Challenging Puritan Thought? Nathaniel Hawthorne´s Nature Descriptions

1. Introduction:
The descriptions of nature in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short stories evoke an ambiguous impression. On the one hand, they occupy considerable space and therefore have to be regarded as essential parts of the story worth a close interpretation. The distinct attention for nature in Hawthorne’s work was instantly noticed by his contemporaries. A very early account is of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, whose poem “Hawthorne” cherishes the “tender undertone” in Hawthorne’s nature descriptions.(1)
On the other hand, the descriptions of nature are not really autonomous, but should rather be seen as background settings for the action. Nature, for example, provides the fitting surrounding for the protagonist who is just about to fall from grace (“Young Goodman Brown”), or it serves as a means of additional characterization (“The Gentle Boy” and “The Scarlet Letter”), or it is a realization of a moral message (“The Hollow of the Three Hills”).
Consequently, nature has an emblematic function, and its description can be regarded as a possibility to express a narrator’s emotional states of various kinds, which originate in the author’s own attitude to the action of the story.(2)
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1 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: “Hawthorne.” In: J. D. McClatchy: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Poems and Other Writings. New York, 2000. p. 474-5.
2 In her analysis of nature personification in The Scarlet Letter Janice B. Daniel finds that Hawthorne’s nature descriptions serve to provide “a disembodied voice [as] an effective device which allows the narrator to have differing perspectives.” Janice B. Daniel: “’Apples of the Thoughts and Fancies’: Nature as Narrator

Table of Contents

• Introduction:
  • The descriptions of nature in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short stories evoke an ambiguous impression.
  • On the other hand, the descriptions of nature are not really autonomous, but should rather be seen as background settings for the action.
  • Consequently, nature has an emblematic function, and its description can be regarded as a possibility to express a narrator's emotional states of various kinds, which originate in the author's own attitude to the action of the story.
• Argument.
  • In order to be able to analyze the descriptions of nature as means of providing the reader with the Puritan thought mentioned above, the analysis of the depiction nature in Hawthorne's short stories has to take closely into account the intellectual and historical background of Hawthorne: his Puritan inheritance as well as his continuous attempt to rid himself of it.
  • Additionally, the analysis has to include autobiographical elements in order to shed light on Hawthorne's technique of describing nature.
  • Consequently, since the descriptions of nature in Hawthorne's works to a certain degree fulfill the purpose of providing a controversial picture of Puritan thought, I deem it to be reasonable to ask the following questions:
• Sources
• Criticism.

Objectives and Key Themes

This paper examines the nature descriptions in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short stories, exploring their function and significance within the context of his Puritan heritage. The analysis aims to understand how Hawthorne's depictions of nature reflect and challenge Puritan thought, exploring the relationship between nature and culture, the artist and the moralist, and the evolving perception of nature in the 19th century.

• The role of nature descriptions in conveying and criticizing Puritan moral messages.
• The relationship between Hawthorne's artistic concepts of nature and his moral views.
• The evolution of nature from "wilderness" to "organic necessity of life" in Hawthorne's work.
• The influence of Puritan thought on Hawthorne's literary style and themes.
• The comparison of Hawthorne's nature descriptions to those of other American writers of the time, such as Washington Irving and Henry David Thoreau.

Chapter Summaries

The introduction establishes the ambiguous nature of Hawthorne's nature descriptions, highlighting their importance as essential parts of the story and their function as background settings and symbolic expressions. The author suggests that these descriptions reflect a struggle between culture and wilderness, the Puritan settlement and the surrounding forest. The argument section outlines the need to consider Hawthorne's Puritan inheritance and his personal experiences in order to fully understand his depictions of nature. The analysis will focus on exploring the extent to which Hawthorne's nature descriptions reflect and challenge Puritan thought, examining his artistic concepts and moral views in relation to the evolving perception of nature in the 19th century.

Keywords

This paper focuses on the key concepts of nature descriptions, Puritanism, culture and wilderness, artistic and moral views, American Romanticism, and the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, and Washington Irving. The analysis will delve into the themes of the evolving perception of nature, the relationship between artist and morality, and the impact of Puritan thought on American literature.

Details

• Hochschule: University of Massachusetts - Amherst (English Department)
• Veranstaltung: American Romanicism
• Note: A+
• Autor: Silja Rübsamen (Autor:in)
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2001
• Seiten: 23
• Katalognummer: V3086
• ISBN (eBook): 9783638118620
• Sprache: Englisch
• Schlagworte: Nathaniel Hawthorne Nature Puritanism American Romanticism environmentalism