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13. Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter: A Romance (1850)

  • Melissa McFarland Pennell
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Handbook of the American Novel of the Nineteenth Century
Ein Kapitel aus dem Buch Handbook of the American Novel of the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

This essay introduces Hawthorne’s best-known novel through the contexts that shaped it, such as his family history and personal experiences, the nineteenth-century literary environment in which he worked, and his attempts to distinguish his work as ‘romance.’ In a close reading of the novel, this essay also provides background on Hawthorne’s depiction of seventeenth-century New England, highlights significant themes that arise in both “The Custom-House,” and in the novel proper, and explores the way in which Hawthorne structures his narrative to focus on character development and conflict, especially to establish tensions between the public perception of characters and what their private lives reveal. Drawing upon commentary on Hawthorne and his work, this essay closes with a discussion of some of the important critical and theoretical approaches to the novel that indicate why it continues to attract readers and to resonate within American literary and popular culture.

Abstract

This essay introduces Hawthorne’s best-known novel through the contexts that shaped it, such as his family history and personal experiences, the nineteenth-century literary environment in which he worked, and his attempts to distinguish his work as ‘romance.’ In a close reading of the novel, this essay also provides background on Hawthorne’s depiction of seventeenth-century New England, highlights significant themes that arise in both “The Custom-House,” and in the novel proper, and explores the way in which Hawthorne structures his narrative to focus on character development and conflict, especially to establish tensions between the public perception of characters and what their private lives reveal. Drawing upon commentary on Hawthorne and his work, this essay closes with a discussion of some of the important critical and theoretical approaches to the novel that indicate why it continues to attract readers and to resonate within American literary and popular culture.

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Editors’ Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. Reading the Nineteenth-Century Novel in the Present: An Introduction 1
  5. Part I
  6. 1. Sentimentalism 17
  7. 2. Romance and Gothic 34
  8. 3. Realism and Naturalism 58
  9. 4. Race and Citizenship 74
  10. 5. Media and Print Culture 91
  11. 6. Transnationalism and Transculturation 108
  12. 7. Nature and Environment 130
  13. Part II
  14. 8. Charles Brockden Brown, Wieland; or, The Transformation. An American Tale (1798) 157
  15. 9. James Fenimore Cooper, The Pioneers, or The Sources of the Susquehanna; a Descriptive Tale (1823) 174
  16. 10. Lydia Maria Child, Hobomok, A Tale of Early Times (1824) 197
  17. 11. Catharine Sedgwick, Hope Leslie, or, Early Times in the Massachusetts (1827) 215
  18. 12. Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) 230
  19. 13. Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter: A Romance (1850) 248
  20. 14. Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (1851) 266
  21. 15. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Or, Life Among the Lowly (1852) 281
  22. 16. William Wells Brown, Clotel; or the President’s Daughter (1853) 298
  23. 17. John Rollin Ridge, The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta, the Celebrated California Bandit (1854) 315
  24. 18. Martin Delany, Blake; Or, the Huts of America (1859–1862) 338
  25. 19. Elizabeth Stoddard, The Morgesons (1862) 358
  26. 20. John William De Forest, Miss Ravenel’s Conversion From Secession To Loyalty (1867) 378
  27. 21. Louisa May Alcott, Little Women (1868) 399
  28. 22. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, The Silent Partner (1871) 418
  29. 23. Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady (1881) 434
  30. 24. Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) 455
  31. 25. Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward 2000–1887 (1888) 474
  32. 26. William Dean Howells, A Hazard of New Fortunes (1890) 490
  33. 27. Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage (1895) 508
  34. 28. Sarah Orne Jewett, The Country of the Pointed Firs (1896) 525
  35. 29. Kate Chopin, The Awakening (1899) 543
  36. Index 559
  37. List of Contributors 575
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110481327-014

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Editors’ Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. Reading the Nineteenth-Century Novel in the Present: An Introduction 1
  5. Part I
  6. 1. Sentimentalism 17
  7. 2. Romance and Gothic 34
  8. 3. Realism and Naturalism 58
  9. 4. Race and Citizenship 74
  10. 5. Media and Print Culture 91
  11. 6. Transnationalism and Transculturation 108
  12. 7. Nature and Environment 130
  13. Part II
  14. 8. Charles Brockden Brown, Wieland; or, The Transformation. An American Tale (1798) 157
  15. 9. James Fenimore Cooper, The Pioneers, or The Sources of the Susquehanna; a Descriptive Tale (1823) 174
  16. 10. Lydia Maria Child, Hobomok, A Tale of Early Times (1824) 197
  17. 11. Catharine Sedgwick, Hope Leslie, or, Early Times in the Massachusetts (1827) 215
  18. 12. Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) 230
  19. 13. Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter: A Romance (1850) 248
  20. 14. Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (1851) 266
  21. 15. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Or, Life Among the Lowly (1852) 281
  22. 16. William Wells Brown, Clotel; or the President’s Daughter (1853) 298
  23. 17. John Rollin Ridge, The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta, the Celebrated California Bandit (1854) 315
  24. 18. Martin Delany, Blake; Or, the Huts of America (1859–1862) 338
  25. 19. Elizabeth Stoddard, The Morgesons (1862) 358
  26. 20. John William De Forest, Miss Ravenel’s Conversion From Secession To Loyalty (1867) 378
  27. 21. Louisa May Alcott, Little Women (1868) 399
  28. 22. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, The Silent Partner (1871) 418
  29. 23. Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady (1881) 434
  30. 24. Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) 455
  31. 25. Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward 2000–1887 (1888) 474
  32. 26. William Dean Howells, A Hazard of New Fortunes (1890) 490
  33. 27. Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage (1895) 508
  34. 28. Sarah Orne Jewett, The Country of the Pointed Firs (1896) 525
  35. 29. Kate Chopin, The Awakening (1899) 543
  36. Index 559
  37. List of Contributors 575
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Heruntergeladen am 22.10.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110481327-014/html
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