Nathaniel Hawthorne's satire of Transcendentalism in "The Artist of the Beautiful"

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Dell Landreth McKeithan (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Robert Stephens

Abstract: The consensus among modern critics is that Nathaniel Hawthorne's story "The Artist of the Beautiful" is a type of parable that may be given various interpretations, all of which cast the artist as an admirable character opposed to forces that seek to destroy him. My thesis is that the artist is the object of Hawthorne's satire, and through him Hawthorne is retaliating against Emerson for articles in the Dial that can be read as deprecating Hawthorne. By nature sensitive and proud, Hawthorne adopted a defensive, ironical style while still a boy. Perhaps he derived the style from the speech and writings of his times, for it was popular among the masses as well as among the intellectuals. He retained and polished the style in his mature writings and sometimes used it as an outlet for resentment against those who offended him.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 1965
Subjects
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, $d 1804-1864 $x Criticism and interpretation
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, $d 1804-1864. $t Artist of the beautiful

Email this document to