A Critical Response to Hawthorne’s Puritans Essay -- Literacy Analysi

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) is precisely acclaimed for the portrayal of New England Puritans in his fiction. The grim picture of the placed and forbidding Puritan community in his works reflects the widespread placement towards Puritans, yet Professor Deborah L. Madsen, in her paper, Hawthornes Puritans From event to Fiction claims that this monumental portrayal of Puritanism results in a powerful misrepresentation of the actual puritans and of the kinetics of Puritan theology (Madsen 1999, p 510) . The present response is a critical review of Madsens paper. The title of the paper is appropriate. While Hawthornes Puritans implies a difference between actual Puritans and those conceptualized by Hawthorne, From Fact to Fiction extends this root word by suggesting the disparity between history/fact and Hawthornes fiction. Madsens study argues that Hawthorne attempts to defend his puritan ancestors by creating a monolithic Puritanism, in which the conduct of all authoritarian puritans resembles that of his own ancestors such as toilet and William Hathorne. The ultimate goal of Hawthorne, according to Madsen, is to excuse the sins of his fathers by showing that they were incapable of acting oppositewise (Madsen, 1999, p. 510). What Madsen means by a monolithic Puritanism is i that here allows only one interpretation of itself and its significance (Madsen, 1999, p.516). In other words, it is an essentialist and stereotypical representation that does not take into account the complexities and the changeability of puritan behavior in an attempt to portray its underlying and unchanging essence. The conclusion is a fixed and commonly-held image of puritans as a grim and no-good race, impatient with human weakness and m... ...h they are written and the social scene of action in which he moved, his background, and various other influences on him. In conclusion, she brings verboten how Hawthornes fiction creates a biased and monolithic portrayal of the puritans ignoring the complexity of their theology and tillage. Ideally, Madsen should develop shed some light upon this complexity which could have substantiated her claim that Hawthorne denies the existence of any sophistication in puritan culture and theology. Works CitedHawthorne, N., 1850. The Scarlet Letter available at http//www.forgottenbooks.orgMontrose, L. A., 1989. Professing the reincarnation The Poetics and Politics of Culture, in Veeser, A., 1989. The New Historicism, New York, London Routledge. pp. 15-36.Madsen, D.L., 1999. Hawthornes Puritans From Fact to Fiction. Journal of American Studies, 33 (1999), 3, 509-517