Lecture 6 Nathaniel Hawthorne Herman MelvillevNathaniel Hawthorne (1804 1864)Nathaniel HawthornevNathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. vHe is a descendant of a judge in the Salem witch trials. vHe wrote many stories about the Puritans.vHawthorne wrote during the Romantic Period in American literature which lasted from 1830 to 1865. Salem, MABirthplace of Nathaniel HawthorneBoston, MASetting of The Scarlet LetterThe Scarlet Letter (1850) The House of the Seven Gables (1851) The Blithedale Romance (1852) The Marble Faun (1860) Twice-Told Tales (1837, 1851) Mosses from an Old Manse (1846, 1854) The Snow-Image, and Other Twice-Told Tales (1852) The Life of Franklin Pierce (1852) Chiefly About War Matters (1862) Our Old Home: A Series of English Sketches (1863) The Whole History of Grandfathers Chair (1840) A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys (1852) Tanglewood Tales (1853) Works of Nathaniel HawthorneReasons for Hawthornes Current Popularity v1. One of the most modern of writers, Hawthorne is relevant in theme and attitude. According to H. H. Waggoner, Hawthornes attitudes use irony, ambiguity, and paradox. v2. Hawthorne rounds off the puritan cycle in American writing - belief in the existence of an active evil (the devil) and in a sense of determinism (the concept of predestination). v3. Hawthornes use of psychological analysis (pre-Freudian) is of interest today. v4. In themes and style, Hawthornes writings look ahead to Henry James, William Faulkner, and Robert Penn Warren.v1. Alienation - a character is in a state of isolation because of self-cause, or societal cause, or a combination of both. v2. Initiation - involves the attempts of an alienated character to get rid of his isolated condition. v3. Problem of Guilt -a characters sense of guilt forced by the puritanical heritage or by society; also guilt vs. innocence. v4. Pride - Hawthorne treats pride as evil. He illustrates the following aspects of pride in various characters: physical pride (Robin), spiritual pride (Goodman Brown, Ethan Brand), and intellectual pride (Rappaccini). Major Themes in Hawthornes Fiction -IIv5. Puritan New England - used as a background and setting in many tales. v6. Italian background - especially in The Marble Faun. v7. Allegory - Hawthornes writing is allegorical, didactic and moralistic. v8. Other themes include individual vs. society, self-fulfillment vs. accommodation or frustration, hypocrisy vs. integrity, love vs. hate, exploitation vs. hurting, and fate vs. free will.Influences on Hawthorne v1. Salem - early childhood, later work at the Custom House. v2. Puritan family background - one of his forefathers was Judge Hawthorne, who presided over the Salem witchcraft trials, 萨勒姆驱巫案1692. (cf: Arthur Miller:The Crucible 坩埚)v3. Belief in the existence of the devil. v4. Belief in determinism.Hawthorne as a Literary Artist v1. First professional writer - college educated, familiar with the great European writers, and influenced by puritan writers like Cotton Mather.v 2. Hawthorne displayed a love for allegory and symbol. He dealt with tensions involving: light versus dark; warmth versus cold; faith versus doubt; heart versus mind; internal versus external worlds. v3. His writing is representative of 19th century, and, thus, in the mainstream due to his use of nature, its primitiveness, and as a source of inspiration; also in his use of the exotic, the gothic, and the antiquarian.Romance & American RomanticismvThe American Romanticists created a form that, at first glance, seems ancient and traditional; they borrowed from classical romance, adapted pastoral themes, and incorporated Gothic elements vAmerican romancers use of the frontier, Indian society, Arcadian communities, Puritan villages, and shipboard societiesElements of Classical Romancev1. separated lovers who remain true to each other, while the womans chastity is preserved; v2. an intricate plot, including stories within stories; v3. exciting and unexpected chance events; v4. travel to faraway settings;v 5. hidden and mistaken identity; v6. written in an elaborate and elegant style. -Gilbert Highet, in The Classical Tradition: Greek and Roman Influences on Western LiteratureHawthorne and American Romance-IvI have sometimes produced a singular and not unpleasing effect, so far as my own mind was concerned, by imagining a train of incidents in which the spirit and mechanism of the fairyland should be combined with the characters and manners of familiar life. - N. Hawthorne vWhen a writer calls his work a romance, he wishes to claim a certain latitude, both as to its fashion and material, which he would not have felt himself entitled to assume had he professed to be writing a novel. - N. Hawthorne Hawthorne and American Romance-IIvTo create a theater, a little removed from the highway of ordinary travel, where the creatures of his brain may play their phantasmagoric antics, without exposing them to too close a comparison with the actual events of real lives vWhen romance do really teach anything, or produce any effective operation, it is usually through a far more suitable processes than the ostensible one. American RomancevThe word romance must signify, besides the more obvious qualities of the picturesque and the heroic, an assumed freedom from the ordinary novelistic requirements of verisimilitude, development and continuity; a tendency towards melodrama and idyll; a more or less formal abstractness and, on the other hand, a tendency to plunge into the underside of consciousness; a willingness to abandon moral questions or to ignore the spectacle of man in society, or to consider these things only indirectly or abstractly. - Richard Chase The Work We ReadThe Scarlet LetterThe main characters in this novel are all Puritans:1.A Puritan woman named Hester Prynne 2.A priest named Arthur Dimmesdale3.Hesters husband, Chillingworth4.Hesters daughter, PearlHester Prynne, painting by George H. Boughton. Provided by ArtTodayPlot SynopsisMain conflicts:vAdulterous relationship between Hester Prynne and the Puritan preacher, Arthur DimmesdalevHester Prynne confesses her sin and readily accepts her punishment, but lives with internal and external conflict.Plot Synopsis (Cont.)Main Conflicts:vThe preacher, Dimmesdale struggles with his own internal conflictWaits seven years to admit his sinConfesses publicly just before he diesvHesters unforgiving husband, Chillingworth, continually seeks a means for vengeance against Dimmesdale.Provided by ArtTodayThe main theme delves into the effect of sin on the individual. Universal ThemePuritan Society in New EnglandSetting of The Scarlet Letter: Boston during the 1640s Puritan society Puritans refused to follow the edicts of the Church of England and so left England for the new world to flee persecutions. Provided by ArtTodayTwo Important New England SettlementsThePlymouthColonyThePlymouthColony1620 ArriveontheMayflowerLeader-WilliamBradfordKnownasPilgrimFathersTheMayflowerCompactprovidesforsocial,religious,andeconomicfreedom,whilestillmaintainingtiestoGreatBritain.TheMassachusettsBayTheMassachusettsBayColonyColony1630 ArriveontheArbellaLeader-JohnWinthropMostlyPuritansTheArbellaCovenantestablishesareligiousandtheocraticsettlement,freeoftiestoGreatBritain.Sin and the Human ConscienceIt is ironic that the Puritans flee to America to escape tyranny, simply to face it from within.The influence of Puritan theology in The Scarlet Letter is most obvious in the societys view of sin. Sin and the Human ConscienceNathaniel Hawthorne uses the theme of sin within The Scarlet Letter to examine the effects of sin.Puritanical judgment is also judged through lens of The Scarlet Letter. Sin and the Human ConscienceAlthough Puritan society condemns Hester, Dimmesdale “adds hypocrisy to sin” (85) by refusing to admit the affair, which enflames his internal torment until he confesses. Only when Dimmesdale climbs the scaffold in the town square and confesses is he free.Sin and the Human ConscienceChillingworth, Hesters ex-husband, continues with his own sin in his revenge against Dimmesdale. Chillingworths vengeance and malice transforms him into something hideous. He continues in his sin since he never seeks forgiveness and redemption.Sin and the Human ConscienceThe “good” people of Boston, guilty themselves of innumerable sins, condemns Hester to a life of solitude. Some learn from Hester and Dimmesdales pain, but others refuse to acknowledge the truthabout the adultery or about themselves.Sin and the Human ConscienceHester Prynnes sin is adultery, but she becomes the most enlightened of her society, which is gained through her repentance and acknowledgement of her sin. In the end, some of the townspeople “besought her counsel” and more clearly understood her pain, seeing that it was the pain they all share (318).conclusionvWithout Puritan condemnation and enforcement of their code of ethics, Hester and Dimmesdale would not have suffered as grievously as they didvHester, and eventually Dimmesdale, choose to confess their sins, admit their guilt, and accept the consequences. It is in these actions that they find peace within themselves.vHester chooses to return to Boston to live out her days, continuing to wear the embroidered “A”.vAlthough society shapes us, we decide how we will live and whether we will listen to our conscience.vTodays society is less concerned about conscience than they were in Hesters day (or Nathaniel Hawthornes).Hawthornes Sense of Evil and Sin As a writer, Hawthorne set out quite consciously to exploit his antiquarian enthusiasms and his understanding of the colonial history of New England. He was absorbed by the enigmas of evil and of moral responsibility, interwoven with mans destiny in nature and in eternity.v1. Most of Hawthornes works deal with evil one way or another. Evil exists in the human heart. Though all symbols of tradition and the past have been burned in the bonfire of the life of the New World, the source of evil the human heart remains intact. Evil seems to be mans birthmark.v2. To Hawthorne sin will get punished, one way or another.v3. One source of evil in Hawthorne is overweening intellect. The tension between the head (intellect) and the heart (warmth and feeling) constitutes one of the elements which make writings enchanting.Hawthornes CharactersvHawthornes intellectual characters are usually villains, dreadful, chilling, and cold- blooded human animals, as Hollingsworth in The Blithedale Romance, Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter, and Dr. Rappaccini in “Rappaccinis Daughter”.Hawthornes Aestheticsv1. Hawthorne repeatedly complained about “the poverty of materials” in a land where “there is no shadow, no antiquity, no mystery, no picturesque and gloomy wrong, nor anything but a commonplace prosperity, in broad and simple daylight.” Thus Hawthorne took a great interest in history and antiquity. To him these furnish the soil on which his mind grows to fruition.v2. Hawthorne was convinced that romance was the predestined form of American narrative. “The poverty of materials” in America led him to write romances rather than novel. On the other hand, romance allows him to treat the physical passions obliquely and to avoid violating the human heart.vOut of his Puritan scruples came his anxious desire not to offend the Puritan taste. So what Hawthorne had in mind to achieve was to tell the truth and satirize and yet not to offend the Puritan taste.v3. One salient feature of Hawthornes art is his ambiguity, of which the technique of multiple view are employed in his novel.Questions for the understanding of The Scarlet Letterv1. Hawthorne is at his best when dealing with sin, the supernatural, and New England past. How did Hawthorne deal with these in The Scarlet Letter?v2. The way in which Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter suggests that American Romanticism adapted itself to American Puritan moralism. How did Hawthorne achieve this in the novel?v3. Analyze the main characters in the novel: Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth.v4. Hawthorne manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity through employing the technique of multiple view in his narratives. What are the multiple views revealed in this novel?The Scarlet Letter-QuestionsvWhat traces of Puritanism can you read in the text?vIn what ways does the text seem to be a Hawthornes romance?vIn his essay Hawthorne and His Mosses Melville mentions Hawthornes blackness . Try to tell what it might mean with reference to this text.Herman Melville 1819-1891vHe won considerable fame as an author by the publication of a book in 1847 (actually 1846) entitled Typee. . This was his best work, although he has since written a number of other stories, which were published more for private than public circulation. . During the ten years subsequent to the publication of this book he was employed at the NY Custom House. New York Daily Tribunes obituary notice of Melville, September 29, 1891 Melvilles bleak view of the world embodied in Moby Dick:vFor Melville, the world is at once Godless and purposeless. Man in this universe lives a meaningless and futile life, meaningless because futile. Man can observe and even manipulate in a prudent way, but he cannot influence and overcome nature at its source. He must, ultimately, place himself at the mercy of nature. Once he attempts to seek power over it he is doomed. The theme of alienationvOne of the major themes in Melville is alienation, which he sensed existing in the life of his time on different levels, between man and man, man and society, and man and nature. Captain Ahab seems to be the best illustration of it all.Symbolism embodied in the bookThe voyage itself is a metaphor for “search and discovery, the search for the ultimate truth of experience.” The Pequod is the ship of the American soul, and the endeavor of its crew represents “the maniacal fanaticism of our white mental consciousness.”The symbol of Moby DickvMoby Dick, the whale, is the most conspicuous symbol in the book. It is capable of many interpretations.vIts a symbol of evil to some, one of goodness to others, and of both to still others. He is “paradoxically benign and malevolent, nourishing and destructive.”vIts whiteness is a paradoxical color, signifying as it does death and corruption as well as purity, innocence, and youth. It represents the final mystery of the universe which man will do well to desist from pursing, as Howard P. Vincent observes. vAs Ahab and his crew do not leave it alone, it is only natural that get drowned. The effect of ambiguity The effect of ambiguity through employing the technique of multiple views in the novel, while indicating the authors unwillingness to commit himself, definitely helps to create a symbolic effect. v1. It is a reliable treatise on whales and the whaling industry. v2. Excellent commentary on the universe and human destiny. v3 . It is rich in symbolism - philosophical speculations about God and Nature.v 4. The white whale, among others, could represent evil, Melvilles Puritan conscience, religion, or the ultimate mystery of the universe. v5. It is an adventure-romance of the sea, an epic quest, a Faustian bargain, and a metaphysical speculation. Names in Moby DickvIshmael in the Old Testament is the son of Abraham who was cast out after the birth of Isaac. Why do you think Melville name the school teacher so in Moby Dick?vAhab in Old Bible is the name of a Pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel who, according to the Old Testament, was overthrown by Jehu. Any connection could Melville be making by naming the captain so?Prototype of Mocha Dick vFierce white whale, which, during the 1840s and 50s, is said to have had 19 harpooners put in him, caused the death of more than 30 men, stove撞碎 three whaling ships and 14 boats, and sunk an Australian trader and a French merchantman. An account of him was published (1839), 12 years before vMelvilles Moby Dick, which may have been partly suggested by the article or the legends. v vAhab vAhab is the tyrannical captain of the Pequod who is driven by a monomaniacal desire to Moby Dick, the whale that maimed him on the previous whaling voyage. vAlthough he is a Quaker, he seeks revenge, in defiance of his religions pacifism. He ultimately dooms the crew of Pequod (save for Ishmael) to death by his obsession with Moby Dick. Moby DickvMoby Dick (1851), was first published in Britain. It is made up of 135 chapters, written in an extraordinary variety of styles, from sailors slang to biblical prophecy and Shakespearian rant 夸夸其谈，豪言壮语.v v“Call me Ishmael”, is the striking opening phrase of a story that takes the young narrator to sea on the doomed whaler Pequod. Both Ahab and Ishmael seek knowledge, but while Ishmael learns love and humanity, monomaniacal Ahab pursues a demonic God behind the hooded phantom or unreasoning mask of the symbolic whale. vThe Pequod is a male microcosm with, among others, the soothing savage harpooner Queequeg, right-minded first mate Starbuck, jolly Stubb, and Pip the cabin boy, driven prophetically mad, all involved in the whale fishery, whose adventures and rituals Melville energetically vDescribes. He interrupts the narrative with facts, tales, and soliloquies, including Father Mapples sermon on the Leviathan 海中巨怪, a dissertation on whales (cetology), and a metaphysical dissertation on the ambiguous whiteness of the whale. vAfter a three-day chase, Moby Dick destroys the Pequod. Ishmael survives the vortex 激流, buoyed up on Queequegs coffin. “And only I am escaped alone to tell thee”, begins his epilogue, citing the Book of Job. Melville to Hawthorne in Liverpoolv(1856) I have just about made up my mind to be annihilated. vAlthough his nove is philosophical, it is also tragic. Despite its heroism, Ahab is doomed and damned in the end. Nature, however beautiful, remains alien and potentially deadly. In Moby Dick, Melville challenges Emersons optimistic idea that humans can understand nature. vMoby Dick, the great white whale, is an inscrutable, cosmic existence that dominate the novel, just as he obsesses Ahab. vThe novel is modern in its tendency to be self-referential or reflexive 自指. In other words, the novel is often about itself. (God keep me from ever completing anything. This whole book is but a draught草稿). Melvilles notion of the literary text as an imperfect version is quite contemporary. vThe novel shows that just as there are no finished texts, there are no final answers, except, perhaps, death. vCertain literary references resonate throughout the novel. vAhab, named after an Old Testament king, desires a total, Faustian, god-like knowledge. vLike Oedipus in Sophocles play, who pays tragically for wrongful knowledge, Ahab is struck blind before he is wounded in the leg and finally killed. vMoby Dick ends with the word “orphan.” Ishmael, the narrator, is an orphan-like wanderer. The name emanates from the Book of Genesis创世纪 in the Old Testamenthe was the son of Abraham and Hagar 夏甲(servant to Abrahams wife, Sarah)（受虐待，逃进沙漠）vIshmael and Hagar were cast into the wilderness by Abraham. vOther examples exist. vRachel 拉结(one of the patriarch Jacobs wives) is the name of the boat that rescues Ishmael at books end. vFinally, the metaphysical whale reminds Jewish and Chistian readers of the biblical story of Jonah, who was tossed overboard by fellow sailors who considered him an object of ill fortune. vSwallowed by a big fish, he lived for a time in its belly before being returned to dry land through Gods intervention. vHistorical references also enrich the novel.vPequod is named after an extinct New England Indian Tribe; thus the name suggests the boat is doomed to destruction. vWhaling was in fact a major industry, especially in New England. Thus the whale does literally “shed light” on the universe. vWhaling was also inherently expansionist 扩张主义, vsince it required Americans to sail round the world in search of whales. The ships crew members represent all races and various religions, suggesting America as a universal state of mind as well as a melting pot., vFinally, Ahab embodies the tragic version of democratic American individualism. He asserts his dignity as an individual and dares to oppose the inexorable 不可阻挡的external forces of the universe. vThe novels epilogue tempers the tragic destruction of the ship. Throughout, Melville stresses the importance of friendship and the multicultural human community. After the ship sinks, Ishmael is saved by the engraved coffin made by his close friend. vThe coffins primitive, mythological designs incorporate the history of the cosmos. Ishmael is rescued from death by an object of death. From death life emerges, in the end. vIn setting humanity alone in nature, Moby Dick is eminently American. Melvilles ObscurityvStowes Uncle Toms Cabin (1851-1852) vThe Scarlet Letter (1850)vMoby Dick (1851) v vA writers life is to some degree influenced by the social environment. Melville got famous for his novels because his novels were based on his sailor experiences. This kind of writing was popular in the romantic period. When the American Civil War ended, romanticism was replaced by realism. His later novels didnt appeal to the readers. Moby Dick Quotev(Ahab, in his hidden self, raved on.) Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think if fled, it many have but become transfigured into some still subtler form.v (Ahabs full lunacy subsided not, but deepeningly contracted;)v-P.41, textbookMoby Dick-Questionsv1. What physical feature(s) about Moby Dick you remember best? ( Paras.1-3,P.40) Is the description vivid? How does Melville manage to do that in your opinion?v2. What narrative features can you identify in this excerpt? Anything similar/different with/from the excerpt from The Scarlet Letter?