Nathaniel Hawthorne is a recognized pen master in American literature. He worked in the era of romanticism and with his work he enriched it very much, making the novel genre popular.
Early life
The writer was born in 1804 in the city of Salem. His ancestors emigrated from England and settled pretty well in America. In particular, his great-great-grandfather was one of the leaders of the Massachusetts Bay colony. And the whole male line subsequently occupied rather high posts, including judicial ones. The famous witch trial in Salem was just led by the great-grandfather of the writer John Hawthorne.
Nathaniel was the son of a sea captain who died of a fever when the boy was four years old. His mother and two sisters remained in the care of relatives.
As a child, Hawthorne suffered a serious leg injury and remained lame for life.
At the age of twelve, Nathaniel and his family arrived in Maine, where he lived on a farm. Subsequently, he will often return thoughts in those days, missing the dense forests and the unimaginable silence of those places.
He returned to Salem to graduate from school there. From an early age he was attracted to literary activity, and he even independently released a newspaper filled with copyrighted works.
At the insistence of his uncle, Hawthorne Nathaniel entered Boudins College, which he graduated in 1825. Studying did not make much sense to him, especially since he was not going to become a lawyer, as his uncle wanted. Nathaniel was more and more in the clouds, dreaming of a career as a writer.
Creation
The writer always considered himself guilty of kinship with his Puritan ancestors, due to the decision of which many people were executed during the Salem process. He did his best to protect himself from kinship with them.
Many of his works against the background of past events are filled with guilt, and the theme of the sins of the ancestors is raised almost constantly.
His first novel, Fenshaw, was released in 1828, but failed. However, Hawthorne did not despair, he continued to create, wrote many short stories on mystical and fairy-tale themes, and released several collections of children's stories (including "Grandfather's Chair", "Book of Miracles").
Since his financial situation was very difficult, Nathaniel worked as an overseer at customs. To do this, he often had to be in Boston. The need for this disappeared after the release of his novel "Scarlet Letter".
The work caused a great resonance not only in American society, but also in Europe, at once making the name of Nathaniel Hawthorne famous.
The Scarlet Letter tells the story of Esther Prien, who became pregnant and gave birth to a baby while her husband was absent. No one knew if he was alive. Society was intolerant of the girl, condemned her and sentenced to civil execution. She was tied to a pillar and the letter “A” was embroidered on her clothes with red threads, which was a mark of her treason.
Soon, Esther's husband returned and, learning about what had happened, tried to find out who his rival was. It turned out to be a local young priest.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose books have always been distinguished by the seriousness of the social and psychological issues considered, was criticized by religious organizations, while readers and literary critics enthusiastically accepted the work.
Last years
For four years, Hawthorne Nathaniel lived in Europe, holding the post of ambassador. He traveled a lot on the continent, and returning to America, he was in the midst of the Civil War.
His friend Franklin Pierce, the former president of the country, was declared a traitor. It was believed that precisely because of his short-sighted activity, relations between the North and the South reached a decisive point.
And since Hawthorne Nathaniel dedicated a book to his friend, his reputation was also lost. And recent popularity has turned against him.
In recent years, Hawthorne suffered from severe pain in the abdomen. Despite this, he went with his friend Pierce to New Hampshire on an excursion. There, during a night stop, he died. This happened on May 19, 1864.
It is noteworthy that it was on this night that his eldest son, Julian, was initiated at the Harvard Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. All night he lay in a closed coffin blindfolded.
Personal life
In 1842, the writer married Sofia Peabody. Their marriage was very happy, despite the temperaments of both. The young people were very shy, Sofia was silent, Nathaniel was closed.
The couple had three children: daughters Una and Rose and son Julian.