The Honest Perspective and Political Connections of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Works

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Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an accomplished novelist and short-story writer of the 18th century. He lived between 1804 and 1864. He is regarded as one of the greatest fiction writers of his time. His work incorporated both symbolism and allegory. He is well known for his work “The House of the Seven Gables” and “The Scarlet Letter." He is one of the studied writers in American history because of allegory in writing his work. Hawthorne is related to the puritan legacy set by European immigrants who came to America in 1630. However, with the precedence set from the Salem Witch trial, he added the letter ‘w’ to his name to distance himself from the family (Rajeswari).
Hawthorne’s father was a ship captain who died in 1808 because of yellow fever. Because of financial challenges, his mother Elizabeth moved to live with her wealthy brothers. He suffered an injury in his leg that condemned him to stay indoors. During the time, Hawthorne developed an interest in reading and writing. His uncles supported his studies as he joined Bowdoin College between 1821 to 1825. He was, however, a negligent learner who showed little interest in studying (Tuckerman 38). The friends he met at the college as Franklin Pierce encouraged him to develop a reading culture that eventually paid off.
College life separated him from his mother and sister. He returned home and stayed for 12 years after graduation. While at home, he started writing and self-publishing short stories like "An Old Woman’s Tale” and many more by 1832. The writing, however, did not give him a stable source of income. Alongside writing stories, he worked at Boston Customs as an unskilled laborer to supplement his revenue (Hawthorne).
Writing made Hawthorne live in seclusion for many years. He ended his seclusion when he made Sophia Peabody. She was a well-established illustrator and painter. Living in seclusion enabled him to save enough money in preparation for marriage. The courtship took a lot of time because of the poor health of Sophia. However, the couple was officially married on July 9, 1842. They lived in a rented house in Massachusetts until they got their firstborn in 1844 (Tuckerman 40).
In his work, 'The Scarlet Letter, the political connections and his association with democrats enabled Hawthorne to secure a job as a surveyor in 1846. At the time, he had a growing family and accumulated a lot of debts. It was, therefore, a great relief from the tribulations he faced because the employment provided some financial security. When Zachary Taylor became the president, Hawthorne lost his job because of political affiliation and favoritism. The loss of his job came as a reward for him because it gave him time to concentrate on writing. He was able to write “The Scarlet Letter." The work covered the story of the two lovers whose love conflicted with Puritan moral rules (Hawthorne). However, the book was published, reproduced, and distributed within the shortest time throughout the United States, making him famous and making enough revenue to support the family.
His life in Salem was not appealing to him. He opted to move the family to separate them from the trappings of ...