Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Life of Imagination

Suffering, they say, defines a true artist.  The suffering that the artist goes through will wrench out the deepest emotions from the core and create an art that will speak directly to the heart. This requirement appears to be cruel but it is the impetus needed to effect change.  The suffering claim is probably the subject of heated debate among artists everywhere but this heart wrenching emotion seems to be an effective catalyst for the famous writer Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts to Puritan parents Nathaniel Hathorne Sr. and Elizabeth Clarke Manning.  Nathaniel added the letter “w” to his last name Hathorne making it Hawthorne to disassociate himself from his ancestors particularly John Hathorne who presided the Salem witch trials.

Nathaniel father succumbed to yellow fever when he was just four years old. His mother, fearing the same fate would befall on her child, pushed him somewhat to isolation. He learned to love books. This, by default, made him also love writing.

When he graduated from Bowdoin College, Hawthorne pursued a writing career. His first novel, Fanshawe, was not met with success. He soon ventured to writing short stories. It was around this time that the critically acclaimed “Young Goodman Brown” was published. Other short stories he penned include: Major Molineux, Roger Malvin’s Burial and My Kinsman.

Nathaniel Hawthorne writings did not provide him enough money so he was forced to work as Boston Custom House measurer in 1839.  He was dismissed from his job after three short years of service.  He married Sophia Peabody on July 9, 1842 after he was able to save enough money from his writings.  He was appointed the surveyor of the Boston Common House by Pres. James Polk.  The demands of his new job prevented him to indulge in writing. But again, he was dismissed after Zachary Taylor assumed the presidency in 1848.   He wrote a letter to Boston Daily Advertiser to protest his dismissal. This was met by an uproar from the Whigs.  His dismissal and letter became a much talked about topic in New England. In July of the same year, his mother passed away. The series of unfortunate events prompted Nathaniel to comment that it was "the darkest hour I ever lived."

The job loss coupled with the public's anaemic response to his writings, the attacks from the Whigs and his mother's untimely demise created a void in Hawthorne's life that he desperately wanted to fill.  His deep sufferings, somehow, helped fire his imagination to the fullest.  So much so that he called the novel he wrote at that time “The Scarlet Letter” a “hell-fired story.”  As Hawthorne completed the story, he read the manuscript to his wife. She broke down when he finished reading. Based on his wife's dramatic reaction, he said he believed he attained “triumphant success” in his the Scarlet Letter.

True enough, the Scarlet Letter was a raving success.  It was an instant bestseller netting him $1,500 in 14 years. The money he earned allowed Hawthorne to devote himself to writing.  He moved to Berkshires shortly after. There, he made friends with equally famous authors Herman Melville and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Hawthorne also penned "The House of Seven Gables", reputed to be one of the most significant literary contribution to New England. 

In 1852, Hawthorne wrote the campaign biography of his friend presidential candidate Franklin Pierce. Pierce later won the election. He appointed Hawthorne as the United States consul in Liverpool in 1853.  The family returned to Concord in 1860, after a change of administration took place in 1857 and Hawthorne lost the position. He passed away on May 19, 1864 while on tour with Franklin Pierce in White Mountains, Plymouth. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne's life is a testament of tenacity and persistence winning over sufferings.  Sufferings may serve as the impetus to betterment but it is eventually persistence that will bring stellar success.