Nathaniel Hawthorne is considered to be one of the most substantial writers of his time. His most famous novel, The Scarlet Letter truly originated Hawthorn’s version of romantic writing. It was this novel that also originated Hawthorne’s fame. Most of his works deal with or have some relation to Puritan times. The reason for the familiarity in his works is due to the fact that it seems to be influenced by his own Puritan ancestry. It was not until late in Hawthorne’s life that he received recognition.
To do this Hawthorne had to change his name and found his own stlye of writing that pertained to his life experiances. His romantic style might have been too modern for the times, but eventually he was understood. Hawthorne was known for his ability to create such a compelling story in just a few pages. Within these few pages, flows an elaborate and complex story. These stories flow so steadily and with such complexity that Hawthorne seems to create his own romantic style. He does this by incooperateing many different situations that keep the reader intuned to the story.
In many of his short stories there seems to be a character that is infatuated with a person or an object. The reason for Hawthorne creating stories like this could stem from his own experience with infactuation. Hawthorne was a very lonley person. He lived by himself for a long time until he married later in life. In the story, the main characters usually seem to spend a lot of time with or thinking about the objects of their infatuation. In these stories, the character goes through a series of psychological issues dealing with his infatuation.
An example of the psychological issues pertaining to infatuation is portrayed in Rappaccini’s Daughter. This work deals with a young man named Giovanni who is so blind by love that he becomes susceptible to deception. He is instantly mystified and enchanted by the beauty of Beatrice. She was a girl from the Italian village called Padua. Her father had once been a professor at the University of Padua, where Giovanni attended. Giovanni meets a professor named Baglioni who is very jealous of Rappaccini.
Giovanni is so love stricken that he is tricked by Baglioni and, poisons his love Beatrice. It is this style of writing that makes the stories seem romantic. The intensely, moral and psychological issues are the ingredients in a recipe that culminates romantic work. In another work by Hawthorne called, The Birthmark Aylmers devotion to science and his love for perfection, is a result of his downfall. His wife Georgiana was born with a large birthmark on her face. This birthmark seemed to be her only flaw but it was enough to drive Aylmer insane.
Aylmer is so in love with the idea of perfection that he winds up killing his wife. He kills her by trying to move her imperfection (the birthmark) from her face. The reason for her death is explained in a critical way. This birthmark was said to be where God had placed his hand on her. Once this birthmark was removed then God’s hand was gone and she died. Aylmer seems to be so infatuated with the idea of perfection that he does not consider the consequences of his actions. He was more concerned with the appearance of perfection in his wife then for her health.
Due to Aylmer’s actions he could be considered a person containing serious psychological issues. When doing this act he seems to be under a spell, mystified, and determined. This is also a prime example of Hawthorne’s definition of romance because it pertains to people dealing with their infactuation that in turn create tragedy. Hawthorne’s works could not be regarded as realistic because the things that are portrayed in these stories are like things seen in fairy tales. These occurrences could not actually happen in real life. He opens your mind to the pages of his works.
By creating fairy tale like stories he manages to expand your mind and make, you think about your own trials and tribulations. Often Hawthorne makes his villains very smart and witty. Although some of these work at first, seem to be based on reality when read in depth you realize that they are facetious. If these stories were regarded as reality then they would not have the same effects on the readers. A reader from Hawthorne’s time would not reflect on his work as much as a contemporary reader might. Sometimes we find that the stories that are the best are the ones that make you use your imagination.
For example, a movie called the Blair Witch Project, which contains some imagery, but majority of the scariness of the movie comes from your imagination. This is the same thing that Hawthorne accomplishes in his works. Hawthorne’s works have that ability to flow and progress with many different moral and psychological issues. He establishes an infatuation of some sort in most of his works. That stems from his actual dealings in life. His exuberantly detailed stories create a romantic style of writing that is only conducive to Nathaniel Hawthorne.