Paper Example on A Gloomy Masterpiece: Exploring Nathaniel Hawthorne's Writing

INTRODUCTION

Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most famous American writers in history. He is best known for works such as The Scarlett Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. It is not an exaggeration when he is referred to as “the most valuable example of the American genius” (Levine 369). As a writer of short stories, Hawthorne found his niche in fictional stories. One of the most common traits of his works was the gloomy themes and dark stories. He was known for imposing a single moral on the story, though symbols and metaphors. One of Hawthorne’s stories that have such features is The May Pole of Mary Mount. The story follows a young couple, Edith and Edgar, on their wedding day. As is the culture of the Merry Mount residents, the couple had to exchange their vows under a Maypole before proceeding to make merry with the rest of the wedding attendees. However, that was not the case as their wedding was interrupted by Puritans, who cut down the Maypole and inflict punishment on the rest of the wedding attendees. Endicott, the leader of the puritans, decides to take Edgar and Edith, to live with the puritans. The May Pole of Mary Mount carries the dark, gloomy, and isolation themes that are characteristic of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing style as well as the negative characterization of the Puritans.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

SETTING

The dark and gloomy theme that is a characteristic of Hawthorne’s writing style is present in the setting of The May Pole of Mary Mount. The story is set in an isolated town of Mary Mount, whose closest neighbors happen to be the Puritans. Furthermore, the background information provided by the author indicates that the festivities of the resident of Merry Mount was an attempt to cheer themselves up due to the monotonous nature of life in the new world. There are also the Puritans who live a rather dull life devoid of any form of entertainment or excitement. The setting of a small wedding taking place in a small isolated town during sunset, next to a forest, gives a rather dull impression (Levine, 362-63). All these factors come together to paint a gloomy picture and create a somber mood among the readers. The isolation in the story did not do much to lighten the mood.

Isolated individuals and communities characterized Hawthorne’s stories. In the May Pole of Mary Mount, the village is in an isolated location. There are also isolated communities, such as the Puritans, who rarely interact with the Maypole worshippers. The isolated theme is one of the essential aspects of Hawthorne’s stories and helps to build the dark and gloomy mode. The isolation creates a lonely atmosphere that resonates throughout the stories and carries a certain sense of somberness. Although this is prevalent in Hawthorne’s style, it is not unique to him. Various writers rely on isolation to depict a dark and somber theme. The readers can easily connect with the dark theme when the characters are isolated because humans are social beings. The need for companionship and a sense of belonging is one that is enjoyed by all people. That is why in The May Pole of Mary Mount, several people come together to celebrate a union, hence giving them a sense of belonging and companionship. It also gives Hawthorne control to another aspect of the readers.

Hawthorne’s style allows him to control different aspects of the readers’ emotions and mood. His ability to include festivities and merry-making in a story without reducing or removing the gloomy atmosphere is one of the standout features of his writing. The reader can get immersed in the laughter and joy of the wedding, while still maintaining the somber mood as established in the setting. Furthermore, the sunset makes for a romantic scene, which promotes the romantic fictional writing for which he is known. The newlywed’s conversations and the less than a happy mood of the bride prevent the reader from becoming immersed in the festivities and serve as a remind the reader, that they are supposed to maintain a somber mood. However, the characters in the story are also a reflection of Hawthorne’s personal life.

CHARACTERIZATION AND EARLY LIFE

There are certain characters in The May Pole of Mary Mount that is common in Hawthorne’s other stories. For example, the Puritans are one of the characters that are present in the story and also present in Hawthorne’s other short stories, such as The Scarlett Letter. Hawthorne uses the Puritans’ lives to depict the dark and gloomy themes that are common in most of his stories. In The May Pole of Mary Mount, the Puritans happen to be the main antagonist, that come to disrupt a cheerful event. However, Hawthorne’s interest and the notion of Puritans might originate from his personal life and experience.

Hawthorne’s Puritan background is one of the main reasons for his interest in Puritans. According to Biography.com Editors, “Nathaniel Hawthorne’s life was steeped in the Puritan legacy” (par. 3). That shows that Hawthorne’s interest in the Puritan lifestyle is derived from his heritage, which has the Puritanism in it. Looking at the way he describes the Puritans and their lifestyle, shows someone has considerable knowledge of the inner workings of Puritan lifestyle. He describes it so vividly to the point that the reader can almost get a sense of the feelings and thoughts of the Puritans themselves. For example, in May Pole of Mary Mount, the author says, “Puritans, most dismal wretches, who said their prayers before daylight, and then wrought in the forest or in the cornfield, till evening made it prayer time again” (Levine, 364). Hawthorne’s vivid description of Puritans indicates that he had personal knowledge of the kind of life that these group of people lived, and he made sure to indicate it in his story. Nevertheless, the passage also indicates another aspect of Hawthorne’s literature.

Hawthorne’s stories give a negative perception of the Puritans. The fact that Hawthorne decided to use Puritans as antagonists in his stories is a reflection of a particular personal vendetta that he holds against them. Despite having Puritan roots, Hawthorne is always willing to portray Puritans in a negative image that characterizes them as dark and gloomy. For example, the passage discussed in the previous paragraph describes Puritans as “most dismal wretches” (Levine, 364). Hawthorne’s choice of words indicates Hawthorne’s prejudiced view towards Puritans rather than the Maypole worshippers, as indicated by Frank in his Collected Essays. According to Frank, “the most dismal wretches” are to be discounted by the readers as the prejudiced view of Maypole worshippers towards the Puritans (38-39). However, the stories that Hawthorn created were reflections of his life as a Puritan descendant, which means portrayals of their lives, such as in The May Pole of Mary Mount, is the notion he holds towards Puritan life.

Furthermore, his critical illustration of puritan life and practices in the majority of his stories is further proof that Hawthorne had a problem accepting the Puritan way of life. This argument is shared by Rowshanzamir, who says that “much more meticulous look at his works suggests that he shared the same mental problems with his predecessors regarding Puritan ideals and beliefs” (77). Also, Biography.com Editors indicate that Hawthorne added ‘w’ in his name in an attempt to distance himself from his Puritan heritage that was present through the Hathorne’s. One of his forefathers was John Harthorne, who was one of the judges in the 1692 Salem Witch trials (Biography. Com Editors, par. 3). Such controversies might some of the reasons that Hawthorne tried to distance himself from his Puritan heritage.

Hawthorne’s characterization of the Puritan civilization as being isolated from other cultures is also a representation of his decision to isolate himself from his family background. This research work has discussed isolationism as an essential theme in The May Pole of Mary Mount and other Hawthorne stories. The isolation is common among the Puritans who choose to live by themselves, until when they decide to interrupt the wedding. However, that aspect of the story is reminiscent of Hawthorne’s life, mainly because he has Puritan heritage. The Puritans’ decision to isolate themselves is almost similar to his life story as a Puritan, who decided to distance himself from the rest of his Puritan background. It, therefore, seems that part of Hawthorne’s writing style involves interweaving his personal life with the story.

CONCLUSION

It seems that one of the things that allowed Nathaniel Hawthorne to have full command of his literature was his tendency to blur the line between personal life experiences and fictional stories. Despite being a fictional story, The May Pole of Mary Mount carries much reality, especially from Hawthorne’s personal experience. Interweaving his personal life with the stories gives him the ability to get into character and connect with readers in a way that efficiently communicates his message. The personal connection is also beneficial in portraying his dark romance theme that so standard in most of his writings. Reading Hawthorne’s story, the reader cannot help it but feel like they are a real-life account of events that happened to someone. The truth is that a few of those events happened to someone; and that someone was him. These are some of the features that made Hawthorne’s literature to most readers.

Works Cited

Biography.com Editors. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 12 Mar. 2020, www.biography.com/writer/nathaniel-hawthorne.

Leavis, Queenie Dorothy. 2: The American Novel and Reflections on the European Novel. 1st ed., vol. 2, Cambridge University Press, 1985.

Levine , Robert S. The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Volume B (1820-1865). Edited by Michael A. Elliott et al., 9th ed., B, W. W. Norton & Company, 2017.

Rowshanzamir, Mohsen Mahmoud. “Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Style of Moral Narration.” English Language and Literature Studies 2.2 (2012): 76.