Nathanial Hawthorne is viewed as one of the greatest writers of his time. His
masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter, is viewed by many as the greatest novel of all time.
Many literary critics have discussed the role of Hawthorne; that is, whether or not he was
a transcendentalist. The writings of the pessimistic Nathaniel Hawthorne clearly show
that he was not in any way a transcendentalist.
Adventures in American Literature defines transcendentalism “put simply… is the
view that the basic truths of the universe lie beyond the knowledge we obtain from our
senses. “However, this statement is inherently flawed. In the time of the
transcendentalists, and even today to a lesser extent, very little is known about the world
and the universe, or how either works. All but the most immersed scientists would surely
have believed that the truths of the universe were not attainable of our own accord. “Why
are we here?” is a question that comes to mind, always unanswerable. We humans leave
this question unanswered, not striving to understand it. Therefore, the writer of the quote
effectively claims that all remotely religious writers of all times were transcendentalists.
This is simply not true; transcendentalism is more than this, and Hawthorne is not one of
them.
Hawthorne’s purpose for writing The Scarlet Letter was simple. He desired to
criticize transcendentalists for being too “happy” and ignorant of the forces of evil. His
novel serves to remind those who read the transcendentalists’ works that evil is a very
real force. In the novel, Chillingworth, the embodiment of evil, seeks unreasonable
retribution for being “wronged” by the seemingly innocent Dimmesdale. The young
preacher, while we know that he has sinned, is played out to be a sinless person who is
being unrightfully punished. In fact, he harbors a secret that eventually spells his end.
The differences in the tone between the transcendentalists and Hawthorne’s
writings are evident in every comparison. Thoreau ends his Walden with “Only that day
dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning
star.” This short passage lends to the reader a positive feeling through the use of the
words “sun,” “dawn,” etc. They seem to give a feeling of warmth, using words related to
the sun. In stark contrast, Hawthorne ends his piece, “Dr. Heidigger’s Experiment,” with
“But the doctor’s four friends had taught no such lesson to themselves. They resolved
forthwith to make a pilgrimage to Florida, and quaff…from the Fountain of Youth.” Here
the reader is left with a sense of failure, a very pessimistic ideal. The whole story is
summed up in those last few sentences, illustrating perfectly of the way we never learn
from our past mistakes, even though optimists want us to believe that we do. In the end of
Hawthorne’s masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter, we are reminded abruptly that evil is a very
real force of nature. “Earlier in life, Hester had vainly imagined that she herself might be
the destined prophetess, but had long since recognized the impossibility that any
mission…should be confided to a woman stained with sin.” Here Hawthorne highlights
the fact that her sin has destroyed her dreams. Finally, the last few sentences of the story
starkly remind us of why the story of Hester was told. Speaking of her epitaph, “It bore a
device…so sombre is it, and relieved only by one ever-glowing point of light gloomier
than the shadow.” The “point of light” is the “A” that is carved on the tombstone.
Hawthorne uses very dramatic language to illustrate the dual nature of the symbol. He
indicates that it has brought about good deeds by calling it an “ever-glowing point of
light,” but grimly reminds the reader that it is “gloomier than the shadow.” Hawthorne
wants to write bright concepts into his story but must always return to the fact that the
world is full of evil, and his duty is to remind the reader of reality.
The works of the transcendentalists differ greatly from Hawthorne in terms of
perception of evil. Emerson, one of the fathers of transcendentalism, was quoted as
saying, “I could never give much reality to evil.” This philosophy really sheds light on
the transcendentalist philosophy on evil. The story “A Lost Pig” from Thoreau’s The
Journal illustrates his denial of evil. A pig has escaped, and is doing all that he can to
avoid recapture. But Thoreau refuses to admit that the pig has some evil in him by
conceding, “But really he is no more obstinate than I. I cannot but respect his tactics and
his independence.” This leads to the conclusion that there is not a shred of evil in this
story. On the other hand, Hawthorne was very well aware of evil, and heavily used it in
his works. In The Scarlet Letter, he repeatedly reminds the reader that evil is thoroughly
present in the story. He shows how Roger Chillingworth, once a kind and caring man,
slowly evolves into the embodiment of evil. During a scene of confrontation between
Roger and Hester, he says, “No life had been more peaceful and innocent than mine; few
lives so rich with benefits conferred. Dost thou remember me? Was I not, though you
might deem me cold, nevertheless a man thoughtful for other, craving little for himself kind, true, just and of constant, if not warm affections?” Chillingworth then declares what
he has turned into, “I have already told thee what I am! A fiend!” While he speaks,
Hawthorne backs up his claim with a descriptor, “…looking into her face, and permitting
the whole evil within him to be written on his features.”
The works recognized as the quintessence of transcendentalism, written by Ralph
Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, seem to consist of non-fictional essays. These
two writers generally did not write fictional stories. They both claim to not have an
accurate perception of evil, and most likely, this is why they did not write fiction.
Without evil, there would be no conflict in the story, and without conflict, the story
would be incredibly boring and would lack any exciting plot. Without evil, The Scarlet
Letter would not be a story. Through and through the book is almost entirely based on
evil. Hawthorne wanted to do this to criticize transcendentalism. His masterpiece reminds
the transcendentalists’ audience that evil has a formidable presence in the world.
Clearly, Nathaniel Hawthorne is not a transcendentalist. In fact, he desired to
criticize the transcendentalist philosophy by penning his works. All his novels and stories
serve one purpose in his eyes: to remind the world that evil is real. His novels were
excellently written and served very well as a foil to the transcendentalist works.