Hawthorne was an American novelist, born in Salem, Mass., and educated at Bowdoin College. In all his works Hawthorne is concerned with ethical problems. With modern psychological insight he probes the secret motivations in human behavior, and the guilt and anxiety that he believed resulted from all sins against mankind, especially those of pride. In his preoccupation with sin he follows the tradition of his Puritan ancestors, but in his concept of the consequences of sin, as either punishment due to lack of humility and overwhelming pride, or regeneration by love and atonement, he deviates radically from the idea of predestination held by his forebears. Hawthorne's emphasis on allegory and symbolism often makes his characters reveal the emotional and intellectual ambivalence he felt to be inseparable form the Puritan heritage of America.
Here are some Nathaniel Hawthorne links:
Nathaniel Hawthorne Books
Melville's Letters to Hawthorne
