Online Encyclopedia

bear away. The last of the Hathornes with whom we are concerned was a son of this sturdy old privateer, Nathaniel Hathorne. He was born in 1776, and about the beginning of the 19th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century married See also:

MISS

Miss See also:

Elizabeth See also:

Clarke See also:

MANNING, HENRY EDWARD (1808-1892)

Manning, a daughter of See also:

Richard Manning of Salem, whose ancestors emigrated to See also:

AMERICA

America about fifty years after the arrival of William Hathorne. See also:

Young Nathaniel took his hereditary See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place before the See also:

mast, passed from the forecastle to the See also:

CABIN

cabin, made voyages to the See also:

East and See also:

West Indies, See also:

Brazil and See also:

Africa, and finally died of See also:

FEVER (Lat. febris, connected with fervere, to burn)

fever at Surinam, in the See also:

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring of 18o8.

He was the father of three See also:

CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO

children, the second of whom was the subject of this See also:

ARTICLE (from Lat. articulus, a joint)

article. The See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of the family name was changed by the latter to " Hawthorne " in his early manhood. After the death of her See also:

HUSBAND

husband Mrs Hawthorne removed to the See also:

house of her father with her little family of children. Of the boyhood of Nathaniel no particulars have reached us, except that he was fond of taking See also:

long walks alone, and that he used to declare to his See also:

MOTHER

mother that he would go to sea some time and would never return. Among the books that he is known to have read as a See also:

child were See also:

SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM (1564-1616)

Shakespeare, See also:

Milton, See also:

Pope and See also:

Thomson, The See also:

Castle of Indolence being an especial favourite. In the autumn of 1818 his mother removed to See also:

RAYMOND, HENRY JARVIS (1820-1869)

Raymond, a town in See also:

Cumberland See also:

COUNTY (through Norm. Fr. comae, cf. O. Fr. cunte, conk', Mod. Fr. comae, from Lat. comitatus, cf. Ital. comitato, Prov. comtat; see COUNT)

county, Maine, where his See also:

UNCLE

uncle, Richard Manning, had built a large and ambitious dwelling. Here the lad resumed his solitary walks, exchanging the narrow streets of Salem for the boundless, primeval See also:

WILDERNESS

wilderness, and its sluggish See also:

HARBOUR (from M.E. hereberge, here, an army; cf. Ger. Heer and -beorg, protection or shelter. Other early forms in English were herberwe and haiborow, as seen in various place names, such as Market Harborough.. The French auberge, an inn, derived through

harbour for the fresh See also:

bright See also:

WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters of Sebago See also:

lake. He roamed the See also:

woods by See also:

day, with his See also:

gun and See also:

rod, and in the moonlight nights of See also:

winter skated upon the lake alone till midnight. When he found himself away from See also:

home, and wearied with his exercise, he took See also:

REFUGE

refuge in a See also:

LOG (a word of uncertain etymological origin,possibly onomatopoeic; the New English Dictionary rejects the derivation from Norwegian lag, a fallen tree)

log cabin where See also:

HALF

half a See also:

tree would be burning upon the See also:

HEARTH (a word which appears in various forms in several Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch haard, German Herd, in the sense of " floor ")

hearth. He had by this time acquired a See also:

TASTE (from Lat. taxare, to touch sharply; tangere, to touch)

taste for See also:

writing, that showed itself in a little See also:

BLANK (from the Fr. blanc, white)

blank-See also:

BOOK

book, in which he jotted down his woodland adventures and feelings, and which was remarkable for See also:

minute observation and See also:

NICE

nice See also:

PERCEPTION (from Lat. percipere, to perceive)

perception of nature. After a See also:

YEAR

year's See also:

RESIDENCE (Latin residere, to remain behind, to dwell, reside)

residence at Raymond, Nathaniel returned to Salem in order to prepare for See also:

COLLEGE (Collegium)

college. He amused himself by See also:

PUBLISHING

publishing a See also:

MANUSCRIPT

manuscript periodical, which he called the Spectator, and which displayed considerable vivacity and See also:

TALENT (Lat. talentum, adaptation of Gr. TaXavrov, balance, ! Recollections of a First Visit to the Alps (1841); Vacation Rambles weight, from root raX-, to lift, as in rXi vac, to bear, 1-aXas, and Thoughts, comprising recollections of three Continental

talent.

He speculated upon the profession that he would follow, with a sort of prophetic insight into his future. " I do not want to be a See also:

DOCTOR (Lat. for " teacher ")

doctor and live by men's diseases," he wrote to his mother, " nor a See also:

MINISTER (Lat. minister, servant)

minister to live by their sins, nor a lawyer and live by their quarrels. So I See also:

don't see that there is anything left for me but to be an author. How would you like some day to see a whole shelf full of books, written by your son, with ` Hawthorne's See also:

WORKS

Works' printed on their backs?" Nathaniel entered See also:

BOWDOIN, JAMES (1726—1790)

Bowdoin College, See also:

Brunswick, Maine, in the autumn of 1821, where he became acquainted with two students who were destined to distinction—See also:

Henry W. See also:

LONGFELLOW, HENRY WADSWORTH (1807-1882)

Longfellow and See also:

Franklin See also:

PIERCE, FRANKLIN (1804—1869)

Pierce. He was an excellent classical See also:

SCHOLAR, SCHOLARSHIP

scholar, his Latin compositions, even in his freshman year, being remark-able for their elegance, while his See also:

Greek (which was less) was good. He made graceful See also:

TRANSLATIONS

translations from the See also:

ROMAN

Roman poets, and wrote several See also:

ENGLISH

English poems which were creditable to him. After See also:

GRADUATION (see also GRADUATE)

graduation three years later (1825) he returned to Salem, and to a See also:

LIFE

life of See also:

ISOLATION

isolation. He devoted his mornings to study, his afternoons to writing, and his evenings to long walks along the rocky coast. He was scarcely known by sight to his towns-men, and he held so little communication with the members of his own family that his meals were frequently left at his locked See also:

DOOR (corresponding to the Gr. Bbpa,. Lat. fores or valvae; the English word, with other forms common in allied languages, comes from the same Indo-European stem as the Gr. Obpa and Lat. fares)

door. He wrote largely, but destroyed many of his See also:

MANUSCRIPTS

manuscripts, his taste was so difficult to please. He thought well enough, however, of one of his compositions to See also:

print it anonymously in 1828.

A crude melodramatic See also:

story, entitled See also:

FANSHAWE, SIR RICHARD

Fanshawe, it was unworthy even of his immature See also:

POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers, and should never have been rescued from the oblivion which speedily overtook it. The name of Nathaniel Hawthorne finally became known to his countrymen as a writer in The Token, a See also:

HOLIDAY

holiday See also:

ANNUAL

annual which was commenced in 1828 by Mr S. G. See also:

Goodrich (better known as "See also:

Peter Parley "), by whom it was conducted for fourteen years. This forgotten publication numbered among its contributors most of the prominent American writers of the time, none of whom appear to have added to their reputation in its pages, except the least popular of all—Hawthorne, who was for years the obscurest man of letters in America, though he gradually made admirers in a quiet way. His first public recognition came from England, where his See also:

GENIUS (from Lat. genere, gignere)

genius was discovered in 1835 by Henry F. See also:

Chorley, one of the editors of the See also:

ATHENAEUM

Athenaeum, in which he copied three of Hawthorne's most characteristic papers from The Token. He had but little encouragement to continue in literature, for Mr Goodrich was so much more a publisher than an author that he paid him wretchedly for his contributions, and still more wretchedly for his See also:

WORK

work upon an American See also:

MAGAZINE

Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge, which he persuaded him to edit. This author-publisher consented, however, at a later See also:

period (1837) to bring out a collection of Hawthorne's writings under the See also:

TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title of Twice-told Tales. A moderate edition was got rid of, but the See also:

GREAT

great See also:

BODY

body of the See also:

READING

reading public ignored the book altogether. It was generously reviewed in the See also:

North American See also:

REVIEW (Fr. revue, from revoir, to see again, Lat. re and videre)

Review by his college friend Longfellow, who said it came from the See also:

hand of a man of genius, and praised it for the exceeding beauty of its See also:

style, which was as clear as See also:

RUNNING

running waters. The want of pecuniary success which had so far attended his authorship led Hawthorne to accept a situation which was tendered him by See also:

George See also:

Bancroft, the historian, See also:

COLLECTOR

collector of the See also:

PORT

port of Boston under the Democratic See also:

RULE

rule of See also:

PRESIDENT (Fr. president, from Lat. praesidens, post-Augustan Lat. for praeses, director, ruler, from praesidere, to sit in front of, preside)

President See also:

Van Buren.

He was appointed a weigher in the See also:

CUSTOM (from O. Fr. costume, costume or coustume; Low Lat. costuma, a shortened form of consuetudo)

custom-house at a See also:

SALARY

salary of about $1200 a year, and entered upon the duties of his See also:

OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office, which consisted for the most part in measuring See also:

COAL

coal, See also:

salt and other bulky commodities on See also:

FOREIGN

foreign vessels. It was irksome employment, but faithfully performed for two years, when he was superseded through a change in the See also:

NATIONAL

national See also:

ADMINISTRATION (Lat. administrare, to serve)

administration. See also:

MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

Master of himself once more, he returned to Salem, where he remained until the spring of 1841, when he wrote a collection of children's stories entitled Grandfather's See also:

CHAIR (in. Mid. Eng. chcere, through O. Fr. chaire or chaiere, from Lat. cathedra, later caledra, Gr. xaOi3pa, seat, cf. "cathedral"; the modern Fr. form chaise, a chair, has been adopted in English with a particular meaning as a form of carriage; chaire

Chair, and joined an See also:

INDUSTRIAL

industrial association at West See also:

ROXBURY

Roxbury, Mass. See also:

BROOK

Brook See also:

FARM

Farm, as it was called, was a social See also:

UTOPIA

Utopia, composed of a number of advanced thinkers, whose See also:

OBJECT

object was so to distribute See also:

MANUAL

manual labour as to give its members time for intellectual culture. The See also:

SCHEME (Lat. schema, Gr. oxfjya, figure, form, from the root axe, seen in exeiv, to have, hold, to be of such shape, form, &c.)

scheme worked admirably—on See also:

paper; but it was suited neither to the temperament nor the taste of Hawthorne, and after trying it patiently for nearly a year he returned to the everyday life of mankind. One of Hawthorne's earliest admirers was Miss See also:

SOPHIA (1630-1714)

Sophia See also:

Peabody, a See also:

LADY (0. Eng. hlaefdige, Mid. Eng. ldfdi, lavedi; the first part of the word is hldf, loaf, bread, as in the corresponding hldford, lord; the second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, to knead, seen also in " dough "; the sense development fr

lady of Salem, whom he married in the summer of 1842. He made himself a new home in an old See also:

MANSE (Med. Lat. manse, manses or mansum, from manere, to dwell, remain)

manse, at See also:

Concord, Mass., situated on historic ground, in sight of an old revolutionary battlefield, and devoted himself diligently to literature. He was known to the few by his Twice-told Tales, and to the many by his papers in the Democratic Review. He published in 1842 a further portion of Grandfather's Chair, and also a second See also:

VOLUME

volume of Twice-told Tales. He also edited, (luring 1845, the See also:

AFRICAN

African See also:

JOURNALS

Journals of Horatio See also:

BRIDGE

Bridge, an officer of the See also:

NAVY

navy, who had been at college with him; and in the following year he published in two volumes a collection of his later writings, under the title of Mosses from an Old Manse. After a residence of nearly four years at Concord, Hawthorne returned to Salem, having been appointed surveyor of the custom-house of that port by a new Democratic administration. He filled the duties of this position until the incoming of the Whig administration again led to his retirement.

Ile seems tohave written little during his See also:

OFFICIAL (Late Lat. QJicialis, for class. Lat. apparitor, from officium, office, duty)

official See also:

TERM

term, but, as he had leisure enough and to spare, he read much, and pondered over subjects for future stories. His next work, The See also:

SCARLET

Scarlet See also:

LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

Letter, which was begun after his removal from the custom-house, was published in 185o. If there had been any doubt of his genius before, it was settled for ever by this powerful See also:

ROMANCE

romance. Shortly after the publication of The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne removed from Salem to See also:

LENOX

Lenox, See also:

Berkshire, Mass., where he wrote The House of the Seven Gables (1851) and The Wonder-Book (1851). From Lenox he removed to West See also:

Newton, near Boston, Mass., where he wrote The Blithedale Romance (1852) and The See also:

SNOW (in O. Eng. sndw; a common Indo-European word; cf. in Teutonic languages, Ger. Schnee, Du. sneeuw; in Slavonic snieg', Lith. snegas; Gr. vi4a, Lat. nix, nivis, whence the Romanic forms, Ital. neve, Fr. neige, &c.; Ir. and Gael. sneachd; the original

Snow See also:

IMAGE (Lat. imago, perhaps from the same root as imitari, copy, imitate)

Image and other Twice-told Tales (1852). In the spring of 1852 he removed back to Concord, where he See also:

PURCHASED

purchased an old house which he called The Wayside, and where he wrote a Life of Franklin Pierce (1852) and Tanglewood Tales (1853). Mr Pierce was the Democratic See also:

CANDIDATE

candidate for the See also:

PRESIDENCY

presidency, and it was only at his urgent solicitation that Hawthorne consented to become his biographer. He declared that he would accept no office in See also:

case he were elected, lest it might See also:

COMPROMISE (pronounced compromize; through Fr. from Lat. compromittere)

compromise him; but his friends gave him such weighty reasons for reconsidering his decision that he accepted the consulate at See also:

Liverpool, which was understood to be one of the best gifts at the disposal of the president. Hawthorne departed for See also:

EUROPE

Europe in the summer of 1853, and returned to the See also:

UNITED

United States in the summer of 186o. Of the seven years which he passed in Europe five were spent in attending to the duties of his consulate at Liverpool, and in little journeys to See also:

Scotland, the Lakes and elsewhere, and the remaining two in See also:

France and See also:

Italy. They were quiet and uneventful, coloured by observation and reflection, as his See also:

note-books show, but productive of only one elaborate work, Transformation, or The See also:

MARBLE (from Lat. marmor, Gr. pApµapos, shining stone)

Marble Faun, which he sketched out during his residence in Italy, and prepared for the See also:

PRESS (through Fr. presse from Lat. pressare, frequentative of premere, to crush, squeeze, press)

press at See also:

LEAMINGTON

Leamington, England, whence it was despatched to America and published in 186o. Hawthorne took up his See also:

ABODE (from " abide," to dwell, properly " to wait for ," to bide)

abode at The Wayside, not much richer than when he left it, and sat down at his See also:

DESK (from Lat. discus, quoit, in med. sense of " table," cf. " dish " and Ger. Tisch, table, from same source)

desk once more with a heavy See also:

heart.

He was surrounded by the throes of a great See also:

CIVIL

civil See also:

war, and the See also:

POLITICAL

political party with which he had always acted was under a See also:

CLOUD (from the same root, if not the same word, as " clod," a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages for a mass or lump; it is first applied in the usual sense in the late 13th century; the Anglo-Saxon chid is only used in the sense of " a ma

cloud. His friend ex-President Pierce was stigmatized as a traitor, and when Hawthorne dedicated his next book to him—a volume of English impressions entitled Our Old Home (1863)—it was at the See also:

RISK

risk of his own popularity. His See also:

PEN (Lat. penna, a feather, pen)

pen was soon to be laid aside for ever; for, with the exception of the unfinished story of Septimius See also:

Felton, which was published after his death by his daughter Una (1872), and the fragment! of The Dolliver Romance, the beginning of which was published in the See also:

ATLANTIC

Atlantic Monthly in July 1864, he wrote no more. His See also:

HEALTH

health gradually declined, his See also:

HAIR (a word common to Teutonic languages)

hair See also:

GREW, NEHEMIAH (1641-1712)

grew See also:

white as snow, and the once stalwart figure that in early manhood flashed along the See also:

AIRY, SIR GEORGE BIDDELL (1801-1892)

airy cliffs and glittering sands sauntered idly on the little See also:

hill behind his house. In the beginning of See also:

APRIL

April 1864 he made a See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short See also:

SOUTHERN

southern tour with his publisher Mr William D.See also:

TICKNOR, GEORGE (1791—1871)

Ticknor, and was benefited by the change of See also:

SCENE (Fr. scene, Lat. scaena, Gr. oflvil, a tent or booth, a stage or scene)

scene until he reached See also:

PHILADELPHIA

Philadelphia, where he was shocked by the sudden death of Mr Ticknor. He returned to The Wayside, and after a short See also:

SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season of See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest joined his friend ex-President Pierce. He died at See also:

Plymouth, New See also:

HAMPSHIRE (or COUNTY OF SOUTHAMPTON, abbreviated HANTS)

Hampshire, on the loth of May 1864, and five days later was buried at Sleepy Hollow, a beautiful See also:

CEMETERY (Gr. Korrsnri7pwv, from Hoiµav, to sleep)

cemetery at Concord, where he used to walk under the pines when he was living at the Old Manse, and where his ashes moulder under a See also:

SIMPLE

simple See also:

stone, inscribed with the single word " Hawthorne." The writings of Hawthorne are marked by subtle See also:

IMAGINATION

imagination, curious See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power of See also:

ANALYSIS (Gr. avci and Meta, to break up into parts)

analysis and exquisite purity of diction. He studied exceptional developments of See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character, and was fond of exploring See also:

SECRET (Lat. secretum, hidden, concealed)

secret crypts of emotion. His shorter stories are remarkable for originality and suggestiveness, and his larger ones are as See also:

ABSOLUTE (Lat. absolvere, to loose, set free)

absolute creations as See also:

HAMLET

Hamlet or Undine. Lacking the accomplishment of See also:

VERSE (from Lat. versus, literally a line or furrow drawn by turning the plough, from vertere, and afterwards signifying an arrangement of syllables into feet)

verse, he was in the highest sense a poet. His work is pervaded by a manly See also:

PERSONALITY (from Lat. persona, originally an actor's mask, from personare,1 to sound through)

personality, and by an almost feminine delicacy and gentleness. He inherited the gravity of his Puritan ancestors without their superstition, and learned in his solitary meditations a knowledge of the See also:

NIGHT

night-See also:

side of life which would have filled them with suspicion.

A profound anatomist of the heart, he was singularly See also:

FREE

free from morbidness, and in his darkest speculations concerning evil was robustly right-minded. He worshipped conscience with his intellectual as well as his moral nature; it is supreme in all he wrote. Besides these See also:

MENTAL

mental traits, he possessed the See also:

LITERARY

literary quality of style—a See also:

grace, a See also:

CHARM (through the Fr. from the Lat. carmen, a song)

charm, a perfection of See also:

LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language which no other American writer ever possessed in the same degree, and which places him among the great masters of English See also:

PROSE

prose. His See also:

COMPLETE

Complete Writings (22 vols., Boston, 1901) were edited, with introduction, including a bibliography, by H. S. Scudder. The See also:

standard authority for Hawthorne's See also:

BIOGRAPHY (from the Gr. (3ios, life, and yp&4 , writing)

biography is Nathaniel Hawthorne and his Wife (2 vols., Boston, 1884), by his son See also:

JULIAN (FLAVIUS CLAUDIUS JULIANUS) (331-363)

Julian Hawthorne (b. 1846), himself a novelist and critic of distinction. See also Henry See also:

James, Hawthorne (See also:

LONDON

London, 1879), in the " English Men of Letters " See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series; Julian Hawthorne, Hawthorne and his Circle (New See also:

York, 1903); a paper in R. H. See also:

Hutton's Essays Theological and Literary (London, 1871); George B. See also:

Smith, Poets and Novelists (London, 1875); Moncure D.

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.

» Add information or comments to this article.

Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.

Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
HAWTHORN (O. Eng. Naga-, hog-, or hege-thorn, i.e. ...

[next]
HAWTREY, CHARLES HENRY (1858— )