Abstract
One of the central questions Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) endeavors to address in his major novels is how social reform can be informed by historical consciousness. In view of this consistent subject in Hawthorne’s works, this essay attempts to explore the inextricable relationship between Hawthorne’s reformist impulse and his strong awareness of the past in his major novel, The Scarlet Letter. By focusing on both the necessity of reform and the exigency of the historical sense in Hawthorne’s works, this essay argues that the significance of his contribution to American literature is better understood if special emphasis is placed on how his political and historical concerns interact in his major novel. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne’s return signifies a transformation from social rebel to conformist, which is designed to illustrate a revised and democratic relationship between self and community, although it fails to lead to full reconciliation between the two. I argue that the dialectical connection between Hawthorne’s reformist impulses and historical consciousness resolves the acute conflicts between self and society in this novel.
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Notes
In his essays “The American Scholar” and “Self-Reliance,” the nineteenth-century transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson strongly appeals to the American writers to set up a tradition of American literature and to eliminate the influences of the European literary tradition.
His first son Julian was born in the same year, aggravating his already grave financial burdens.
In a letter to his publisher James T. Fields with regard to the latter’s misgivings toward the preface, Hawthorne wrote: “In the process of writing [The Scarlet Letter], all political and official turmoil has subsided within me, so that I have not felt inclined to execute justice on any of my enemies.” See Mellow (1998: 310).
According to the publishing date, Hawthorne’s major novels are as following: (1) Fanshawe (published anonymously 1828); (2) The Scarlet Letter (1850); (3) The House of the Seven Gables (1851); (4) The Blithedale Romance (1852); (5) The Marble Faun (1860); (6) The Dolliver Romance (1863).
It must be noted that Hawthorne’s novel The Blithedale Romance particularly addresses the subject of social reform, the Brook Farm experiment. There has been considerable research in this novel in terms of reform. However, it seems that inadequate attention has been paid to the consistent theme of reform in his two major novels.
Hawthorne (2005). The Scarlet Letter and other writings: authoritative texts, contexts, criticism. New York and London: Norton. All subsequent references to The Scarlet Letter (Norton edition 2005) are given in brackets as SL in the text.
“Ethereal essence” here refers to some feminine qualities, such as physical beauty and a submissive heart.
It seems that, in Hawthorne’s view, women should not be rebellious; otherwise, their feminine attributes will disappear.
In Denis Donoghue’s opinion, Hawthorne the author “conceives of sin as a social transgression only, an act by which I isolate myself from the community to which I belong.” Thus, the transgression is against the Puritan community, which takes the place of God. See Donoghue (2005: 108).
Bercovitch employs another term, “Emersonian hope,” to illustrate Hester’s firm belief in the progressive future. He elaborately explains that it is a “hope in prophecy, as being more subversive than argument; hope in vision, as being a more effective agent of process than action; hope in the individual, as being both ends and means of change; and hope in the future, as the boundless prospect of liberal/liminal things to come.” See Bercovitch (1988: 19–20).
Bercovitch notes that socialization in America is “a matter not of repressing radical energies but of redirecting them, in all their radical force, into a continuing opposition between self and society.” See Bercovitch (1993a: 118).
Thomas is also in the view that the scarlet letter “has finally done its ‘office’.” Furthermore, Thomas regards Hester’s return as a form of redemption: “It is in confronting that past and devoting herself to the place that defined her that she finds redemption.” See Thomas (2007: 44, 46).
Brook Thomas quotes John Winthrop’s definition of natural liberty: “… man, as he stands in relation to man simply, hath the liberty to do what he lists; it is a liberty to evil as well as to good.” See Thomas (2001: 186).
Morton Cronin believes that Hester is “perhaps the greatest woman in American fiction.” See Cronin (1954: 91).
Emerson’s and Hawthorne’s views on slavery, the relationship between men and God, the relationship between men and women, nature, history and self and community are different. This essay is mainly devoted to the discussion of the last of these disparate groups.
Hawthorne (1982). Earth’s holocaust. Tales and Sketches. New York: The Library of America. All subsequent references to “Earth’s Holocaust” to the Library of America edition (1982) and are given as EH in brackets in the text.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Prof. MAO Liang for his helpful and insightful advice on this paper, which is funded by China Scholarship Council (No. 201606025089) and supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (YWF-15-JCYSK-004). I also want to thank the editors for their constructive comments.
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Huang, Z. From social rebellion to ambiguous conformism: a study of reform and history in The Scarlet Letter . Neohelicon 44, 523–539 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11059-017-0365-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11059-017-0365-1