Hawthorne's Thin Line

Hawthorne's Thin Line When thinking of great American authors, one usually thinks of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne is best known for his classic work, The Scarlet Letter. This novel is a story about a women named Hester and her sin of adultery. In the preface to the novel , Kurt Neilson writes that, "Hawthorne sees a very thin line, if any, between the "real" world and the spiritual and/or imaginary one." Hawthorne's writing throughout The Scarlet Letter fulfills this claim made by Neilson in the dark forest and the scarlet letter itself. The Scarlet Letter is set in a Puritan society. In those times, the forest was seen as a dark and evil place. Hawthorne uses this belief in his writing. He blurs the line between the real and the imaginary with his use of a "dark forest" and "witches". An example comes from Chapter 4 of the novel when Hester is talking to Chillingsworth. She says, "Why dost thou smile so at me? inquired Hester, troubled at the expression of his eyes. "Art thou like the Black Man that haunts the forest round about us? Hast thou enticed me into a bond that will prove the ruin of my soul?"(74) Hester proves here that there is a very thin line between what is real and what is not. With her talk of the "Black Man" in the forest, she is clearly referring to the belief that the forest is evil. The "Black Man" is the devil and the forest is where he resides. The people in this Puritan lifestyle could not tell the difference between what was real and what was not when it came to the forest. Hawthorne does a excellent job of fulfilling Neilson's claim by keeping a very thin line between the real and imaginary world in regards to the forest. Hawthorne continues to fulfill the claim that he effectively blurs the line between reality and imagination with the Scarlet Letter itself. While the Scarlet Letter that Hester is forced to wear for her sin is a real, tangible thing, it appears to have supernatural powers as well. For example, in Hawthorne's The Custom House, the introduction to The Scarlet Letter, he appears to say the letter has supernatural powers. He writes, "...it seemed to me than that I experienced a sensation not altogether physical , yet almost so, as of burning heat; and as if the letter were not of red cloth, but red-hot iron" (31). Hawthorne seems to say here, that the letter itself is capable of burning human flesh, It is quite common knowledge that in the real world, a cloth letter is not able to generate heat. This is yet another example of Hawthorne blurring the line between the real and the imaginary. Hawthorne shows that he believes that there is a very thin line between this "real" world and a world of spirituality. Clearly, Hawthorne fulfills Neilson's claim. In The Scarlet Letter, Kurt Neilson claims that author Nathaniel Hawthorne sees a very thin line between the real world and the imaginary world. Hawthorne effectively and efficiently fulfills this claim. Hawthorne first creates a dark and mysterious tone with his use of the forest. He paints the picture that the forest in magical and haunted by the devil. Also, Hawthorne uses the Scarlet Letter itself as an example. He writes that the letter has supernatural powers and is able to generate heat. Kurt Neilson is correct in his claim that Hawthorne sees a thin line between reality and imagination. Hawthorne, throughout the novel, shows his mastery of language by blending the real and the imaginary.