Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

A selective list of online literary criticism on Nathaniel Hawthorne, favoring signed articles by recognized scholars, articles published in reviewed sources, and web sites that adhere to the MLA Guidelines for Authors of Web Sites

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Introduction

"Nathaniel Hawthorne." Short Introduction to Hawthorne from The Heath Anthology of American Literature, with a brief bibliography. Also, teaching and discussing Hawthorne from Heath

Tompkins, Jane. "Masterpiece Theater: The Politics of Hawthorne's Literary Reputation" analyzes why Hawthorne is considered a classic author. Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Fiction, 1790-1860

"Nathaniel Hawthorne." Literary Encyclopedia. Eds. Robert Clark, Emory Elliott, Janet Todd. An introduction to the poet, from a database that provides signed literary criticism by experts in their field, and is available to individuals for a reasonably-priced subscription.

Brief summaries of critical approaches to Hawthorne, from Jeff Gundy

Literary Criticism

Full-text critical articles on Hawthorne's work published at the Hawthorne in Salem site. Articles cover the Customs-House, Faith and Religion, Native Americans and Blacks, Women in Hawthorne, the Persecution of Witches and Quakers, Hawthorne and Melville, Alienation, Influences, and Buildings. Also, news about Hawthorne activities. Web site is grant-funded and sponsored by the North Shore Community College and several local museums

Bercovitch, Sacvan. "The Scarlet Letter: A Twice-Told Tale," Nathaniel Hawthorne Review, vol 22 no 2, pp 1-20, Fall 1996

Bercovitch, Sacvan. Reviews of two scholarly books on Hawthorne: Sacvan Bercovitch, The Office of "The Scarlet Letter" (1991); and Lauren Berlant, The Anatomy of National Fantasy: Hawthorne, Utopia, and Everyday Life (Univ. of Chicago Press, 1991). Reviewed by Douglas Anderson at UC Press web site (removed from http://www.ucpress.edu/scan/ncl-e/471/reviews/anderson.rev471.html)

Bunge, Nancy. A review of Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Study of the Short Fiction In Studies in Short Fiction Fall, 1994 reviewed by John L. Idol, Jr

Coale, Samuel Chase. Two scholarly books reviewed Mesmerism and Hawthorne: Mediums of American Romance. By Samuel Chase Coale. (Univ. of Alabama Press, 1998) and The Salem World of Nathaniel Hawthorne. By Margaret B. Moore. (Univ. of Missouri Press, 1998). Reviewed by Michael Dunne in SAMLA (removed from http://www.samla.org/sar/dunne99.htm)

Christianson, Frank. "Trading Places in Fancy": Hawthorne's Critique of Sympathetic Identification in The Blithedale Romance, "Instead of viewing it simply as a culminating moment in the tradition of American romance, I would prefer to understand The Blithedale Romance as a transitional novel that offers a critique of romanticism in particular and sentimental culture in general. In so doing, it anticipates realism as a literary mode." Novel: A Forum on Fiction, Spring 2003

Claisse, Dominique Régis The Missing Mother in The House of the Seven Gables - A study in Feminine Nature, at the Hawthorne in Salem web site

Daly, Robert. An introduction to Nathaniel Hawthorne, from the Literary Encyclopedia, 24 January 2005

Ellis, Barbara. Some Observations about Hawthorne's Women, WILLA Journal, Fall 1993

Harris, Mark. "A new reading of 'Ethan Brand': the failed quest" in Studies in Short Fiction Wntr, 1994

Hunt, Lester H. Hawthorne's Theory of Moral Sentiments: The Scarlet Letter, by philosophy professor

James, Henry. Chapter I of novelist Henry James's biography of Hawthorne, "The Early Years"

James, Henry. Chapter II, Henry James's Hawthorne, "Early Manhood"

James, Henry. Review of Henry James's Hawthorne, by William Dean Howells, 1880

Korobkin, Laura Hanft. "Scarlet letter of the law: Hawthorne and criminal justice," in The Novel: A Forum on Fiction, Winter 1997

Maus, Derek. Devils in the details: The role of evil in the short fiction on Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol and Nathaniel Hawthorne, in The Papers on Language and Literature, Winter 2002

McCall, Dan. Henry James's Hawthorne, extended article on James's study of Hawthorne "first published well over a century ago, it remains an essential text in American cultural history." New England Review, Fall 1997

Mott, Chris. Discussion questions for The Blithedale Romance, from Professor Chris Mott, UCLA

Timms, David. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Chapters include Hawthorne in His Time; The Tales; The Scarlet Letter; The Marble Faun; Hawthorne In Our Time; Guide to Further Reading. From the British Association of American Studies Pamphlet No. 17 (1989)

Winslow, Joan D. "The Stranger Within: Two Stories by Oates and Hawthorne." in Studies in Short Fiction (removed from www.wvup.edu/mberdine/English 102/102SampleEssayGoodmanConnie.htm)

Waggoner, Hyatt H. and Leo B. Levy. Critics on "Young Goodman Brown" (removed from http://www.wvup.edu/mberdine/English 102/102HawthorneYoungGoodman.htm

Wohlpart, A. James. Allegories of art, allegories of heart: Hawthorne's "Egotism" and "The Christmas Banquet." in Studies in Short Fiction Summer, 1994

Yoshido, Kyoko. "The Acts of Reading in The House of the Seven Gables."

Barlowe, Jamie. Reviews of scholarly books on Hawthorne Reviews of The Scarlet Mob of Scribblers: Rereading Hester Prynne. By Jamie Barlowe. (S. Illinois Univ. Press, 2000) and Hawthorne and Women: Engendering and Expanding the Hawthorne Tradition. Ed. John L. Idol, Jr. and Melinda M. Ponder (U of Massachusetts P 1999). Reviewed by Michael Dunne at SAMLA (removed)

Bercovitch, Sacvan. 'Democratic Aesthetics: Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter.' On The Scarlet Letter as the essential Romance of the American Way, and the novel’s three levels of meaning: (1) psychological and moral; (2) cultural and historical; and (3) aesthetic. From a lecture, web published (removed).

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