Nathaniel Hawthorne - One of The First American Romantic Authors

 Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer. His works of fiction are considered part of the Romantic Movement and, more specifically, Dark Romanticism. Hawthorne became friends with Herman Melville, who read his short story collection Mosses from an Old Manse. Herman Melville’s novel Moby-Dick (1851) is dedicated to Nathaniel Hawthorne.
"I have not lived but only dreamed about living." - Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Hawthorne's four major works are:

1.    The Scarlet Letter

2.    The House of the Seven Gables

3.    The Blithedale Romance

4.    The Marble Faun

The Scarlet Letter (1850)

The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is considered Hawthorne's magnum opus. It tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. In the Puritan town of Boston, a crowd gathers to witness the punishment of Hester Prynne, a young woman found guilty of adultery. She is required to wear a scarlet letter "A" on her dress to shame her. She must stand on the scaffold for three hours to be exposed to public humiliation. When asked, Hester refuses to reveal the father of her child.

While looking over the crowd, Hester notices her long-lost husband, who had been presumed lost at sea. Her husband angrily declares that the child's father should also be punished after understanding the situation from the crowd. He adopts a new name, Roger Chillingworth. Hester refuses to disclose the name of her lover to her husband as well.

After her release from prison, Hester settles in a cottage at the edge of town with her daughter, Pearl. Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister of the church, is treated by Roger Chillingworth, who is a physician by profession. Chillingworth suspects that Dimmesdale's illness is a result of some unconfessed guilt and believes Dimmesdale is Pearl’s father. One evening, Chillingworth discovers a symbol of shame on Dimmesdale's pale chest.

Tormented by his guilty conscience, Dimmesdale climbs the scaffold and admits his guilt but cannot do so publicly. Hester reveals the identity of her husband and his desire for revenge to Dimmesdale and convinces him to leave Boston in secret. On Election Day, Dimmesdale delivers his most inspired sermon. He then climbs the scaffold, confesses his sin, and dies in Hester's arms.

After several years, Hester returns to her cottage and resumes wearing the scarlet letter. When she dies, she is buried near Dimmesdale's grave, and they share a tombstone together.

(Compiled By Nowaz Sir & Edited By EEC)