Hawthorne Background

He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, the only judge involved in the Salem witch trials who never repented of his actions. Nathaniel later added a "w" to make his name "Hawthorne" in order to hide this relation.

He entered Bowdoin College and graduated in 1825. He published his first work, the novel Fanshawe, in 1828. He published several short stories in periodicals, which he collected in 1837 as Twice-Told Tales.

The next year, he became engaged to Sophia Peabody. He worked at the Boston Custom House and joined Brook Farm, a transcendentalist community, before marrying Peabody in 1842.

The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The Wayside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864.

Hawthorne's works belong to romanticism or, more specifically, dark romanticism, cautionary tales that suggest that guilt, pride and evil are the most inherent natural qualities of humanity. Many of his works combine historical romance loaded with symbolism and deep psychological themes.