Annotated Table of Contents: Novels 04

The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Novel.  All people have secret sins. Many people use or manipulate others to gain something for themselves. Both characteristics are exemplified in this novel, an American classic.

The House of the Seven Gables. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Romance/Novel If readers can savor the experience, become a part of the times, feel the mood and see the architecture of mid-nineteenth-century New England, identify with the feelings and motives of the characters, they will have enriched their spirits with what today is called a “virtual experience.”

Blithedale Romance. Hawthorne. Novel. As close to a novel as Hawthorne gets. Miles Coverdale, the narrator, is a coldly inquisitive observer. In revealing his knowledge of the other members of the community, he reveals himself.

The Marble Faun. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Novel. Theme: humans need to experience sin in order to become truly human.