Puritan Zeal in "The Birthmark"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how, throughout the story "The Birthmark", Hawthorne tells us that Puritan zeal is an evil and dangerous attitude, whether it is manifested through the capitalist's zeal for technological progress, or through the transcendentalist's zeal to spiritualize all acts and objects. The paper then endeavors to go beyond the simple interpretation which says that it is only a cautionary tale about science. It looks at how the protagonist is more truly characterized by Puritan zeal and how Hawthorne's protagonist is a scientist because the materialistic aspirations of the age had a large investment in science.

From the Paper:

"We must first consider the Puritan heritage of America, which is an abiding theme in Hawthorne's work as a whole. The Puritan forefathers has brought with then an intense Calvinist faith, which was instrumental in forming the character of the new nation. The central tenet of this faith was 'sole fide', or 'justification by faith alone'. Calvinism was a reaction against the institutional basis of Catholicism, and therefore aimed to establish a personal communion with God, the only means to which was faith in Jesus Christ, and in the Bible as the words of God addressed directly to the believer. The Calvinist doctrine implied predestination, so that the believer is marked out by being in a state of grace. Only with grace are the words of God meaningful, and it is through the Bible that God establishes communion with the believer, and therefore confirms to believer that he or she is without sin."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Blackmur, Richard P. Outsider at the Heart of Things: Essays. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1989.
• Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Emerson on Transcendentalism. Ed. Edward L. Ericson. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 1986.
• Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Blithedale Romance. Chelmsford, MA: Courier Dover Publications, 2003.
• Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Selected Tales and Sketches. Ed. Michael J. Colacurcio. New York: Penguin Classics, 1987.
• Reid, Alfred S. "Hawthorne's Humanism; 'The Birthmark'and Sir Kenelm Digby." American Literature. 38 (1966): 337-51.

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