| 纳撒尼尔·霍桑 | |||||
阅读霍桑 Nathaniel Hawthorne在小说之家的作品!!! | |||||
霍桑1804年7月4日霍桑出生于马萨诸塞州塞勒姆镇一个没落的世家。他的祖辈中有人曾参与清教徒异端的事件，为著名的1692年“塞勒姆驱巫案”的3名法官之一。这段历史对霍桑的思想产生了深刻的影响。霍桑的父亲是一名船长，在他4岁时去世。
1821年霍桑在亲戚资助下进入博多因学院，同学中有诗人朗费罗与后来当选为总统的皮尔斯等。
1825年大学毕业，回到塞勒姆镇，从事写作。曾匿名发表长篇小说《范肖》(1828)和几十个短篇作品，陆续出版短篇小说集《古宅青苔》(1843)、《雪影》(1851)等，逐渐得到重视和好评。霍桑的短篇小说大多取材于新英格兰的历史或现实生活，着重探讨人性和人的命运等问题。
1836年和1846年霍桑两度在海关任职，1841年曾参加超验主义者创办的布鲁克农场。他于1842年结婚，在康科德村居住。
1848年由于政见与当局不同，霍桑失去海关的职务，便致力于创作活动，写出了他最重要的长篇小说《红字》(1850)。这部作品以殖民地时期新英格兰生活为背景，描写一个受不合理的婚姻束缚的犯了为加尔文教派所严禁的通奸罪而被示众，暴露了当时政教合一体制统治下殖民地社会中的某些黑暗。
《红字》发表后获得巨大成功，霍桑继而创作了不少作品。《带有七个尖角阁的房子》(1851)反映了资本主义发展初期的血腥掠夺。另一部小说《福谷传奇》(1852)以布鲁克农场生活为题材，表达了作者对这种社会改良的尝试失望的心情以及对狂热的改革者的厌恶。
皮尔斯当选为美国总统后，霍桑于1853年被任命为驻英国利物浦的领事。1857年后侨居意大利，创作了另一部讨论善恶问题的长篇小说《玉石雕像》(1860)。
1860年霍桑返回美国，在康科德定居，继续写作。
1864年5月19日霍桑去世，身后留下4部未完成的长篇小说。
Nathaniel Hathorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Clarke Manning Hathorne. He later changed his name to "Hawthorne", adding a "w" to dissociate from relatives including John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials. Hawthorne attended Bowdoin College, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1824, and graduated in 1825; his classmates included future president Franklin Pierce and future poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Hawthorne anonymously published his first work, a novel titled Fanshawe, in 1828. He published several short stories in various periodicals which he collected in 1837 as Twice-Told Tales. The next year, he became engaged to Sophia Peabody. He worked at a Custom House and joined Brook Farm, a transcendentalist community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The Wayside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment took Hawthorne and family to Europe before their return to The Wayside in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, leaving behind his wife and their three children.
Much of Hawthorne's writing centers around New England, many works featuring moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His fiction works are considered part of the Romantic movement and, more specifically, dark romanticism. His themes often center on the inherent evil and sin of humanity, and his works often have moral messages and deep psychological complexity. His published works include novels, short stories, and a biography of his friend Franklin Pierce.