“Words - so innocent and
powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary - how potent for good and
evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.” –
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Born in July of 1804, Hawthorne became one of the prominent mid-19th Century
American writers, primarily through tales about his
native New England. His fictional works, labeled by some as "Dark romanticism," have themes centering on the inherent evil and sin of humanity with moral messages and
deep psychological complexity embedded in them.
His most prominent story that has
lasted through the ages, is his tale of adultery, The
Scarlet Letter. It’s success catapulted him from near obscurity
into the center of the New England writing movement that included such
prominent writers as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow. He took advantage of his new popularity to rapidly
publish The House of the Seven Gables, Wonder Book for
Girls and Boys, and a new version of Twice-Told
Tales, which hadn't succeeded in its earlier release.
The great-great grandson of one of the judges at the Salem Witch Trials, Hawthorne wrote often about Puritanic themes and espoused being pure, accurate and meticulous, especially when it came to the power that writers' words can convey.
“Accuracy," he said, "is the twin brother of honesty; inaccuracy of dishonesty. Easy
reading is damn hard writing.”
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