Analysis Of Three Of Hawthorne's Works: Solitude And Isolation

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

isolation are depicted in
Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, "Young Goodman Brown, "and
"Rappaccini's Daughter."
At the age of four, Nathaniel Hawthorne's father died, devastating his
mother and destroying his family forever. He later recalls how his mother and
sisters would "take their meals in their rooms, and my mother has eaten alone
ever since my father's death" (Martin 10). Naturally, Hawthorne's mother's
isolated life contributed to his personal solitude and to his stories of
solitude. Although he never reached the point she did, his life too became one
of separation and loneliness. When he was nine, a severe foot injury reduced
his physical activity for almost two years and excluded him from many activities
with other children. Soon after the recovery, his family moved to an isolated
area in Raymond, Maine. It is here that he picked up his first "accursed habits
of solitude" (Martin 3). On his relationship with his mother, Hawthorne said:

I loved my ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

At this point, his life of loneliness left him; he
felt invigorated and alive for the first time. In one of his many letters to
her, he wrote "And sometimes (for I had no wife then to keep my heart warm) it
seemed as if I were already in the grave, with only life enough to be chilled
and benumbed (Martin 15). Hawthorne realized how isolated his life had become
from the world. Sophia helped to pull him out of this solitary period.
The adulteress act of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, in The
Scarlet Letter, forces the two to live in isolation for the rest of their lives.
"Hester and Dimmesdale sin and are isolated by that sin" (Ringe 90). Hester
Prynne, "alone and ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: