The opening scene reveals that young goodman Brown has to undertake his journey to the woods during the night, between sunset and sunrise (“YGB” 1264). As has been pointed out before, both Brown and his wife are aware of the fact that being outside during darkness implies threats and “harm” (“YGB” 1264). On his arrival at the edge of the woods, his path is immediately “darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest” (“YGB” 1264) and the linkage of this realm with darkness and peril is thus signalized. The Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

latter is of decisive importance, as branches and shrubbery seem to conceal an “unseen multitude” (“YGB” 1264) of obscure dangers. Tresidder points out that both night and darkness symbolize “primeval fears of the unknown, concealment, evil and the Powers of Darkness” (341). The latter refers to witches as well as Satan, the “Prince of Darkness” (Tresidder 70), and, following Puritan belief, also his minions, the Native Americans. Brown has to encounter all of these during his journey. While

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    the sun shines upon the believers, the night reveals all the thoughts and creatures restrained by light. The darkness imagery is further increased when the protagonist and his companion pursue their walk into the forest. The former realizes that “[i]t was now deep dusk in the forest, and deepest in that part of it where these two were journeying” (“YGB” 1264). The woods and bushes are now not only capable of hiding the unknown dangers but also of negatively influencing Brown’s eyesight. The “uncertain light” leads him to an “ocular deception” (“YGB” 1265), resulting in the fact that he is not able to distinguish between reality and phantasm. Just as light can be interpreted to enable a person to see the truth, darkness can be seen as the realm of mystery, falsehood, despair, and the ultimate symbol of “spiritual error” (Ferber 136). The story of the world’s creation told in Genesis, reveals that God created two distinct objects to illuminate the night (Gen. 1.14). It could be argued that the godly presence of stars and moon weakens and softens the harmful image of darkness (Gen. 1.14). Biblical sources picture Jesus Christ as the “bright morning star” (Rev. 22.16), because an eastern star accompanied and announced his birth and guided the Magi on their way to the newborn messiah (Matt. 2.1-12). Hence, stars do not only symbolize God’s superiority and power, but also guidance and guardianship (Tresidder 450). The second source of light within darkness, the moon, is often used as a symbol of the Virgin Mary (Tresidder 322). Since it reflects the brightness of the sun, it could be seen as the sun’s nightly counterpart. Young goodman Brown is well aware of the godly presence within these two heavenly bodies. In the midst of the forest he looks upward “doubting whether there really was a Heaven above him. Yet, there was a blue arch, and the stars brightening in it” (“YGB” 1268). While the passing villagers did not recognize or acknowledge the presence of the illuminated sky, it convinces Brown to come to a halt and to reconsider his evil purpose. He concludes that “[w]ith Heaven above, … [he] will yet stand firm against the devil!” (“YGB” Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

1268). However, his joy is not of long continuance as a “black mass of cloud” (“YGB” 1268) covers the strip of sky above him and thus “hid[es] the brightening stars” (“YGB” 1268). Brown seems to have lost his optimism. Nevertheless, the firmament is still visible in the distance, symbolizing a gleam of hope, the present site is covered in complete darkness. Although God is often associated with a cloud, choosing it as “His hiding place” (Ps. 18.11), descending from a cloud to speak with 55 

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Moses (Num. 11.25), or accompanying the Israelites on their Exodus “in a pillar of cloud . . . to lead them on the way” (Ex. 13.21), the black cloud bears no positive meaning for Brown. Instead of guiding him, it disturbs his vision, discourages his intent to leave the forest, and adds to the prevailing darkness of the wilderness. After a while, the cloud vanishes, “leaving the clear and silent sky above goodman Brown” (“YGB” 1269). The regained sight draws his attention to Faith’s pink ribbon, which leads him to the conclusion that he has lost his faith (“YGB” 1269) due to the fact that his wife has lost her symbol of innocence and can be assumed to have entered the woods. Hence, the reclaimed light of God does not enhance the protagonist’s wish to leave the realm of evil but elicits further doubts and causes him to revive his initial intent to pursue his journey. Having reached “the heart of the dark wilderness,” Brown recognizes “black pines” and describes “the dark wall of the forest” (“YGB” 1269) present at the Black Sabbath. It is midnight by now and the phantasms evoked by the deep darkness reach their zenith. The ghostly hour enhances Brown’s fear and paranoia. Since the night as well as the plot are climaxing, the negative aspects of darkness become most evident. The tension created within the forest is not relieved until Brown returns to Salem the next morning. The omnipresent dark and frightful imagery of the forest stands in high contrast to the light and sun-filled city of Salem. Nevertheless, it is the wilderness where Brown unveils the evil side and hypocrisy of his fellow townsmen, while the bright daylight of Salem seems to deride him by illuminating the sinners. Hence, it is not the sun which reveals the truth, but rather the darkness of the nightly forest. Hawthorne achieves presenting a familiar situation and concept: The association of a Puritan society with daylight and religious purity on the one hand and wilderness as the realm of darkness, night, and fear on the other hand. However, in the course of the story, these images are challenged. The light and darkness imagery of “Young Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

Goodman Brown” emphasizes the author’s intent of galvanizing his readers and the existing symbolic associations, and leads them to rethink their personal beliefs and moral values.

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    4.2.5 The Mocking Forest Beside its association with darkness, the forest itself is probably the most prominent nature symbol in Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown.” The protagonist shares the Puritan concept of nature as being wild, heathen, and dangerous place. He expects “‘a devilish Indian behind every tree’” (“YGB” 1264) and is intimidated by the darkness and solitude that reveals itself within the verge of the forest. Being convinced that “no church had ever been gathered or solitary Christian prayed” within these realms, he speaks of the forest as “heathen wilderness” (“YGB” 1268). It is therefore not surprising that his “evil purpose” (“YGB” 1264) takes place in the midst of the woods and that Satan himself is expecting him. It is not his intended journey that frightens him the most, but its setting. His fear of the wilderness as such is greater than his suspicion towards the stranger. He is anxious of entering the deeper parts of the woods and expresses his concern: “‘We are but little way in the forest yet.’ ‘Too far, too far!’” (“YGB” 1265). The yet unidentified stranger awaits his sojourner “seated at the foot of an old tree” (“YGB” 1264). As trees are common symbols for family history (Is. 11.1), the devil’s presence near the roots of an aged (family) tree seems to foreshadow the secrets he is about to share with Brown. After he has learned about the misdeeds of his forefathers and has started his journey into the forest, Brown calls to a halt and “[sits] himself down on the stump of a tree, and refuse[s] to go any farther” (“YGB” 1267). Connecting this conduct to the aforementioned image of an old family tree, the assumption could be made that Brown now resembles a new stem with the facility for converting his ancestor’s tradition and start anew. Nevertheless, he accepts the devil’s staff which is made out of a plucked branch and handed to him in order to help Brown find the way to the black mass. Brown accepts and hence still holds on to his forefathers’ legacy. Despite symbolizing chronicles of Puritan affiliation with the dark and evil Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

side, the trees of the forest provide the protagonist with shelter. Under the cover of the trees, Brown is able to hide from the Salemites who pass by, and even “[catches] hold of a tree, for support” (“YGB” 1268). However, as he puts forth his journey and enters further into the forest, nature seems to reveal its evil side. While it was both dark and protective before, it is now “laughing him to scorn” (“YGB” 1269). The moment he starts looking for his Faith, he realizes that “the echoes of the forest mock[ed] him” (“YGB” 1268). Nature is almost personified when Brown detects evil 57 

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sounds all around him, originating from “the creaking of the trees, the howling of wild beasts, and the yell of Indians” (“YGB” 1269). As he advances towards the middle of the forest, “all the echoes of the forest laugh[ing] like demons around him” (“YGB” 1269). While the wind initially resembled the village church’s bell-ringing (“YGB” 1269), it is now consonant with the rest of nature, “mingling and according with the voice of guilty man, in homage to the prince of all” (“YGB” 1270). The detailed depiction of the surrounding scenery also makes way for an in-depth description of the evil congregation present at the dark mass. Thus, the forest is not only dark and frightening but reveals the true nature of man, represented by the “unfaithful” Puritans. Hawthorne succeeds in mingling together the Puritan and transcendental concepts of nature. Although at first the forest appears to be dark and frightening, being the habitat of unknown dangers, Native Americans, and Satan himself, this effect changes when looking closer at the events occurring within. Although Puritans rejected the wilderness due to its capability of changing a person and alluring him from his faith and religious purity, the forest of “Young Goodman Brown” does the opposite. The protagonist resists the devil’s temptation, acts according to Puritan commandments and hence proves his religious faith. Nevertheless, he is shunned by the villagers. As the community is a central part of Puritanism, the joined hypocrisy is more acceptable than Brown’s individual proof of devoutness. His otherness is of vital importance and exceeds the relevance of his personal creed. Thus, it is his nonconformity which accounts for his segregation from society. 4.2.6 Puritanism Upside Down Having studied the different images and symbols in “Young Goodman Brown,” several conclusions can be drawn. Hawthorne did not make any clear statements about the implied moral of his tale, but his criticism of the Puritan ideology is conspicuous. Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

He clearly links their misdeeds to a voluntary collaboration with the devil, describing an evil society consisting of the most respectable and devout townsmen, members of the General Court and clergy. Since community and social cohesion were a central part of New England colonial life, their beliefs were interdependent. This dependency led to intolerance against other, “less pure” forms of religious life. Furthermore, the constant comparison with others prevented individualization. Consequentially, all members of the 58 

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    congregation developed a faith, which is forced into line instead of reflecting upon their own moral values and thus achieving a mature state of piety. During his forest sermon, Satan refers to this circumstance with the following words: “‘Ye deemed them holier than yourselves, and shrank from your own sin, contrasting it with their lives of righteousness, and prayerful aspirations heavenward. Yet, here are they all, in my worshipping assembly!’” (“YGB” 1271). The Puritans tried to live an idealized state of religious zealousness that was desirable but not achievable. Due to the “‘sympathy of human hearts for sin’” (“YGB” 1271) all villagers were drawn to be part of the devil’s congregation. However, in order to fulfill their self-imposed task of representing an ideal society of Elect, they still maintained their veil of devoutness and religious purity in the streets of Salem. According to Puritan conviction, Brown believed in the goodness of the Puritan Elect, just as his fellow villagers told him to. His faith depends on others, which is emphasized by the fact that his good and evil sides are personified by the characters of Faith and Satan. When he sees them walking into the forest, he gives up his personal doubts and follows them to the dark ceremony. The moment he decides to resist the devil’s temptation, and therefore places his own convictions over the community’s, he is left in solitude and despair. Communal well-being, even if achieved by joined sanctimony, seems to be of higher importance than the faith of a single person, which is coherent with the factitious ideal. In order to reveal the sharp contrast between the external impression conveyed by the Puritan society of Elect and the internally revealed truth, Hawthorne inverts all of the story’s elements. By reversing Western symbology and beliefs into their complete opposite, Hawthorne encourages or even forces his readers to think – and rethink – their own perceptions. Instead of relying solely on the convictions, beliefs, and behavioral patterns of the majority of society, he challenges his audience to reflect upon the prevailing opinion. Based on this, he invites his readers to develop Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

their own individuality and to trust mainly in themselves. His biography shows that the author acted accordingly himself. He was haunted by his family history and lived his religion in private without joining any concrete denomination. He preferred solitude over society and was probably more influenced by his transcendental friends’ concept of nature as he claimed to be. Nevertheless, Hawthorne is quite ambiguous about the assumptions to be made after reading his short story. Brown has doubts whether his experiences in the 59 

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woods were reality or just a dream (“YGB” 1272). Since the narrator does not provide an answer, the reader is left uncertain. Referring to dreams as a literary device, Ferber explains that they are differently told than real events and enhanced by the use of symbols and allegories (63). Thus, the conclusion lies near that Brown has indeed dreamt the whole tale. If one accepted that the journey was nothing but a dream, the Puritan villagers would be clear from the accusations made above. Their nightly gatherings with the devil and his complicity in Puritan misdeeds would be mere figments of Brown’s imagination. Nevertheless, the variety of interpretations leads to the supposition that the protagonist is suspicious of his fellow villagers’ faith. Ferber states that “dreamers enter a deeper or truer reality than the world of consciousness or reason” (65) which would suggest the fact that Brown’s nightly delusion has brought him insight and revealed the Puritans’ true identity. Nevertheless, it also indicates the protagonist’s own dark side as he willingly joins the devil’s walk. Hence, the conclusion can be drawn that there is an evil side even to the most devout believer, who has overcome evil temptation. This thought is emphasized by the fact that his Faith’s ribbons are pink. Although they could be associated with innocence, as has been done before, they differ from the white milk of the pure and paradisiacal innocent young girl in one aspect: They contain a stain of red. The mixture of evil red and innocent white resembles the normal blend of good and evil, which can be found in every man, regular Christian and Puritan alike. As Hawthorne had already pointed out in “The Custom House,” Puritans comprised both. Although they preferred to accentuate their positive features, their capability of evil deeds is presented in their overzealousness which led to the Salem Witch Trials, as well as the persecution of Natives and Quakers. Overall, it can be said that Hawthorne’s short story “Young Goodman Brown” indeed refers to everyone, just as the title suggests. The author makes only vague statements concerning the reality of his tale and thus leaves room for interpreCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

tation and personal adjustments. However, he is distinct and explicit in his criticism of Puritanism. He illustrates their hypocrisy, overzealousness, inflexibility, and intolerance and points at the resulting cruelty, which is not only applicable to their enemies but also to the individuals in their midst. These characteristics are not solely valid for the Puritan ideology, but can still be found in today’s society. Hence, the reader is invited – or forced – to reflect on his personal opinions and reconsider his convictions accordingly. 60 

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4.3 Reading The Scarlet Letter The analysis of “Young Goodman Brown” shows that Hawthorne already used nature symbolism at an early stage of his career. As his short stories and particularly the one named above, are believed to be the author’s literary and mental preparation for his later works, it will be interesting to see how his use of nature symbolism has evolved. The Scarlet Letter serves as an example of this “refinement and development of themes” (Rogers 84) and displays a vast amount of nature symbols. The following analysis will depict several of the most important images to provide an insight into Hawthorne’s moral intent and to examine the connection between his personal life and his works. Like the interpretation of “Young Goodman Brown,” this analysis will first concentrate on the origins of names given to the different characters. The two following chapters will then deal with two of the most notable aspects of the novel’s imagery: The symbolism of colors and light and darkness. Subsequently, I will draw the attention to distinct elements of nature, particularly water, air, and nature as such. The following interpretation will then especially discuss the description of the forest as a counterpart to the Puritan town of Boston, as well as the extended use of flower symbolism. The analysis of these selected symbols of nature aims at clarifying the author’s moral intention and verifying his opinion on Puritanism, religion, and wilderness, which were scrutinized in the first part of this paper. 4.3.1 What’s in a Name? Similar to “Young Goodman Brown,” the names in The Scarlet Letter reveal dominant character traits or refer to historical persons for the same purpose. As has been pointed out before, the name and fate of Hester Prynne bears considerable resemblance to the adulteress Hester Craford, who was whipped through the streets of Salem on command of William Hathorne. As Nathaniel Hawthorne is known to have

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rejected his forefathers’ misdeeds, it can be assumed that he emphasized this fact by naming his character after this Puritan victim. This presumption is underlined by the fact that two other women played a significant role in the creation of Hester Prynne’s character. Her name can be linked to the biblical figure of Esther, who is described as “gifted with beauty, strength and dignity . . . [c]ourageous and loyal” (Waggoner 138; cf. Book of Esther). Furthermore, Margaret Fuller, one of America’s leading feminists of the 19th century, is said to have inspired Hawthorne to the creation of Hester Prynne. The association of his protagonist with two strong-minded and pow61 

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erful women reveals Hawthorne’s intention of creating a heroine he wanted readers to sympathize with. By naming Hester’s child Pearl, Hawthorne uses strong pictorial language. Pearls are rare, beautiful, and valuable (Ferber 151). According to biblical sources, “the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matt. 13.45-46). Thus, a pearl is associated with the hope for a better life in paradisiacal heaven. Connected to this interpretation is the comparison of Hawthorne’s Pearl with the eponymous character of a medieval English poem. “Pearl” was composed by an anonymous author and presumably written in the late 14th century (Bennett 238). It tells the story of a lyrical I, who meets Pearl, an innocent, pure girl, in a dream. She speaks to him about sin, repentance, and God’s grace, and instructs him on how to achieve salvation. Although her statements are rather orthodox (Stone 139), her function regarding the future of the lyrical I can be considered to resemble Pearl’s purpose in the fate of her mother as described in The Scarlet Letter. Both girls, even though their points of view differ, act as guides to a better and fulfilled future. The resemblance between these two fictional characters might also testify to Hawthorne’s erudition, which he achieved through his lifelong devotion to reading. A second image in the construal of the name Pearl arises as a pearl is described as the “treasure of an oyster” (Shakespeare 1.5.44): It is created on the open sea, lives a secret life in a stained shell, and is finally revealed as something miraculous. The life cycle of a pearl highly resembles the child’s, since the latter is only beautiful for her mother at first, and her entire beauty hidden from the outside world by her mother’s sinful token until her descent is publically revealed in the end. Furthermore, Jack Tresidder refers to a pearl as “the quintessential symbol of . . . light”5 (376). The further analysis of her character will reveal that the little girl lives up to the connotations of her name, as she is her mother’s Pearl, her beauty, Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

hope, and light within the Puritan society, as well as the result and the burden of her own past. The names of Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth (former Prynne) can be regarded as aptronyms. Being composed of dimmest and dale, the former character’s doom and guilty conscience are already depicted in his naming. It is the dark valley of his situation that might be seen as being surrounded by heaven-facing                                                         5

See “4.3.3 Light and Darkness” for further information on the association of Pearl with light.

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    mountains, the City upon a Hill, that causes his depression and hopelessness. The second name consists of the two elements chilling and worth, hinting at his present and past character traits. While he used to be an honorable socialite in England, he turned daunting and evil in Boston. Furthermore, the historical figures William Prynne and William Chillingworth might have inspired Hawthorne in the naming of this character. Both criticized King Charles I and Archbishop William Laud and ran anti-Catholic campaigns. For publishing a pamphlet against Laud, Prynne was punished and the letters SL (Seditious Libeller) were burnt on his cheeks (Person 18-19). The resemblance to Hester Prynne’s form of penalty is striking and could allude to his compliancy in her misery. The intentionally chosen names indicate that Hawthorne attached great importance to every detail of his storyline in order to provide symbols for the conveyance of his moral teachings. In The Scarlet Letter, like in “YGB” before, numerous significant symbols can be found within the realm of nature. Due to the vast amount, not all of them can be depicted in the following. Instead, I will examine a representative selection of nature symbols to elucidate the moral intent as well as the linkage of Hawthorne’s life and works. 4.3.2 The Color Palette of The Scarlet Letter According to Waggoner, the use of color symbolism is one of the strongest features in Hawthorne’s works and probably the most notable element of The Scarlet Letter (122). Nevertheless, he admits that not all color references made are to be understood symbolically: While some are “explicitly symbolic” or at least “seem obscurely to be so” (122), others cannot be, on any terms, conveyed to a deeper level of meaning. The approach to colors helps to understand the characters in The Scarlet Letter as the description of their outward appearance or the colors of the objects they are associated with, give some indication of their personalities. Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

The Puritan society is depicted in mostly dark colors. The inhabitants of Boston are dressed in simple (TSL 42) “sad gray, brown, or black” (TSL 212) clothes. According to Puritan belief, all earthly amusement inhibits the ability to live a devout life and thus, the garments display no gaudy colors. Nevertheless, Hawthorne’s considered choice of dark over light hues is meaningful, since these colors represent sorrow, death, and repentance (Tresidder 70; Gray), and could thus stand for the Puritan belief in Original Sin. However, the Bostonians of The Scarlet Letter hire Hes63 

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ter to embroider their robes with vivid colors. The omnipresence of individual sin is indicated, because villagers of all ranks wear her needlework. The usage of an alleged sinner’s work implies the Puritan hypocrisy, as the citizens use Hester’s positive abilities for their own interest but shun her on every other occasion. Furthermore, it hints at their character, being still “in the first stages of joyless deportment” while the following generations “wore the blackest shade of Puritanism, and so darkened the national visage with it, that all the subsequent years have not sufficed to clear it up” (TSL 212). The only Puritan citizen to be described with light colors, is Reverend Wilson, probably the most devout and sinless of all minor characters. He has a “beard, white as a snow-drift” (TSL 97). This pure color of innocence, linked to the head of the village clergy, stands in high contrast to his worldly counterpart. Governor Bellingham is described wearing a black tunic and dark feathers (TSL 58). Although he is also depicted in a white sleeping-gown, this image does not induce positive connotations as he “looked like a ghost, evoked unseasonably from the grave” (TSL 135). The description of his garments underlines his hypocrisy, which I will discuss in further detail later. Another character associated with mostly black objects is Roger Chillingworth. He gathers “black weeds” (TSL 118) and his whole character seems to darken over the course of the novel as he is “a striking evidence of man’s faculty of transforming himself into a devil” (TSL 154). Reverend Dimmesdale seems to combine the darkness that characterizes Chillingworth and the innocent white that is attributed to Wilson. He has a “white, lofty, and impending brow” (TSL 59) and is dressed in black. His inner conflict of being torn between the goodness and piety that his position and conscience demands, and the burden of his alleged sin, are symbolized in his “large, brown, melancholy eyes” (TSL 59). A similarly ambiguous color scheme can be found in the description of Hester Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

Prynne. Similar to the Puritans, her garment is grey, but enhanced by colorful embroidery. The mixture of innocent white and evil black indicates the stain of sin which is present in Hester – and probably all Puritans alike. Her most prominent feature is the scarlet letter A on her chest. While Hawthorne does not explain the meaning of the letter itself, its color is symbolic. It signifies the dualism between love and hate (Pebble) and is an important Christian symbol of martyrdom (Tresidder 409; Gray). Hester’s sign is the token of Puritan cruelty but also the connection to and 64 

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    origin of her beloved daughter. By choosing her daughter over a life without scorn, she abandons her own happiness for the survival of her child. Pearl, the personification of Hester’s guilt, has inherited her mother’s black eyes and hair, which might allude to her sinful heritage. Her dresses are described to be of vivid and joyful colors (TSL 81), which illustrate her character and make her stand out in the colorless palette of the Puritan society surrounding her. Upon their visit at the Governor’s house, Hester emphasizes her daughter’s connection to the scarlet letter by dressing her in a robe, whose colors resemble the token on her chest (TSL 91). However, not only her outward appearance is formed by her mother; the “impassioned state” of the latter “had been the medium through which were transmitted to the unborn infant the rays of its moral life; and, however white and clear originally, they had taken the deep stains of crimson and gold, the fiery lustre, the black shadow, and the untempered light, of the intervening substance” (TSL 82). Nevertheless, Pearl’s affection to nature and natural colors distinguishes her from the color palette associated with her mother. The innocence that is usually affiliated with a young child is only party retained in her “small white feet” (TSL 152), which she only exposes at the sea-side. The ocean, forest, and air reveal another side of Pearl, which the following sections will analyze in further detail. At the shore, Pearl gathers seaweed and imitates her mother’s token on her own chest “but freshly green, instead of scarlet” (TSL 162). Green symbolizes life, hope, fidelity, and immortality (Gray) and Pearl’s version of the A is a sign thereof, “as if the one only thing for which she had been sent into the world was to make out its hidden import” (TSL 162). Pearl resembles her mother in many aspects of her outward appearance but the linkage of her to the green color of nature implies the girl’s capability of providing hope and liberation to her mother. The closing words of The Scarlet Letter, the epitaph of Hester and Dimmesdale’s shared tombstone, leave a long-lasting imprint on the reader’s eye: “ON A Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

FIELD, SABLE, THE LETTER A. GULES” (TSL 241). By introducing two colors, which have never appeared in the novel before, Hawthorne ends his tale by drawing the attention once more to his frequent use of color symbolism. While sable and gules could just be seen as referring to the black and scarlet symbolism explained above, Hawthorne’s change of naming calls for a further analysis. Both colors are used in heraldry and thus their implication differs slightly from what has been depicted above. A basic rule in the study of armorial bearings states that colors should 65 

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always alternate with metals, such as gold or silver. In this way, visibility during battles could be ensured even from a far distance (Herold 46). Hawthorne’s use of two colors thus presents an infringement of regulations and might depict Dimmesdale and Hester’s break with the existing Puritanic laws as well as their vulnerability to the scorn of society. Although Herold, a German society for heraldry and genealogy, argues that an interpretation of crest-coloring is untenable today, they also acknowledge that attempts were made in the past to associate certain colors with character attributes (46). Assuming that Hawthorne used these colors intentionally, the epitaph will be analyzed according to the prevailing construal of heraldic elements. Gules is believed to be used in order to express martyrdom, strength, and magnanimity, while sable represents constancy and grief (“The Meanings behind the Symbols”), all of which can be attributed to Hester and Dimmesdale and hence emphasize their positive characteristics. The gravestone, which is the “one ever-glowing point of light gloomier than the shadow” (TSL 241), relieves the dominant darkness of the tale. The usage of two colors associated with heraldry underlines the longevity of the example set by Hester. According to Hawthorne’s presumed intent, her story, written down by a fictional customs officer, will have an impact on succeeding generations and the moral within will inspire numerous future readers. As Hawthorne himself points out, it “might serve for a motto . . . of our . . . legend” (TSL 241). The analysis of color symbolism has shown that Hawthorne used traditional images in order to signalize the personalities of his characters. They are of particular importance for the understanding of the deeper level of meaning as “they are themselves actors in the story that moves through and behind the story” (Waggoner 130). The usage of predominantly dark colors indicates the overall darkness of the story, as the evil within Puritanism and Chillingworth seems omnipresent. Bellingham, Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl, are linked to various different colors, which underline the “ambiguous moral values” (Waggoner 131) or insecurity within the characters themCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

selves. The last image of the novel, the tombstone, serves as a relief from the prevailing darkness. As the symbolism of light and darkness is central to the novel, the following chapter will analyze it in further detail.

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    4.3.3 Light and Darkness The importance of dualism in light and darkness imagery has already been pointed out in the analysis of “Young Goodman Brown.” This chapter will show how sunlight and darkness help to understand the characters as well as different scenes of The Scarlet Letter. After the symbolism of sunlight and darkness has been scrutinized, I will draw the attention to the significance of fire and mirror imagery, as both are closely related to or dependent on light. One of the most important sites of The Scarlet Letter is the scaffold in front of the Boston jailhouse. It is the setting of three key scenes, which occur in the beginning, the middle, and at the end of the novel, and which are all characterized by the usage of prominent light and darkness imagery. The first scene taking place at the scaffold, marks Hester’s re-introduction to the Puritan society. With the scarlet letter sewed on her dress, she is released from prison and enters the market place with the scaffold in its midst. It is midday and the sun, standing at its zenith, is “burning down upon her face” (TSL 57). The sinful token on her chest is illuminated by bright sunbeams, which “[lighten] up its shame” (TSL 57). While it was prior hidden in the darkness of the prison, the dazzling light of “unadulterated sunshine” (TSL 58) now emphasizes it strongly. Thus, the unpleasant truth of Hester’s guilt is revealed and displayed in front of the Puritan audience. The second scene at the scaffold can be found in the middle of the novel and can be regarded as the turning point of events. Being afraid that the truth of morning light would reveal his secret (TSL 137), Dimmesdale enters the marketplace at midnight (TSL 135). The time chosen stands in high contrast to the midday sun of Hester’s disclosure at the exact same place; but since it is nighttime and all villagers are asleep, Dimmesdale’s confession stays unheard. The secrecy and coverage of darkness provide him with the opportunity to free himself from his mental burden without risking to be discovered. On the contrary, it could be argued that the Puritan fear of Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

darkness prevents society from detecting its eulogized minister’s sinfulness. His conscious decision of standing at the scaffold in the middle of the night is underlined by his conversation with Pearl. As she enters the market place along with her mother, she asks the Reverend, if he would “‘stand here with [her] mother and [herself], tomorrow noontide?’” (TSL 138). Dimmesdale refuses to do so, postponing his public confession to “the great judgment day” (TSL 139). The third occurrence at the scaffold can be found at the end of the novel. Like the first scene, it takes place during bright daylight with “[t]he sun, but little past its meridian” (TSL 232). Hester, Pearl, 67 

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and Dimmesdale are finally publicly united and the truth is disclosed. Hence, the three key scenes at the scaffold emphasize the ability of sunshine to reveal the truth, while darkness is capable of hiding it and providing security thereby. The last scene at the scaffold marks Dimmesdale first appearance in sunshine. Throughout the whole novel, he has hidden from the truth by preferring dimness and darkness over light, transforming himself into a “man of shadow and concealment” (Fogle 30). Although his paleness is accounted for by his vigorous studies (TSL 108), his eager avoidance of direct light is conspicuous. When facing Hester and Pearl in the Governor’s hall, he “withdraw[s] a few steps from the group, and [stands] with his face partially concealed in the heavy folds of the window-curtain” (TSL 104). The confrontation with Hester and his illegitimate child prompts his retreat from the eyes of the Governor and Reverend, the heads of Puritan society. Although his new study has “a sunny exposure” he covers his windows “to create a noontide shadow, when desirable” (TSL 113) and uses curtains once again in order to hide his guilt. The only occasions in which he is described being outside during daytime, are his forestmeeting with Hester and his walks with Chillingworth, all of which take place in realms apart from society. The seaside and the forest enable him to expose himself to light without running the danger of being detected. His companions, Hester and Chillingworth, both share his burden of hiding a secret from the public eye. Thus, Dimmesdale utilizes darkness within social surroundings in order to segregate his inner burden from his outside appearance. Assisted by the naïveté and religious zealousness of his Puritan society, who interpret his behavior as the righteous consequence of a faithful life, he succeeds. Another character mainly associated with darkness is Roger Chillingworth. While he is “darkened with some powerful emotion” (TSL 55) in the beginning, he grows gloomier over the course of the story, being “dark, disturbed, and evil” (TSL 231) in the end. The absence of sun in his presence is underlined by Hester’s Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

thoughts: “Did the sun, which shone so brightly everywhere else, really fall upon him? Or was there, as it rather seemed, a circle of ominous shadow moving along with his deformity, whichever way he turned himself?” (TSL 159). Hence, sun and light shun the evil. Chillingworth is not the only character to be eschewed by sunlight. The depiction of Hester’s relation to light is manifold but consistent. She is aware of the fact that the sun avoids her. In the Governor’s hall, Hester advises Pearl: “‘Thou 68 

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    must gather thine own sunshine. I have none to give thee!’” (TSL 93). In the forest “the sunshine vanishe[s]” (TSL 168) the moment she tries to step into it. However, it is not only the sun which actively shuns her, Hester herself feels more comfortable without it. Her errands to help Puritan villagers are restricted to nighttime since “[i]t was only the darkened house that could contain her. When sunshine came again, she was not there” (TSL 146). Furthermore, she hides her black hair under a cap in order to prevent it from reflecting the sunlight, which would then illuminate herself (TSL 194). Based on the events during the first scaffold scene, the reason for her behavior becomes explicit. Hester refuses to be seen in bright daylight as it illuminated her scarlet sign once before and thus unveiled her doom to the whole audience. On this occasion, Puritans forced her to enter the sunlight in order to use the sun’s truthrevealing ability and thus to scorn her. Therefore, she is convinced that the bright light “which, falling on all alike, seemed . . . as if meant for no other purpose than to reveal the scarlet letter on her breast” (TSL 70). Symbolically speaking, the sun itself shuns Hester due to her sinfulness, as it stands for purity and innocence. Pearl is the one to put this idea into words by telling her mother that “‘the sunshine does not love [her]. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on [her] bosom’” (TSL 167). Indeed, the moment Hester takes off her token in the middle of the forest, “forth burst the sunshine” (TSL 186). Thus, it is not Hester herself who keeps the sunlight away, but rather the scarlet letter on her chest, the burden and Puritan sign of her sinfulness. As opposed to this, the embodiment of her sin, her daughter Pearl, is frequently associated with light. While neither Dimmesdale nor Hester can escape their affiliation with shadow and night during most parts of the novel, and Chillingworth is completely foreclosed from any ray of light, “the sun triumphs” (Fogle 40) in Pearl. During their journey into the woods, Pearl “did actually catch the sunshine, and stood laughing in the midst of it, all brightened by its splendor . . . The light linCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

gered about the only child, as if glad of such a playmate” (TSL 167-68). Shortly afterwards, she is described as being “glorified with a ray of sunshine” (TSL 191). However, the sun does not only shine upon her, but seems to glisten from within the little girl herself. In the forest, it appears as if “the child had absorbed it [the sunshine] into herself, and would give it forth again” (TSL 168). Several times, Pearl is directly linked to light. She bears “the intelligence that threw its quivering sunshine over the tiny features of this child” (TSL 80) and acts “like a glimmering light that 69 

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comes we know not whence, and goes we know not whither” (TSL 83). Still, there seems to be something mysterious within this child who “was like nothing so much as the phantasmagoric play of the northern lights” (TSL 86). I will further analyze Pearl’s character when looking closer at other symbols of nature, but her similarity to sunlight already indicates an important part of her capability. Like the actual sun, Pearl constantly reminds her mother of her sin. Not only because she is the incarnate result thereof, but because her sun-like persona persistently illuminates her mother’s symbol of sin: the scarlet letter. Pearl’s association with sunlight can be regarded as being ambiguous. It symbolizes her childish innocence and her function as the personified sin. This contradiction is central to her character. Being yet a little girl, she seems to combine both purity and sinfulness, which leaves her in an “uncertain and dangerous state, with heaven on the one side and extinction on the other” (Fogle 41). Although the topic of sunshine has been focused on above, the overall atmosphere of the novel is dark. The omnipresence of sin, Hester’s and Dimmesdale’s shunning of light, Chillingworth’s fiendishness and the oppressively dark Puritan society dominate the plot. The opening as well as the closing scene demonstrate the impossibility of light to win over darkness in the course of the novel (Fogle 22). Anne Hutchinson’s rose-bush at the prison door6, can only “relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow” (TSL 43; emphasis added) but is incapable of changing it. Also the tombstone of Hester and Dimmesdale is “somber . . . and relieved only by one ever-glowing light gloomier than the shadow” (TSL 241; emphasis added). It could be argued that Hawthorne indicated that darkness cannot be overcome until all people consent, while the lights of Hester, Dimmesdale, and Hutchinson serve as guidance. 4.3.3.1 The Scarlet Letter on Fire Although ancient cultures often believed fire to be the “terrestrial form of the sun” Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

(Tresidder 183), its application in The Scarlet Letter differs widely from the concept of light depicted above. While the sunlight shuns Hester, and vice versa, fire images seem to haunt her. Roger Chillingworth is depicted as having “a glare of red light” in his eyes, “as if the old man’s soul were on fire” (TSL 153) and speaking about Dimmesdale’s desirable death, “the lurid fire of his heart blaze[s] out” (TSL 155). As                                                        

6

See “4.3.7.1 Cemetery, Prison, and a Shrub” for further information on the symbolic meaning of the rose-bush.  

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    described in the analysis of “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorne links evil forces to fire. The threatening character of the object discussed is enhanced by the association of fire with the scarlet letter. Throughout the novel, it is presented to the reader as a “red-hot iron” (TSL 157), the Black Man’s mark (TSL 169), which he had branded on Hester’s bosom. The scarlet letter does not only dominate her outward appearance, but it also seems to define her as a person. Her former self, joyful and gracious, has been burnt by it (TSL 147-48) and whenever she encounters villagers, “they brand[ed] it afresh into Hester’s soul” (TSL 77). A similar fate befalls Dimmesdale, whose mark “burns in secret” (TSL 176). Being the personification of the scarlet letter, Pearl is associated with fire as well (TSL 92). Richard Harter Fogle even claims that the little girl “is rather fire than sunshine” (29). Fire is known to have both creative and destructive powers. While Chillingworth and the Black Man are merely evil and therefore symbolize the negative characteristics, Pearl bears both. As she is the personification of her parent’s sin, she resembles the aching pain on Hester’s chest, which is, however, created by the physician and the Puritans. According to Christian belief, fire can signify the ultimate test of faith and the purity thereof (Tresidder 183). Furthermore, it symbolizes revelation and regeneration (Gray). Corresponding to these associations, Pearl, “the very brightest little jet of flame that ever danced upon the earth” (TSL 92), embodies the positive features of fire. She provides the opportunity for Hester, Dimmesdale, and herself, to acquire forgiveness and to resurrect as sinless beings. 4.3.3.2 Mirror, Mirror A special ability of light is its capability of being reflected by various surfaces. Within The Scarlet Letter, two different types are named: Natural mirrors, such as the water surface of a brook or the ocean, and man-made mirrors, like the Governor’s armor. In order to distinguish the meaning behind both, this section will analyze acCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

cording scenes. The bright shining armor in the Governor’s hall is the first mirroring object to be mentioned in the novel. It was proudly worn during a war against Natives (TSL 95) and hence symbolizes the whole spectrum of Puritan dogma, with all its good and evil intentions. Upon her entry into the hall, it reflects Hester’s scarlet letter in “exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance” (TSL 95). Likewise, Pearl’s image is enlarged and alienated to 71 

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such a great extend that her mother “feel[s] as if it could not be the image of her own child, but of an imp who was seeking to mould itself into Pearl’s shape” (TSL 96). Thus, this symbol of Puritanism enhances and emphasizes Hester’s guilt and the embodiment of her sin, which is Pearl. It changes both characters out of recognition and transforms their appearance into the shape of solely evil beings. The second mirror in The Scarlet Letter is provided by a pool of seawater. While the former mirror reflected both Hester and Pearl, the ocean only catches the child’s attention. She detects an undistorted reflection of herself on the water surface, which seemingly calls out to her and asks Pearl to join it in the pool, since “‘[t]his is a better place!’” (TSL 152). When the little girl consents to the request, her mirror image smiles pleasantly. Pearl “seek[s] a passage for herself into its sphere of impalpable earth and unattainable sky” but soon has to find out “that either she or the image was unreal” (TSL 161). Pearl’s try to enter another realm can be seen as her attempted escape from the Puritan society which shuns her. Instead of disapproving of her personality, the watery mirror supplies her with a playmate (TSL 152). The failed flight could symbolize her mother’s unreadiness to leave her present life – just yet. As the mirror is a symbol of prophecy (Gray), Pearl’s affection for the ocean as a means of transportation to a better place might have been used by Hawthorne to foreshadow the further process of the story. The forest brook serves as the second example for natural mirrors. Again, its capability is restricted to Pearl’s eyes. It “reflect[s] a perfect image of her little figure, with all the picturesqueness of her beauty . . . but more refined and spiritualized than the reality” (TSL 190-91). Hence, this mirror enhances Pearl’s positive features, opposing the effect of its man-made counterpart. The artificial mirror of the armor only displays a distorted and magnified reality (Waggoner 140). It was made in order to defend Puritan beliefs and thus modifies reality as required to suit the Puritans’ needs. In contrast, the natural mirrors, which Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

were not altered by a human hand, reflect the truth and “especially the hidden truth of the heart” (Waggoner 141). They emphasize Pearl’s goodness, which no Puritan is willing to see, and even call attention to a possibility of escape. 4.3.4 Waters of the Past and Future Water is essential to life and in many cultures it is believed to be the source thereof. In his poem “Gesang der Geister über den Wassern,” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe equates the human soul with water: “Des Menschen Seele / Gleicht dem 72 

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    Wasser: / Vom Himmel kommt es, / Zum Himmel steigt es, / Und wieder nieder / Zur Erde muss es / Ewig wechselnd . . . . Seele des Menschen, / Wie gleichst du dem Wasser!“ (69-70). Despite these positive associations of water with various aspects of human life, its symbolism is ambiguous. Like fire, it has a creative as well as a destructive force and is thus not only the source of life itself, but can also be a threat to it. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne makes use of these various symbolic meanings and conveys his moral message by introducing a forest brook and the Atlantic Ocean. 4.3.4.1 The Blue Babbling of a Brook The personalized babbling brook of the forest is probably the most noticeable symbol of The Scarlet Letter. Although the similarities between the streamlet and Pearl are clearly recognizable, Hawthorne makes sure that his audience is aware of the fact that “Pearl resemble[s] the brook” (TSL 170). Furthermore, he provides reasons for this: Both originate from an unknown and mysterious source and “flow[ed] through scenes shadowed as heavily with gloom” (TSL 170). Their future lies in mystery as well (TSL 170), as the forest hides the further curse of the streamlet and Pearl’s prospective path through life is unknown. Nevertheless, there is a salient contrast between both. While the brook is described as being “kind, quiet, soothing, but melancholy, like the voice of a young child that was spending its infancy without playfulness” (TSL 170), Pearl is the complete opposite. It could be argued that the brook, which is constantly babbling about its negative experiences, symbolizes the past while Pearl resembles the hopeful future instead. This idea can be taken further when analyzing the remaining events taking place in the forest. After Hester has freed herself from her scarlet token and has schemed the plan for an escape from New England, Pearl, standing on the other shore of the brook, refuses to join her. At this point, Hawthorne makes his symbolism very clear Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

again, as Dimmesdale comments the described situation by saying that “‘this brook is the boundary between two worlds’” (TSL 191)7. Referring to the thesis stated above, it is their past that hinders Hester and Dimmesdale on their way to a joyful future. Pearl forces her mother to re-attach the scarlet letter onto her chest and consents to cross the brook thereafter. Although the mother argues that Pearl insisted upon the                                                         7

Interestingly, the aforementioned medieval poem “Pearl” also depicts the name-giving girl standing on the other side of a brook than the lyrical I. She explains that a crossing of the boundary between them would be full of obstacles (317-319).

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token being worn due to a child’s incapability of adapting to unaccustomed situations (TSL 193), another assumption could be made. As Pearl symbolizes purity as well as the future, she will not agree upon the fact that Hester starts a new life without priorly revealing the whole extent of the guilt that caused her to wear the letter. Hence, Pearl mistrusts Dimmesdale, who has not yet proven loyalty to Hester and herself. After he kisses her, she “run[s] to the brook . . . and bathe[s] her forehead, until the unwelcome kiss [is] quite washed off” (TSL 195). The little girl uses the cleansing effect of water in order to wipe off the elusive and insincere harmony. By doing so, she adds just another hopeless story to the melancholy stream of the past “with which its little heart was already overburdened, and whereof it still kept up a murmuring babble, with not a whit more cheerfulness of tone than for ages heretofore” (TSL 195). Like the brook, Pearl is not yet satisfied with the outcome of the story. For her, the past has to be accepted and overcome, or revealed, in order to start a content future, which she stands for. 4.3.4.2 The Freedom of the Ocean Since humans have always been “at home on the land” (Ferber 179), the vast open sea has had a strange, “alien[,] and dangerous” (Ferber 179) undertone to it, although it is often believed to be the source of all life. While Genesis describes an empty earth, only containing darkness and water (Gen. 1.2), which is then formed and transformed by the hands of God, the Finnish epic Kalevala tells the story of Ilmatar, goddess of the air. Wishing for a sun, she turn to the vast ocean, where Väinämöinen is born several centuries later (cf. Crawford). He then creates all living creatures on earth. Folktales like this can be found in many cultures worldwide, including Indian and Egyptian mythology (Lurker 792). Even modern biology confirms that life originated from the sea. Still, the ocean often bears negative connotations. It is not only perilous and unexplored, it also contains sea water, which is not drinkable. Another Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

life-threatening association is the biblical story of the flood, which caused the death of all people, excluding Noah and his family, due to their disbelief in God (Gen. 7). This deep-rooted dread, which is clearly connected to the Puritans’ fear of the unknown, can be used as a basis for interpreting the images of the sea, which are provided in The Scarlet Letter. In “The Custom House,” the narrator speaks about his ancestors, the generations that lived after the Puritan forefathers had ceased. Still adhering to the conven74 

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    tion of family tradition, “[f]rom father to son, for above a hundred years, they followed the sea” (TSL 10). Interestingly, these family members – as imagined by the narrator – were able to “grow old, and die, and mingle [their] dust with the natal earth” (TSL 10). Compared with the final resting place of the disgraceful Puritan progenitors, whose “old dry bones . . . must still retain it [the witches’ blood], if they have not crumbled utterly to dust!” (TSL 9), the disparity of descriptions becomes evident. While the mariners rest in peace, being reunited with Mother Nature, the evil-doers are still stained by their malefactions. Thus, Hawthorne implies a positive connotation to the ocean from the introduction of his novel onwards. His seemingly autobiographical reference reveals furthermore that he probably cherished his seabound ancestors more than his Puritan forefathers. His description of the sailors present at the holiday ceremony is accordingly. In order to depict the “incomplete morality” (TSL 213) of the Puritan age, he reveals that the “mariners, the . . . wild men of the ocean, as the Indians were of the land” (TSL 224) were conceded enhanced rights, ignoring their military offences. The twofacedness of Puritanism is thus stressed once more. The wildness of the ocean is moreover associated with Pearl. Like the sailors, she is described as a sea dweller, a “little mermaid” (TSL 161), who is wild and free. She shares the ocean’s characteristic to act “very much at its own will, or subject only to the tempestuous wind, with hardly any attempts at regulation by human law” (TSL 213; cf. TSL 81: “The child could not be made amendable to rules”). Her resemblance to the vast and liberating water is enhanced by her play with sea foam. While she toys with it at first, catching the flakes “ere they fell” (TSL 161), she is later referred to as “a flake of the sea-foam . . . gifted with the soul of the sea-fire” (TSL 224). These quotations can be linked to the fact that Pearl saved her mother from the witches’ meeting, to which Mistress Hibbins had invited her. Later, she has become the embodiment of sea-foam, her mother’s guide to a happier life abroad. Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

This interpretation further stresses the association of Pearl with future. The symbol of water as a means to “effac[e] an old life [and] giv[e] birth to a new one” (Tresidder 514) is emphasized by Hester and Dimmesdale’s intention. The relieving effect of the ocean as a means to escape from Puritan New England is further emphasized by its relation to the scarlet letter. Pretending to speak to the villagers, Hester states that “‘the deep, mysterious ocean will quench and hide for ever the symbol which [they] have caused to burn upon her bosom!’” (TSL 208). While the 75 

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ocean and Pearl symbolize freedom and escape, the Puritan villagers are depicted as “a line of cliffs against the tempestuous tide” (TSL 218). Their gray and rigid appearance contrasts with the wild and always changing sea and underlines their immutability and sternness of faith. 4.3.4.3 Godly Waters The ocean has not only negative meanings in Christian symbology. As it is used in baptisms, water signifies purification and the washing away of all sins. As shown above, the linkage between water and a certain deity is almost universal. Going along with the assumption that water symbolizes God, Hester’s decisions reveal another level of understanding. She proves her religious faith, inter alia, by stating that “‘[her] child must seek a heavenly Father’” (TSL 61). She has raised her child according to her family’s beliefs (TSL 100) but objects to Pearl being catechized by the Puritans due to her own experiences (TSL 99). Her disposition does not only reveal her critique of New England’s overzealousness and hypocrisy, but also aligns her with Anne Hutchinson, center of the Antinomian Crisis. Moving into a house, which is located “on the shore, looking across a basin of the sea” (TSL 72-73) could signify her will to be closer to God and seek for redemption. Following this line of interpretation, the refusal of any other villager to live in this secluded spot points at the actual distance between the Puritans and God. In contrast to the vast ocean in front of Hester’s cottage, the forest is only traversed by a little streamlet. It indicates the faint presence of God even in this “wild, heathen” (TSL 186) nature. The brook’s constant and sad murmuring can be understood as God’s grievance about all the sins that are conceded in the forest under His watchful eyes. Hester advices Pearl to “‘[k]eep where [she] can[st] hear the babble of the brook’” (TSL 171) and thus ensures her daughter’s devoutness even within the forest. Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

As Hester’s actual beliefs stay unspoken, no further assumptions about her faith can be made. This characteristic highly resembles Hawthorne’s viewpoint on religion, which was already found to be endorsed in “Young Goodman Brown.”

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    4.3.5 Symbols in the Air While Goethe equated water with life, he associated human fate with wind: “Schicksal des Menschen, / Wie gleichst du dem Wind!“ (70). In The Scarlet Letter, symbols of the air play a prominent role in the fate of the characters. The following sections will emphasize the use and meaning behind two topics which are closely related to air: breath and birds. 4.3.5.1 A Breath of Fresh Air The ability to breathe is probably the most fundamental aspect of life. In Gen. 2.7, it is God, who “formed man . . . and breathed into his nostril the breath of life.” The connection between God, life, and breath is further underlined by several classical languages. Latin anima can be translated with either “wind” and “breath” or “life” and “soul,” while Hebrew ruarch as well as Greek pneuma stress the nexus of breath, wind, and spirit (Ferber 235). Despite these connotations, the English language exhibits a peculiarity which has been used by numerous authors and poets throughout history. The word breath hardly rhymes with any other word than death. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne makes use of this connection. Dimmesdale, at the peak of his illness, has trouble breathing. He cannot endure being outside as “the air [is] too fresh and chill to be long breathed, with comfort” (TSL 111). A main cause for his breathing troubles is his assigned physician Chillingworth. Allegedly, he is capable of “infecting all the air about him” (TSL 177) by his mere presence. Given the fact that the ability to breathe is believed to be a God-given feature, Chillingworth’s nature as the Lord’s antagonist is signified once more. Dimmesdale’s ailment is caused by his guilty conscience and enhanced by the presence and actions of Chillingworth. Once Hester has shown him the possibility of escaping his burdensome life, Dimmesdale experiences an “exhilarating effect” (TSL 185). This incident shows the pressure and disposition which are omnipresent in the Puritan village. Being apart Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

from the influences of society and especially Chillingworth, the forest provides Dimmesdale with the opportunity to breathe freely and feel rejuvenated.

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4.3.5.2 Free as a Bird Like the ocean, the wind does not conform to any human laws. It can be just a breeze or transform into a frightening storm and whirlwind. The seemingly changing moods and capabilities of this natural force are the reason why Pearl is associated with it (TSL 161). She is an “airy sprite,” a seemingly flying “little elf” (TSL 83), who is free as the wind and acts accordingly. One of the most prominent images of The Scarlet Letter is the comparison of Pearl with a bird. The resemblance seems to be so striking, that the Governor identifies her as a “‘little bird’” (TSL 98) as soon as he meets her. The only characters which are also associated with bird-like features are the captain of the mariners and several Native Americans, who both adorn themselves with feathers at the holiday ceremony (TSL 212; 214). Describing these two free and nature-bound groups with the same features as Pearl, underlines her “wild” (TSL 163) and independent character as well as the disparity with the Puritan society surrounding her. Contrary to them, she only acts according to her own will. At several occasions in the novel, Pearl is depicted as a bird, flying away from a certain situation. When the Governor tries to touch her, she appears to be “like a wild, tropical bird . . . ready to take flight into the upper air” (TSL 100) and escape the Puritan group, which tries to teach her the catechism. Upon the sea-side meeting of Hester and Chillingworth, she “[flies] away like a bird” (TSL 152) and escapes another evil encounter. Even her mother is unable to touch her and finds this “as impossible . . . as to catch a humming-bird in the air” (TSL 224). Taken together, Pearl seems to constantly avoid people associated with guilt or evil deeds. While she also shuns Dimmesdale for most parts of the novel, she “[flies] to him, and clasp[s] her arms about his knees” (TSL 231) as soon as he has made his confession to the public. During the holiday festivities, Pearl is associated with another flying animal. Her dress is said to be “an outward manifestation of her character, no more to be separated from her than the many-hued brilliancy from a butterfly’s wing” (TSL 209). Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

This linkage does not only underline Pearl’s beauty but implies a deeper level of understanding. The three stages of this animal’s life, caterpillar, chrysalis, and the actual butterfly, represent the different stages of Christian existence: life, death, and resurrection (Gray). Shortly before Dimmesdale dies after having made his last and most important confession, Pearl leans down to kiss him. This act of devotion connotes her forgiveness to him, which she was not willing to give after his covertly declared guilt in the forest, where she washed his kiss away. The Reverend’s final 78 

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    avowal of sin, which was personified by Pearl, signifies the point of her resurrection. Her sinful side is forgiven and vanishes, and she is able to live a happy and unconcerned life thereafter. 4.3.6 Between Heathen Forest and Cultivated Land The tension in The Scarlet Letter is predominantly created by the duality of two polarizing settings: The pious but discriminatory Puritan Boston and the liberating yet heathen nature. This section will deal with both venues and will analyze them on the basis of two significant and characteristic examples. 4.3.6.1 The Governor’s Pride Being the home of one of the most respected persons of the Puritan society, and frequently visited by the highest clergymen, the Governor’s premises should serve as an apposite and illustrative example for Puritan ideology within The Scarlet Letter. Upon Hester and Pearl’s visit, the first striking characteristic of the Governor’s home is the omnipresence of radiant sunlight. The exterior as well as the interior seem to be alight. According to the symbolism of sunlight explained above, this portrayal of a sunlit Puritan habitat refers to their conviction of being pure, devout, and good. Especially the steel armor, which has been thematized before, “scatter[s] an illumination everywhere about upon the floor” (TSL 95). In Christian belief, an armor symbolizes the ability “to resist in the evil day, and . . . stand firm” (Eph. 6.13) against the devil. Thus, the Governor’s shining armor, which was used in the Pequod War (TSL 95), celebrates the Puritan triumph over heathendom and evil temptations. Another important characteristic of New England Puritanism is depicted in the description of the Governor’s garden. Being artificial and man-made, and assembled with several non-endemic plant species, it serves as an example for the Puritan endeavor to cultivate and dominate over the wilderness. The attempt of Puritan garCopyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

dening achieving supremacy over wild flora is confirmed by Hester’s remark that the garden might contain “more beautiful ones [flowers] than we find in the woods” (TSL 96). Trying to preserve English taste and values in the New World, the yard is “carpeted with closely shaven grass, and bordered with some rude and immature attempt at shrubbery. But the proprietor appeared already to have relinquished, as hopeless, the effort to perpetuate on this side of the Atlantic . . . the native English taste for ornamental gardening” (TSL 96). The quiet irony within this quote indicates 79 

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Hawthorne’s derision and resentment to Puritan overzealousness. Among the plants in the Governor’s garden are several apple trees. Although the Old Testament only refers to the forbidden fruit as “the fruit of the tree” (Gen 3.3), without identifying it any further, apples are generally associated with the Fall of Man. The Governor’s trees were “probably the descendants of those planted by . . . the first settler of the peninsula” (TSL 96), which bears considerable resemblance to Adam and Eve, the first humans on earth. Engaging this thought, one could argue that the Puritans, along with the first ancestors of humankind, had to face the temptation of sin within an alleged paradise. While Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge, the first settlers and their following generations deprived others of their livelihood. Thus, all men are tainted with Original Sin as well as their own personal sin, for which the Governor’s apple tree might serve as a constant reminder. 4.3.6.2 The Capabilities of Forest Wilderness The forests surrounding Boston are a central part of the plot. Hester and Dimmesdale’s meeting within the woods can be seen as the turning point of the story. Thus, I will analyze the different connotations thereof as they appear in the context of The Scarlet Letter. Being located near a colonial town, the wilderness is perceived as a place of witchcraft and evil. The only Puritan person living in the woods is missionary Eliot, who tries to convert the “heathen-folk” (TSL 55). The forests are believed to be not solely the habitat of Natives, but the realm of “the Black Man” (TSL 105). The latter’s entourage consists of witches, of whom Mistress Hibbins is the only one to be named. Her nightly strolls into the darkness of the wilderness are represented by twigs, which are still “clinging to her skirts” (TSL 137) the next morning. Since Hester is lined with sin, and believed to bear the Black Man’s mark on her chest (TSL 169), Hibbins tries to convince her to join the witches’ meeting. Yet, Hester refuses Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

to do so as she has to “‘keep watch over [her] little Pearl’” (TSL 105). Thus, her daughter has “saved her from Satan’s snare” (TSL 105). Nevertheless, Hawthorne pays close attention to the fact that the Natives’ habitat is not altogether depicted as evil. He emphasizes their wisdom, which is portrayed as being more effective than the Western abilities: Chillingworth admits that “[his] sojourn . . . among a people well versed in the kindly properties of simples, have made a better physician of [him] than many that claim the medical degree” (TSL 64). Additionally, Hawthorne dis80 

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    plays the Puritan guilt in their plight by describing “an idle and vagrant Indian, whom the white man’s fire-water had made riotous about the streets, [and who] was to be driven with stripes into the shadow of the forest” (TSL 44). Hence, for Hawthorne, the wilderness is not evil, but the habitat of Puritan victims. The author reinforces his criticism of Puritan customs by underlining the fact that Boston itself is “a little town, on the edge of the Western wilderness” (TSL 51). Chillingworth even refers to it as “this wild outskirt of the earth” (TSL 68). Thus, the Puritan intent to segregate their City upon a Hill from heathen forests was not utterly successful, which could allude to the unbreakable evil side which still remained in their minds and is the cause of their misdeeds. The positive features of the forest are further revealed, when Dimmesdale, Pearl, and Hester undertake their “Forest Walk” (TSL 166). The wilderness provides them with shelter and security, being as far away from society as possible (TSL 169). Within this secluded world, which was segregated from Puritan law and value system and only ruled by nature and natural law, Hester and Dimmesdale are able to free themselves from any mental burden. For the first time, they can be honest to each other and true to themselves. Instead of punishing her, nature enlightens with sunshine and reveals the entireness of its beauty when Hester takes off her sinful token (TSL 185). The forest reflects her “moral wilderness” but provides the opportunity to be “as freely as the wild Indian in his woods” (TSL 183). The freedom within the wilderness triggers their idea of fleeing from their burdened present into a carefree future in England. This hopeful thought encourages Dimmesdale to change his entire attitude toward life: “‘I seem to have flung myself – sick, sin-stained, and sorrowblackened – down upon these forest-leaves, and to have risen up all made anew, and with new powers to glorify Him that hath been merciful! This is already the better life!’” (TSL 185). Within the forest, Hester and Dimmesdale have found the opportunity to free themselves from their past (cf. TSL 185: “‘The past is gone!’”) and start Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

anew. For Pearl, the forest almost seems like a second – or even the real – home. Throughout the novel, she is described as being “wild” (TSL 163) and an “elf-child” (TSL 8), and the vast nature provides her with the opportunity to live out her character. Having no human friends, “[t]he great black forest . . . became the playmate of the lonely infant” (TSL 187), seemingly relating more to her than any other person before. In general, Pearl appears rather to belong to nature than to the Puritan village. 81 

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Even an image of family is implied, when “the mother-forest, and these wild things which it nourished, all recognized a kindred wildness in the human child” (TSL 188). Darrel Able points out that this connecting bond of “wildness” is “not the wildness of savagery but the wildness of innocence” (93). Thus, the liberty of the forest does not only provide a home for Pearl but underlines her innocent character as she is an “infant . . . worthy to have been brought forth in Eden; worthy to have been left there” (TSL 81). Overall, the forest around Boston has a different meaning to each character. Being a place secluded from any influence of society, it is the dwelling place of evil, witches, and sin on the one hand, and “a momentary refuge from the prying eyes and reprehension” (Fogle 39) on the other. It provides shelter and freedom and represents the appropriate home for Pearl. However, the woods are also capable of revealing the true inner self of each character that enters its realm. It is a place where truth can exist and no veil has to be worn; it is the secure spot where everyone can be who they truly are: “Such was the sympathy of Nature – that wild, heathen Nature of the forest” (TSL 186). 4.3.6.3 The In-Between Between the two polarizing forces of the austerity of the Puritan village and the freedom of the forest, lies the home of Hester and Pearl. Neither belonging to the faithful society nor devoting themselves completely to the wilderness, their mental and physical state is constantly torn between both sides. The soil underneath their cottage is “too sterile for cultivation” (TSL 72) and could hence symbolize Hester and Pearl’s inability to join the Puritan society or adhere to its beliefs. The closeness to nature provides them with partial security, although “[a] clump of scrubby trees . . . did not so much conceal the cottage from view, as seem to denote that here was some object which would fain have been, or at least ought to be, concealed” (TSL 73). In addition Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

to its proximity to both wilderness and the town of Boston, the cottage is located near the ocean, enabling its inhabitants to look “across the basin of the sea” (TSL 73). As Hester and Dimmesdale’s plan of leaving their oppressive environment consists of an escape to England, the ocean view of the cottage serves as a constant and hopeful reminder of their joyful future.

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    4.3.7 Say It with Flowers The previous analysis has shown that Hawthorne was very fond of nature symbolism. While he omitted the sphere of flowers in his short story “Young Goodman Brown,” it is central to the plot of The Scarlet Letter. According to Tresidder, a flower is “a concise symbol of nature at its summit” (190). Therefore, I will concentrate on the expressiveness of flower images and one of the novel’s most recognized signs, the rose-bush. Furthermore, I will discuss Pearl’s association with flowers and the darker side of flower symbolism within The Scarlet Letter. 4.3.7.1 Cemetery, Prison, and a Shrub In addition to the opposed settings of the Governor’s residence and the forest, the Puritan cemetery and jailhouse are a contrast to the wild growing rose-bush in front of the prison door. While the former are spatially divided, the three places and objects described in the following are in immediate proximity to one another. The prison and especially the scaffold in front of it are the setting for several important scenes, as has been pointed out before. The cemetery, on the contrary, remains in the background for the majority of the story. The most prominent images relating to this site are evoked by Chillingworth, who gathers his dark weeds from graves, and the epitaph of Hester and Dimmesdale’s tombstone, which closes the novel. Based on these observations, Waggoner argues that both locations bear negative connotations. While the jailhouse and the scaffold in front of it symbolize the “present actuality of moral evil” (Waggoner 120), the cemetery stands for natural evil, which is, speaking in terms of Puritan belief, the Original Sin of mankind (Waggoner 120). However, both sites are man-made and the results of Puritan civilization, and especially the prison serves as an example for their theocratic government and law. The rose-bush, located in front of the prison door, stands “in obvious contrast” (Eisinger 86) to the human dominated spots. Its red blooming prettiness is the Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

counterpart of “the black flower of civilized society” (TSL 43) that is the prison. As the bush has grown wild, it is a symbol of nature standing firm against the altering hand of Puritanism. It might be interpreted as a little glimmer of the light of hope and relief within “the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow” (TSL 43). Being located at the jailhouse entrance, it is the last and the first thing to be seen by alleged sinners and conveys hope and comfort to those who were punished by the Puritan law “in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to [them]” 83 

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(TSL 43). The shrub is said to have sprout after “the sainted” (TSL 43) Anne Hutchinson entered the prison, and has survived ever since due to its “stern old wilderness” (TSL 43). Thus, the rose-bush might represent the strong will of Hutchinson, who opposed the Puritan dogma and fought for religious freedom and liberty of speech her whole life. As has been shown above, nature symbolizes freedom and the detachment from a bigoted society, which is embodied by the little plant as a representative of wilderness. At the end of the first chapter, prior to the introduction of Hester Prynne, the narrator metaphorically “pluck[s] one of its [the rose-bush’s] flowers and present[s] it to the reader” (TSL 43). This blossom, a full-blown rose, risen from the soil Anne Hutchinson once walked on, symbolizes Hester. Being an offspring of Hutchinson’s shrub, it is implied that the protagonist bears considerable resemblance to this early American feminist. Both women were convicted by Puritans and sentenced to a lifelong seclusion from society. As they had stood to their beliefs they can be seen as “radicals” (Person 19), who were just ahead of their time. Metaphorically speaking, Hester’s blossom will wither some day, but its perfume will stay behind. The scent that outlives its source can be understood as a symbol of the longevity or even immortality of such fates as the ones of Hester or Hutchinson (Ferber 176). Even though their bodies are gone, their beliefs and strength will still influence future generations. The rose-bush in front of the prison door is not the only one to be mentioned in The Scarlet Letter. The Governor’s garden is home to a rose-bush that resembles the shrub at the jailhouse (TSL 101). It attracts the attention of Pearl, who immediately wants to pluck one of its blossoms. Deriving from the Latin word deflorare, the “plucking of a flower” is associated with the loss of innocence. Hester pulls her daughter away from the shrub, which might be interpreted as her attempt to prevent Pearl from following her mother’s sin-stained footsteps, as Hester’s own blossom Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

was picked at the beginning of the novel (TSL 43). Nevertheless, Pearl replies to the Governor’s question about her creator with the statement “that she had not been made at all, but had been plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses, that grew by the prison-door” (TSL 100). Despite her mother’s attempt to save her, Pearl insists upon being a rose, just as her mother and Anne Hutchinson are. Hence, she does not only contain the women’s strong will but also links herself to wild, uncultivated nature (Eisinger 86). 84 

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    The child and the shrub share common characteristics. As the cemetery is said to represent natural evil, the rose-bush stands for natural beauty (Waggoner 120). Since this beauty is innate, it cannot be condemned. As well as this shrub, Pearl is “immune from judgment” (Waggoner 121; cf. TSL 120). Like the rose for prisoners, Pearl is a “symbol of love and promise” (Waggoner 133) for her mother. Throughout the story, Pearl is often referred to as a flower. While the wild bush carries “delicate gems” (TSL 43), Pearl is a “gem on her mother’s . . . bosom” (TSL 209). The rose has paradoxically survived through history and Pearl has grown to an “immortal flower” (TSL 80). By choosing the rose as the plant to symbolize both Hester and Pearl, Hawthorne has made a well-considered choice. Red roses symbolize martyrdom (Gray), which could refer to Hester as she has spent her entire life being condemned by the Puritan society. The Latin phrase sub rosa, “under the rose,” describes a state of secrecy (Ferber 177), which might imply the unuttered guilt of Dimmesdale. Nevertheless, the rose, as the national flower of the United States since 1986, stands for “life and love and devotion . . . beauty and eternity” (Proclamation No. 5574), all of which are applicable to the lives and maxims of Pearl, Hester, and their real-life counterpart Anne Hutchinson. 4.3.7.2 A Bouquet of Flowers and Pearls The alignment of Pearl and the wild rose-bush is extended by the association of the little girl with wild flowers in general. She is described as having a “wild-flower prettiness” (TSL 81) and frequently graces herself with self-gathered blossoms. In the forest, her mother wonders “‘with what natural skill she has made those simple flowers adorn her! Had she gathered pearls, and diamonds, and rubies, in the wood, they could not have become her better’” (TSL 189). Wild flowers seem to underline Pearl’s beauty and character as she is, indeed, a wild child, who does not feel obliged Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

to any Puritan or man-made rules. Hester’s comparison of Pearl’s flowers with gemstones further adds to her daughter’s characterization. Like rubies in Christian symbology, she is full of love and passion and possesses the joy and purity which is connected to diamonds (Gray). On two occasions, Pearl is described to throw plants at Hester’s scarlet letter. The first incident involves wild flowers, which, upon hitting the mark, “cover[ing] her mother’s breast with hurts for which she could find no balm in this world, nor 85 

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knew how to seek it in another” (TSL 87). Being confronted with Pearl’s attraction to wild objects, which are merely bound to natural laws, makes Hester feel insecure, as her scarlet token is the sign of Puritan command. The contact of these opposed forces causes her pain and inner conflict, since she has not yet developed her plan to flee abroad. Her change of attitude can be seen in the scene described above, where she is able to cherish her daughter’s adornment of wild flowers after she has decided upon her escape. The second incident is placed at the cemetery, where Pearl gathers burrs, which grow beside an old tomb. She shapes them according to the scarlet lines on her mother’s chest and attaches them to their template. The sticky plants adhere and are not removed by Hester. Afterwards, Pearl throws one of them at Dimmesdale, where it stays fixed as well. The burdock, being a wild flower, is associated with Pearl, and its clinging characteristic could symbolize the connection between Hester and Dimmesdale, which is manifested in the little girl. Moreover, several medical virtues are attributed to burrs. They are believed to purify blood (Grau, Jung, and Steinbach 255) and shorten the healing process of burns (Borter 74). Thus, Pearl’s use of these medicinal herbs to cover Hester’s emblem of sin, which is often connected to burning fire, indicates her effort to guide her mother out of her misery. Pearl’s association with wild flowers is evident. They enhance her beauty and underline the fact that she is not subject to any human law. Thereby she stands for natural happiness and purity of heart, without being influenced by any negative force. She tries to communicate this freedom to her mother, who is, however, reminded of her sin and not yet able to part herself from the oppressing Puritan society. 4.3.7.3 Tainted Flowers While Pearl is merely associated with the beauty of wild flowers, her floristic playmates also serve as symbols for society. “The pine-trees, aged, black, and solemn . . . Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

needed little transformation to figure as Puritan elders” and “the ugliest weeds of the garden were their children” (TSL 85). Pearl’s aversion to the society that avoids and condemns her seems only natural. However, depicting Puritans with dominant objects of their abhorrent surrounding wilderness is an ironic device that Hawthorne uses in order to emphasize his critique on Puritanism. The description of the plants, which Chillingworth uses for medical purposes, further emphasizes the villagers’ hypocrisy. Even though he openly admits that he 86 

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    has acquired his skills from Natives and gathers his herbs in the uncultivated land of the forest and seaside, he is highly praised and cherished by the Bostonians. Beside the two locations mentioned, he turns to the cemetery as a source for Dimmesdale’s medicine. Although he mainly uses “these black weeds” as a means of threatening his patient since they “have sprung up out of a buried heart, to make manifest an unspoken crime” (TSL 118), the findings resemble his own character. During his rambles through the wilderness, he is carrying a staff (TSL 151), which reminds the attentive reader of the portrayal of Satan in “Young Goodman Brown.” His likeness to the devil is further enhanced when Hester wonders if “the earth [would not], quickened to an evil purpose by the sympathy of his eye, greet him with poisonous shrubs . . . that would start up under his fingers?” (TSL 159). Again, this description evokes a familiar image: The devils-work of Dr. Rappaccini. After Dimmesdale’s public confession, Chillingworth “almost vanishe[s] from mortal sight, like an uprooted weed that lies wilting in the sun” (TSL 238). The latter has thus become a weed himself, which has lost the connection to its fertile soil. Closely related to this image is the frequent reference to Chillingworth as a “leech” (TSL 94), which has fed on the misery of the young Reverend and Hester, and has now lost its main source of food8. The association of Chillingworth with dark herbs, wilderness, and two of Hawthorne’s well-known evil characters, indicates the former’s moral darkness. Furthermore, it demonstrates the aforementioned likeliness of the author having written his short stories as “studies” (Woodberry, N.H. 65) in order to prepare himself for his masterpiece. In short, the flower imagery of The Scarlet Letter supports the thesis that was evoked by the symbolism of light, darkness, and colors. While Chillingworth is, in all three cases, only represented by objects with negative connotations, Pearl is merely described with positive images of nature. For Hester, however, am-

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biguous references are used, which symbolizes her torn inner self.

                                                        8

See “4.3.9 The Letter Unfolded” for further information on the symbolic meaning of the association of Chillingworth with a leech.

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4.3.8 Moss-Covered Memories Moss and grass growth is described on various occasions in The Scarlet Letter. Both usually occur at places that have not been touched by a human hand for a long period of time. In order to understand their symbolic meaning, I will analyze according scenes. The most evident appearance of moss is described in the forest chapters. Here, in its most natural habitat, it covers an old pine trunk, which was formed after a storm. The interaction of nature and wind has thus created a comfortable seating place for Hester and Dimmesdale, who could now “find a single hour’s rest and solace” (TSL 196). This “heap of moss” (TSL 169; 174), which was able to spread due to the absence of humans, spends a sense of well-being and provides a place for Dimmesdale’s concession and their plans for the future. A less natural habitat of moss is the Governor’s residence, which is “now moss-grown, crumbling to decay, and melancholy at heart with the many sorrowful or joyful occurrences, remembered or forgotten, that have happened, and passed away” (TSL 92-93). The moss on the Governor’s house thus mantles the memories of the past and is a sign of nature slowly taking back its righteous habitat. Being aware of its veiling abilities, the description of the forest tree trunk allows a second interpretation: Hester and Dimmesdale are joyful about their proximate escape but are still sitting on a trunk full of past memories that have yet to be overcome in order to fulfill their dreams. The presence of moss on the home of a high-rank member of society bears another symbolic association. Moss requires low light in order to grow, a condition which is naturally provided by the forest. To be confronted with moss-growth on a pious Puritan’s house evokes the suspicion of shadow around these walls that are believed to be outstandingly devout. Thus, the presence of wild-growing and dimness-loving plants in a Puritan environment functions as a tacit token of evil and sin. Grass is another sign of nature’s recapture of habitat, although it has a slightly Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

different metaphorical meaning in the context of The Scarlet Letter than the aforementioned moss. On one hand, there is naturally growing grass, which is, inter alia, referred to in “The Custom House.” The pavement in front of the tollhouse “has grass enough growing in its chinks” (TSL 5) to show that the Custom House has sat empty for quite a while and has been left for nature to reclaim it. Furthermore, the narrator talks about another setting which has been “overgrown, through long years of peace and neglect, with grass and alien weeds” (TSL 19). This quote establishes 88 

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    the connection of wild-growing grass and long-lasting peace and quiet. When Dimmesdale worries about his final rest, this characteristic becomes significant. Due to his concealment of sin, he wonders “whether the grass would ever grow on it [his grave], because an accursed thing must there be buried!” (TSL 129). This objection does not only prove Chillingworth’s triumph in increasing the Reverend’s feeling of guilt (TSL 118; see quote above) but underlines the linkage between grass-growth and long-lasting peace. On the other hand, there is the neatly cut grass of the Governor’s garden and the plot in front of the prison. While this stands for the preservation of English tradition, it might also symbolize Puritan dominance over wilderness. Furthermore, gardens are widely believed to reflect the character of their owner (Tresidder 200). Being immaculately kept, they can be interpreted to symbolize the Puritan attempt of being a model society, including purity, righteousness, piety, and overall responsibility. While both moss and grass symbolize nature’s revendication of its former habitat, they slightly differ in meaning. Moss, being endemic in dim light, can be seen as a sign for sin and the coverage thereof. Light-enduring grass on the contrary, denotes long-lasting peace along with the pretense of perfection and piety. 4.3.9 The Letter Unfolded The preceding analysis has shown that most symbols act as agents in order to underline the personalities of the different characters. Hawthorne’s aim of conveying a moral teaching leads to the assumption that his figures themselves act as symbols for a more universal applicable purpose. The following concluding sections aspire to connect the symbols depicted above in order to reveal the symbolic function of each character as well as the novel’s overall moral. Taking the concluding events of The Scarlet Letter into account, this section aims at revealing Hawthorne’s appraisal of Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

the individual characters. Throughout the novel, Roger Chillingworth is associated with evil. All objects and people surrounding him, suffer from his presence. Plants turn black, the air is polluted, Hester burdened, and Dimmesdale almost killed. Chillingworth’s only intent is to seek revenge and destroy the lives of his wife and her former extramarital affair. The more he gets involved with his plan, the more he transforms into the personified evil in the novel. The frequent use of “leech” (TSL 94) in order to describe 89 

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his position, allows two different interpretations. The Puritans, unable to identify him as evil, believe him to be the leech that will purify Dimmesdale’s blood and cure his illness. His actual intent is, however, to worsen the young Reverend’s state. He lives on the intensification of his patient’s suffrage and “vanished” (TSL 238) after Dimmesdale’s confession, which has disclosed the hidden secret which was Chillingworth’s nourishment. The extinction of the evil forces after the public acknowledgment of sin could serve as a proof of the validity of Dimmesdale’s deed. While their naïveté and overzealousness caused the Puritans to overlook Chillingworth’s evil identity and thus enabled dark powers to live amidst their society, Dimmesdale’s hindsight is able to destroy them. Hawthorne seems to suggest that the Puritan way of living and believing does not lead to the salvation wished for. Their strictness and intolerance of variant forms of faith or individualization lead to an inevitable violation of their self-imposed boundaries. Thus, the moral of the novel seems to imply that effective salvation can only be achieved by accepting one’s sins, learning from them and thereby gaining knowledge and achieving personal growth. The omnipresence of sin in Puritan society is not only depicted by the colorchoice of their garments. Their enthusiasm for Dimmesdale’s sermons serves as another proof of their stained devoutness. The young Reverend is praised as “a miracle of holiness [and] . . . the mouth-piece of Heaven’s messages of wisdom, and rebuke, and love” (TSL 129). The predominant identification with the only character known to have a hidden secret of guilt, hints at the presence of concealed sins within all members of the congregation. Conversely, Dimmesdale’s inner conflicts induce his ability to empathize. He cannot publically confess his transgression, but this secrecy “[gives] him sympathies so intimate with the sinful brotherhood of mankind; so that his heart vibrated in unison with theirs” (TSL 129). Perceived by his congregation as rather a token of devoutness and spiritual guidance, he is less apprehended as an actual person. This results in a naïve and false interpretation of his deeds. His sermons Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

as well as his death are believed to be the work of a holy man “in order to impress on his admirers the mighty and mournful lesson, that, in the view of Infinite Purity, we are sinners all alike” (TSL 237, emphasis added). Assuming that Hawthorne did not use the term we randomly, it could be interpreted as the author’s subtle implication of the presence of sin in every human being, including himself and his readers. While Dimmesdale’s social reputation is consistent, Hester’s undergoes a noticeable transition. As has been pointed out in the analysis above, the scarlet letter 90 

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    initially serves as a shameful symbol of Hester’s transgression. It constantly reminds herself and the villagers of her sinful deed and causes her physical and mental pain. In the realms of nature, she is introduced to the idea of escaping her present situation by fleeing across the ocean to a better and carefree life in England. Nevertheless, she returns to Puritan Boston in the end. Like her cottage, she is living between the freedom of nature and the strictness of society, but is ultimately rooted in Boston soil. Her return demonstrates her personal strength, since she does not escape the source of her burden but confronts the Puritan society with her otherness. Back in New England, Hester’s reputation within society grows and the shameful meaning of the scarlet letter vanishes. She helps those in need and especially women who suffer from “recurring trials of wounded, wasted, wronged, misplaced, or erring and sinful passion, – or with the dreary burden of a heart unyielded, because unvalued and unsought” (TSL 240-41) seek her advice. Similar to the significance of Hester’s return to Boston is her refusal to take off her scarlet letter when offered to do so as the token has become a symbol of her personal identity. She has accepted her sinful past and has grown with it, developing into an individual. Eradicating this important part of her character would thus symbolize the removal of a crucial event of her past which shaped her identity. Furthermore, it would signify her acknowledgement to the initial intention of the scarlet letter as a stigma. In essence, she resembles Hawthorne himself, as both cannot part from their personal or their family’s history and have to face the encumbrance of sin day by day. They live a predominantly secluded life and eventually try to please their fellow citizens with their works of art – be it Hester’s needlework or Hawthorne’s works of literature. The author’s sympathy or even identification with his protagonist is emphasized by Hester’s significance for the overall moral message of The Scarlet Letter. In the course of the story, Hester becomes a model of the fight for true love, women’s Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

rights, and the freedom of individuality, and can therefore be seen as a fictional counterpart to Anne Hutchinson. In the novel, Hester’s tombstone and Hutchinson’s rose-bush embody the immortality of the ideas they stood for. It can be concluded that Hawthorne meant their legacy to serve as a gleam of light and hope in the darkness of rigid Puritanism and will someday illuminate society. In unity with the grass and moss imagery, these tokens are probably the strongest devices in Hawthorne’s

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intended moral teaching. While Puritanism is too stern and probably too unrealistic to survive, (human) nature will prevail. Just as the scarlet letter, Pearl is an irremovable part of Hester’s identity. As the incarnation of the token and a result of passion, Pearl unites the Puritan concept of sin and the vigorous force of love. The preceding analysis has shown that the illegitimate child is more of a symbol than an actual character. As such, she is more powerful and influential than the scarlet letter itself. Pearl has been associated with several elements of wild nature. She has been compared to a bird, a wild flower, a babbling brook, sunshine, and fire. Her importance for the story emphasizes the subordination of human law, signified by the Puritan punishment of the scarlet letter, when compared to the signs and forces of God and nature. Being an innocent child, independent from any human law, Pearl seems to be the only character in the novel to perceive events and people unbiased. As the sunlight of truth, she reveals the true personality of Puritans by associating them with dark, old plants and exposing the distorted perception of truth in the Governor’s armor. For her mother and father, she is both a punishment and a blessing. Although she constantly reminds them of their transgression, she also guides them to their salvation. She saves her mother from joining the evil forces and prompts Dimmesdale to his confession. Pearl is the driving force behind her parents’ personal growth. As a symbol of their hidden secret she continuously points at their past and urges them to deal with it. After Dimmesdale’s acknowledgement of sin – and Pearl, – she is no longer needed as a symbol, since her purpose as such has been complied. She becomes a full human being, and, freed from all services to her parents and society, she leaves the New England setting and is of no further importance to the plot. 4.3.10 The Letter Concluded The analysis of The Scarlet Letter has shown that Hawthorne uses symbols of nature Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

in order to emphasize important traits of his fictional characters. The latter, in turn, stand for general human traits. The reader learns just as much about the past lives and inner conflicts of the characters to be able to understand and interpret their social interactions. Thus, it is not them as persons who are central to the novel but rather their representation of “traits and devices of our general human nature, under the stress of the given conditions” (J. Hawthorne, “TSL: A Review”). The diverse characters offer various possibilities of dealing with their personal guilt in this “parable of the soul’s life in sin” (Woodberry, “The Dark Side of the Truth” 16). By providing 92 

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    a different end for each character, Hawthorne judges each individual’s chosen way. Chillingworth, who seeks revenge instead of salvation, dies. Pearl, the positive counterpart of Chillingworth, also vanishes from the plot but leads a happy life abroad, away from the Puritan society, to which she had never really belonged and had criticized her entire life. Strengthened with the powers of nature and love, she is able to free herself from the burden of overzealousness and false devotion. Dimmesdale, on the contrary, tries to answer society’s expectations and hides his guilt. Nevertheless, this notion enabled him to empathize with his hypocritical congregation. At the end, he is able to unveil his guilt and states an example for the universality of sin, although misinterpreted by the villagers. The Puritans are the true victims of their own “stubborn fidelity” (TSL 237), incapable of accepting the sinfulness of all human beings, they inhibit themselves from achieving insight, knowledge and personal growth. Hawthorne seems to argue that this kind of faith will not prevail very long, as it is based on an irrational and unrealistic image of mankind. Hester, who does not escape this society and returns from England, serves as the gleam of light at the end of the dark Puritan tunnel. Her convictions and deeds are exemplary but disconcerting in the Bostonian environment and will not be fully appreciated until “the world [has] grown ripe for it” (TSL 241). Hester can be regarded as the center of the whole novel. Not only her resemblance to the author himself but her destiny as the only character that serves as an inspiring model in the midst of the darkness of society, make her stand out. She is the protagonist of the novel and the personification of its moral intent. It could be argued that the remaining characters of The Scarlet Letter are just subsidiary and provide the contrast needed to enhance the lasting impression of Hester’s emblematic personality. Overall, The Scarlet Letter might be seen as a request for individuality – not only referring to religion but life in general. Accepting the course of history, using it Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

to learn from the past, and shaping one’s own identity based hereupon, seems to be the central lesson of this novel. The only two characters to have fully accepted their faith are Hester and Pearl. These two heroines serve as an example for the behavior and attitude aimed for by Hawthorne. This conclusion has great significance for the explanation for Hawthorne’s viewpoint concerning his ancestors. If he applied the moral he introduced in his most famed work to himself, it can be assumed that he did

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not feel haunted by his past, but used it to further his own identity – and create his literary achievements.

4.4 The Scarlet Letter of Young Goodman Brown The analyses of “Young Goodman Brown” and The Scarlet Letter have shown that both share some common aspects and beliefs. Nevertheless, their morals diverge slightly from each other. In order to gain a considerable insight into Hawthorne’s use of nature symbolism, his attitude towards Puritanism and religion in general, as well as the overall moral to be drawn from these works, both have to be collated according to their quintessences. The following comparison will particularly focus on the two main characters, Hester Prynne and young goodman Brown, as their stories and fates exemplify the overall moral. The two plots are set in Puritan New England but differ in time and place. While The Scarlet Letter tells the story of first-generation settlers of the mid-17th century (TSL 29), the events of “Young Goodman Brown” can approximately be dated to the beginning of the 18th century, since the protagonist’s father had fought in King Philip’s War (1675-1676). Thus, the two stories are two generations apart, during which colonial faith strengthened and eventually transformed into “the blackest shade of Puritanism” (TSL 212). The choice of location additionally underlines the increase of overzealousness and austerity. The Scarlet Letter is set in Boston, a town which is predominantly known for its high educational standards with Puritanfounded Harvard University in its Greater Area. “Young Goodman Brown,” on the contrary, takes place in Salem, a city whose name is still strongly interwoven with the remembrance of the Witch Trials, one of the best-known Puritan misdeeds. The settings themselves already imply the differences between the stories, which will now be analyzed in further detail.

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In both of Hawthorne’s works, Puritanism is criticized but is depicted slightly differently. In The Scarlet Letter, the first generation settlers are described as being devout but as not having yet reached the height of overzealousness and hypocrisy, which is to be found in the society of “Young Goodman Brown.” The gleam of hope, which is symbolized by Hester, has not been acknowledged in the course of history and the colonists have developed a stricter and less tolerant form of Puritanism instead. While the society of The Scarlet Letter was not able to identify the evil in their midst and veiled their personal sin from others, the villagers of “Young Goodman 94 

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    Brown” recognize the devil at first sight and congregate in the forest for a joined black mass. Thus, the more Puritans developed an intolerance of divergent beliefs and sin; the more they were drawn to it, unable to fulfill their own unrealistic goals. The society of the Elect has become a society of hypocrites. As the reader is inclined to sympathize with the two protagonists, Hawthorne’s criticism of the negative development of Puritanism becomes evident. The most apparent difference between Hester Prynne and young goodman Brown is their attitude towards sin. Brown, being the sole member of his society to have resisted the devil’s temptation, appears to be the complete opposite of Hester, who is the only publically known Bostonian sinner. Yet, both have infringed on the laws of society, even if stated secretly in the case of Brown. Despite their opposing initial situations, both protagonists are therefore secluded from society. Referring to The Scarlet Letter, Gordon Roper states that “any sin will be followed by isolation, isolation from one’s immediate society, or from one’s substantial self, or from one’s God” (18). Taking into account that Brown’s society is hypocritical and basing its beliefs strongly on the potency of community, his dissent to the common proceedings can be seen as sin. However, their handling of the situation is strikingly different. Hester is able to overcome the past, learn from it, and eventually grows into a respected individual. Brown on the contrary, is not able to cope with the past. He is burdened with the experienced disappointment and incapable of digesting the hypocrisy of his forefathers and fellow villagers. While the latter stays separated from his “substantial self” (Roper 18) and is unable to regain his faith, Hester develops into a strong woman with a personal belief. The actual difference between them is further emphasized by the description of their graves. Brown has “no hopeful verse upon his tombstone, for his dying hour was gloom” (“YGB” 1272), whereas Hester’s epitaph is a symbol of hope for a better future. Thus, the change of attitude, signified by Hester’s scarlet letter, is the important factor Brown lacked. Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

By providing a negative and a positive example of coping with the past and guilt, Hawthorne has made a clear statement about his moral intention and – at the same time – revealed his personal attitude towards Puritanism and religion in general. He strongly criticizes Puritan overzealousness and intolerance and points to the fatal results of such behavior. Furthermore, he emphasizes the importance of overcoming the past and utilizing it for personal growth. Moreover, he illustrates the dangers of the prioritization of communal beliefs over the own ability to reflect and 95 

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evaluate, and thus stresses the significance of retaining one’s individuality. The preceding assumptions have shown that Hawthorne’s morals are not only restricted to the field of religion but are universally applicable to all aspects of life. The author chose the Puritan era as a setting for his social criticism in order to provide a certain time distance between his readers and the story. Without feeling directly accused, the audience might be more willing to reconsider their own moral values and behavior. The prudent decision to place the positive example of behavior, namely Hester, in a less prejudiced setting and its counterpart in the city which is mostly associated with Puritan misdeeds, is a further play with the reader’s consciousness. It is more likely that one will oppose the events taking place in Salem, while the educational center of New England is associated with knowledge and veracity. In order to convey both plot and moral, Hawthorne makes frequent use of nature symbols and uses these images to convey a better understanding of the characters’ psychological and moral states. Especially the forest as the antithesis to colonial civilization plays a dominant role in Boston and Salem. Following Puritan belief, it is shunned and feared, and provides a habitat for all evil forces: Satan or the Black Man, witches, and Native Americans. Within this realm, Hawthorne succeeds in creating a rather romantic or even transcendental understanding of nature (Abel 92). In both works, the trees and dimness of the forest serve as a hiding place, concealing the actual intentions from the eyes of society. Additionally, it provides a place of truth for both protagonists. However, while Brown is not able to overcome it, Hester and Dimmesdale embrace the possibility of being honest with themselves and each other in a place where human laws are ineffective. In the end, Brown decides to stay in the village, burdened by the reality nature had to offer. Hester chooses a life between the freedom of nature and the confinement of society, instead. For both characters, escape is not a satisfying option, however, Hester is the only one able to combine her sinful past and the revelations of nature in order to grow into a balanced individual. Copyright © 2013. Diplomica Verlag. All rights reserved.

The images provided by the forest, flowers, the ocean, and other natural objects, serve as a vehicle for Hawthorne’s moral. Under the veil of the Puritan fear and rejection of wilderness, the author presents a more positive concept of nature. Evidentially, he transferred his personal understanding of the untouched landscape into his stories, where it functions as a hiding place from society and reveals the truth which is hidden in civilization. The forest seems only dangerous to someone who is not willing to accept its capabilities and provides a place of tranquility and insight for 96 

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    those who are true to themselves and others. Introducing this intermixture of the Puritan, romantic, and transcendental concept of nature, Hawthorne touched the zeitgeist of his era. The perception of wilderness was currently in a “state of transition” (Nash 66), and the writer presented a proposition of the corresponding change of moral attitude in his works. Overall, it can be assumed that Hawthorne used his personal experiences and his own personality as a source of inspiration for his fictional writings. The three characteristics features, which have been pointed out in the course of his characterization, can be rediscovered in The Scarlet Letter and “Young Goodman Brown.” Like Hawthorne, Hester and Brown choose a secluded life from society as they are not content with the prevailing hypocritical practice of religion and communal life. The analyses have shown that both protagonists were Christians, who, similar to Hawthorne, were not able to attune their beliefs and religious practices to the society they belonged to. Many symbols found in both stories bear a Christian connotation. Together with the author’s lifelong study of the Puritan era in the US and his devotion to nature, Christian beliefs serve as a vehicle to convey his moral intention. In all three cases, Hawthorne used the current mindset of his fellow citizens, namely the beliefs and images based on the most prevalent religion, the ambiguous attitude towards Puritanism, and the contemporarily changing view on nature, in order to challenge his readers’ thoughts and opinions. He utilized his expertise as well as his personal convictions to encourage his audience to ponder on their own selves. Thus, the

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man and writer behind Hawthorne were probably not alike, but still inseparable.

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5 Conclusion The analysis of two of his most famous works has shown that Nathaniel Hawthorne used his expertise on Puritanism and his personal experiences in order to convey his moral teachings. Main elements of his character, such as his love of solitude, his frequent strolls through nature, and his lifelong preoccupation with the Puritan era, served as the basis for the creation of “Young Goodman Brown” and The Scarlet Letter. Throughout his life, Hawthorne preferred solitude over being amidst society. Secluded from the outside world, he was able to concentrate on his writing. Closely related to his segregation is the author’s devotion to nature. He felt secure and understood in the realms of wild land, probably even more than among his fellow members of society. It provided him with the harmony and strength needed to trigger his imagination and pursue his career. In the two works discussed, nature plays an equally important role as in the author’s own life. The forest enables the characters to gain insight and reveal the truth, which evokes diverse reactions. While Brown is not able to overcome his experiences, Hester uses the knowledge gained in the realms of nature to grow mentally and develop her identity as an individual, apart from the expectations of society. The positive example set by the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter bears considerable resemblance to Hawthorne’s own life. Like Hester, the author is able to utilize his past and uses it for his own good. Despite the opinion of various scholars, Hawthorne’s description of his novel’s heroine leads to the conclusion that he was not a Puritan himself but rather used his knowledge to underline his moral statement. It can be assumed that Hawthorne kept his religion private due to the fact that he disapproved of the joined forces of a community, which would lead to the neglect of an individual’s ability to thoroughly reflect and evaluate personal ethics and beliefs. Especially “Young Goodman Brown”

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and “The Custom House” have clearly shown that Hawthorne rejected his forefathers’ misdeeds and attributed them to the Puritan hypocrisy, being devout on the outside and sinners within. Hawthorne used his craftsmanship as “the prophet of symbolists” (Mabie qtd. in Turner 121) and turned the common knowledge about Puritanism, Christianity, and the concept of nature as “heathen wilderness” (“YGB” 1267) into his tools. As the perception of nature was on the verge of transition, the writer tried to introduce another change of mind. He created stories that would challenge his readers to think, 98 

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    being very clear about his symbolism (cf. TSL) but leaving room for interpretation. It is the subtle ambiguity that forced his audience to think for themselves and become the independent-minded individuals he wanted them to be. His moral teachings, set in 17th and 18th century New England and written in the 19th century of Hawthorne and his illustrious literary neighborhood, have not lost their relevance in the present. Over the course of time, people have learned from the mistakes of Puritanism, but the flaws of human nature that caused the Puritan misdeeds and most notably the Salem Witch Trials, are still detectable today; namely overzealousness and the intolerance of otherness. Therefore, his works have not lost their significance and account for his reputation as one of America’s most important authors: The “man of genius”

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(Poe, “Tale Writing” 21) that was Nathaniel Hawthorne.

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