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| 20 February 2001 | ||||||
| "My Kinsman, Major Molineux" is set during a tumultuous time; the British colonies in America had finally recognized the necessity of breaking ties with their mother country. America was in need of revolution, of independence, just as the main character, Robin, needed to realize his destiny was not tied to his family in the hinterland. Primogeniture and nepotism were the ways of England; in America, paternity and familial relationships were not so consequential in determining social status as an individual's skills and usefulness. In short, America did not need her powerful relative to the East to succeed in the world; like Robin, she could flourish on her own. The story of Robin and his experiences serves as an allegory of America's own circumstances at that time. | ||||||
| The dichotomy between the old British system and the emerging American system manifests itself in Robin's family affairs. He journeys to the city only because he has no opportunities at home; as the non-eldest son, he has no claim to his father's land or wealth. Thus Robin, set adrift by primogeniture, looks to another aspect of the British social system: nepotism. He wants to use his uncle's, Major Molineux's, position in the colonial government to "profit by his kinsman's generous intentions" (1094). The Major could distribute such favors only because he himself had "inherited riches, and acquired civil and military rank" (1094). �Ironically, it is Robin's kinship with Molineux that discourages the townspeople from helping him. By the end of the story, Robin knows he cannot rely on the imperialist ideas of primogeniture and nepotism for his success; as the stranger says, "you may rise in the world, without the help of your kinsman, Major Molineux" (1098). Like Robin, the colonists had been dependent on their mother country for support; like Robin, they discovered this support was unnecessary. The Bostonian revolutionaries recognized the errors of the imperial system; despite the uncertainty of a future without English support, they wanted independence to form a merit-based social system. | ||||||
| In many ways, Robin's home in the countryside is representative of Britain; both are far away from the revolutionary colonists, both preserve a different way of life (including primogeniture), and both hold no attraction for the practical, middle-class colonists. In stark contrast is the city, where almost everyone Robin meets seems to be a revolutionary, including the barbers, the innkeeper, the lady in scarlet, and the old citizen; where shrewdness counts more than breeding, according to the stranger; and where there are more options for young men that just farming and clerical work, as evidenced by the plentitude of occupations of the townspeople. | ||||||
| Unlike the city, Robin's homeland is depicted as a quiet place. On page 1095, Robin contrasts the sounds of the city with the tranquility of the country: "If your town be always as noisy, I shall find little sleep," he says, suggesting he is unaccustomed to the noise (1095). The stranger also mentions "the stillness of your [Robin's] native woods" (1095). The street where Robin waits to see Major Molineux appears to inhabited by non-revolutionaries; when the parade comes down the street, none know what is transpiring (1095). This street, like Robin's hometown, is a quiet place, until disturbed by the revolutionaries. This contrasts sharply with the city itself, particularly the inn where the revolutionaries pass their time. The city is permeated by a "murmur, which swept continually along the street" (1092). There are also "sounds of a trumpet in some neighboring street" (1095). Obviously, the city, even at night, is an active, dynamic place; these people are doing things and going places. Likewise, the revolutionaries, including the barbers, the watchman, the saucy lady, and the people of the inn, often laugh; the youths of the town walk "jauntily along, half-dancing to the fashionable tunes which they hummed" (1089). Both Robin's family in the country and the only definite pro-British supporter (Molineux) are shown being quiet and somber. Thus it appears as though the non-radical, British supporters are equated with the simple, rather backward folk in the country. | ||||||
| There are many similarities between Robin's and the colonists' search for independence in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "My Kinsman, Major Molineux." Hawthorne provides a contrast between the British and colonial social systems by making parallels to the contrast between the city of the revolutionaries and the countryside. In this story, the colonialists are taking their first steps toward emancipation, just as Robin takes his toward maturation. | ||||||
| Works Cited | ||||||
| Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "My Kinsman, Major Molineux," The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol 3. Ed. Hershel Parker. New York: Norton, 1989. 1085-98. | ||||||