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"Is the world, then, so narrow?"

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Date Issued:
2007
Summary:
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and its preface, "The Custom- House," the author himself and Pearl Prynne are characters who engage in travel, escaping the restrictiveness imposed onto them by their hometowns and finding greater creative freedom elsewhere. Their journey, however, is not necessarily physical but rather creative. Hawthorne and Pearl employ writing and imaginative thinking, respectively, in order to characterize Salem and Boston as foreign locations through which they may tour. The two are what Hawthorne calls "citizen[s] of somewhere else," although they have not departed from their homes yet. By considering how "The Custom-House" relates to The Scarlet Letter based on the themes of travel and home, a new interpretation arises about Hawthorne's book as well as his definition of the American romance, which posits that a person may use creativity in order to find his or her place both within and away from the community.
Title: "Is the world, then, so narrow?": the simultaneous need for home and travel in Hawthorne's The scarlet letter.
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Name(s): McGrath, Derek.
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Thesis
Issuance: multipart monograph
Date Issued: 2007
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Physical Form: electronic
electronic resource
Extent: vii, 73 leaves.
Summary: In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and its preface, "The Custom- House," the author himself and Pearl Prynne are characters who engage in travel, escaping the restrictiveness imposed onto them by their hometowns and finding greater creative freedom elsewhere. Their journey, however, is not necessarily physical but rather creative. Hawthorne and Pearl employ writing and imaginative thinking, respectively, in order to characterize Salem and Boston as foreign locations through which they may tour. The two are what Hawthorne calls "citizen[s] of somewhere else," although they have not departed from their homes yet. By considering how "The Custom-House" relates to The Scarlet Letter based on the themes of travel and home, a new interpretation arises about Hawthorne's book as well as his definition of the American romance, which posits that a person may use creativity in order to find his or her place both within and away from the community.
Identifier: 314394148 (oclc), 11605 (digitool), FADT11605 (IID), fau:1337 (fedora)
Note(s): by Derek McGrath.
Thesis (B.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, Honors College, 2007.
Bibliography: leaves 69-73.
Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2007. Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Subject(s): Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864
Held by: FBoU FAUER
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11605
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Host Institution: FAU

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