Hawthorne And His Romance Fiction

This thesis is a research into the originality of Nathaniel Hawthorne's romance fiction on a general basis. In the history of American literature, Hawthorne ranks among the few important writers whose works responded to the call of the times for American literature, other writers of this group including Cooper, Emerson, Thoreau, Melville and Whitman, etc.. Hawthorne stands out as an original writer in that he has created a new literary form-the romance. As a new literary type, the romance is different from the realistic novel in its subject matter, with its veneration for the imagination, as well as in its thematic concerns, especially for the emotions. And the romance is distinct from the traditional romantic writing in its confrontation with reality and in its tragic view of life. In the broad sense, Hawthorne belongs to romantic writers, as reflected in his romantic subject matter and in the ways that his narrative goes. Nevertheless, owing to his special family background and his unique life experience, Hawthorne shows a skeptical and tragic view of life, and this contrasts with the sense of optimism that pervades in the works of the romantic writers in the traditional sense. Moreover, the uniqueness of Hawthorne's romances also lies in his artistry in the writing proper-he has used the two outstanding writing devices in his romances: symbolism and psychological analysis. Hawthorne didn't invent them, but he developed and used them with unparalleled artistic effects in his time. These two writing techniques, together with other factors, have constituted Hawthorne's unusual style-ambiguity, which is found in the themes, the characterization and the settings of his romances. In short, Hawthorne is original owing to his creation of a new form of literary expression, and in his talented use of two important writing techniques, which leads to his unique ambiguous style...