Vickery

Sullivan Vickery
Ms. McKenzie
American Literature
April 24, 2015

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne and American writer from Salem, Massachusetts, was born on
July 4, 1804 and died on May 19, 1964. After college Hawthorne lived with his dear mother
where he met his wife Sophie Peabody. Before college Hawthorne was a prominent judge in the
Salem witch trials. While Hawthorne was certainly a part of the American literature, living close
to Ralph Waldo Emerson during a few years of his life he participated in the communal Brook
Farm.
In 1821 Hawthorne enrolled into Bowdoin College although he wasnt really interested in
a higher education. While in college Hawthorne met friends he would intent on keeping in his
life including poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Not being interested in schooling, Hawthorne
wasnt studying for any particular major. Although he loved to read and write he was just an
average college student that would graduate in 1825.
Once Hawthorne and Sophie were married they moved to Concord, Massachusetts. Being
in the literary circle and transcendental movement, the Hawthornes lived quite the social life for
their weird beings. Hawthorne continued to write his short stories for publication and in 1842, he
reissued an edition of Twice-Told Tales. The income from publishing short stories left much to be
desired and he and his wife moved in with Hawthornes mother in Salem in 1845.
While with his mother Hawthorne got a job at the Salem Custom House but Boston had
taken too much of the seaport business, so Hawthorne was left with time to accept the position of

Vickery

secretary of the Salem Lyceum which hosted speakers as well as spend time with his dear wife
and big family. In 1848 Hawthorne lost his job when Zachary Taylor became president.
Hawthorne also lost his mother the following year but it also led him to the inspiration to write
his novel the Scarlett Letter.
After The Scarlett Letter was finished, the Hawthornes moved into a farmhouse in
Lenox, Massachusetts. During this year and a half Hawthorne was able to write The House of
Seven Gables and to establish his friendship with Herman Melville. Herman wrote the famous
book Moby Dick and in that time dedicated it to Hawthorne. Around this time Hawthorne also
had three children and not really a favoring the rural life Hawthorne and his family moved back
to Concord.
After the Hawthorne family moved back it was the next year that his romance novel The
Blithedale Romance published. Since they sided with the Romantic Movement in literature and
sought to explore the human condition, Hawthorne wrote childrens books based on Greek
myths. Franklin Pierce a friend of Hawthorne was in the election for president and upon this
Hawthorne wrote a campaign biography. After this Hawthorne was appointed to a position in
England that was pretty similar to his custom house positions. While in Europe the Hawthorne
family was able to travel. In the year they spent in Rome inspired his novel The Marble Faun,
which was published in 1860. After about seven years the Hawthornes returned back to Wayside
and he continued writing small stories. It was then that Hawthorne refused to see a doctor and
became increasingly weak and depressed. In 1864, Hawthorne took a trip to see Pierce and it was
on the way to the house that he passed away in the night.

Vickery

Work Cited Page

http://www.egs.edu/library/nathaniel-hawthorne/biography/
http://www.biography.com/people/nathaniel-hawthorne-9331923