Nathaniel Hawthorne, the widely-read American novelist, and short-story writer was noted for the fastidious storytelling, whereby he stands aloof from other story writers. One among the main features of his stories is that they were focused around New England, to which he had kept a fascination. His works are especially noted for the use of moral allegories tinted with Puritan inspiration and sharing the features of the great Romantic Movement, more specifically with the Dark Romanticism. His literary style also is notable with the absence of the character confrontation. In most of his writings, he wished to select the character’s inner struggle or a central theme than the conflict between two characters. One example of it is shown in his novel, ‘The Scarlet Letters’. The themes of his stories are more intrinsic and often picture the evil and sin of humanity, tend to convey some kind of moral messages, and promote psychological complexities. The American civil war also had exerted its influence on him and the same had shaded in his writings that were published at that time. As a writer, he moved away from formalism and tried to explore the realms of individual responsibility through which he focused on creative expression and man’s responsibility to the natural world. Sometimes he brought his readers to the pastures of the mysterious and disturbing world. Even when portraying the colorful side of human life, he remembered its dark side also. According to him, “in the depths of every heart there is a tomb and a dungeon, though the lights, the music, and revelry above may cause us to forget their existence.” (Merriman).
Loss of innocence is the very common theme found in most of the stories of Hawthorne. His famous story ‘Young Goodman Brown’ presents two themes; loss of innocence and coping with reality. The loss of innocence is that state in which one does not have the proper awareness about something horrible or does not believe in its existence. Brown and his wife are the innocents in the short story. Brown’s innocence is shown when he is tempted by the devil which makes him confirm that his ancestors have communed with the devil. It also informs him that the intention of the devils is good but their very nature is evil. Copying reality appears next to the loss of innocence. Most of Hawthorne’s characters wander through the unknown realms and Brown in ‘Young Goodman Brown’ proves it right. Brown wanders through the woods as symbolical to the projections of his unconsciousness. When the forest echoes back he realizes the futility of his journey. His mind and conflict create some kind of horror from which he cannot recover. Hawthorne has also made comments on the breakdown of human relationships, especially in the seventeenth century. He has expressed the wickedness of human life in his ‘Young Goodman Brown’ through the representation of the character Brown, who is tempted easily by the devil. Another notable feature generally found in the stories of Hawthorne is the concept of ‘the neutral territory.’ He imagines that the territory situates between the real world and the fairyland where the actual and the real meet. His religious beliefs sometimes have appeared in his stories that are written in the Puritan background. Sometimes he questioned morality, persuaded with his disbelief in heaven, hell, angels, or devils. The use of various symbols also is counted with the features of Hawthorne’s craftsmanship. E has used different symbols to speak of the themes of prostitution, sins, and human morality. To conclude, one can see different features in Hawthorne’s story writing that could keep alive its memories in the minds of the readers even after many years of its reading. Through the presentation of his themes like the loss of innocence, breakdown of morality, his concept of neutral territory, copying with reality, etc. he has imprinted his footsteps in the literary world and he will live in the minds of the readers wherever his stories exist.
Works Cited
Merriman, C D. Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Literature Network. Web.