On Hawthorne: The Best from American Literature(Best from American Literature)

From 1929 to the latest issue, American Literature has been the foremost journal expressing the findings of those who study our national literature. The jouranl has published the best work of literary historians, critics, and bibliographers, ranging from the founders of the discipline to the best current critics and researchers. The longevity of this excellence lends a special distinction to the articles in American Literature. Presented in order of their first appearance, the articles in each volume constitute a revealing record of developing insights and important shifts of critical emphasis. Each article has opened a fresh line of inquiry, established a fresh perspective on a familiar topic, or settled a question that engaged the interest of experts.

Table of Contents:
Series Introduction vii Hawthorne and Literary Nationalism (1941) / Neal F. Doubleday 1 Suggestions for Interpreting The Marble Faun (1941) / Dorothy Waples 8 The "Case" of Tobias Pearson: Hawthorne and dthe Ambiguities (1950) / Louise Dauner 24 The Double Symbol (1951) / Harold Orel 33 Hawthorne's Revision of "The Gentle Boy" (1954) / Seymour L. Gross 39 Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter: " The Dark Problem of this Life" (1955) / Hugh N. Maclean 52 The Gharacter of Flame: The Function of Pearl in The Scarlet Letter (1956) / Anne Marie McNamara 65 A New Reading of The Blithdale Romance (1957) / Frederick C. Crews 82 Hawthorne's Allegory of Science: "Rappaccini's Daughter" (1960) / Edward H. Rosenberry 106 Shadows of Doubt: Specter Evidence in Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" (1962) / David Levin 114 Hester Prynne's Little Pearl: Sacred and Profane Love (1968) / Robert E. Whelan 123 Hawthorne and Nineteenth-Century Perfectionism (1973) / Claudia D. Johnson 141 Hawthorne's Public Decade and the Values of Home (1974) / Terence Martin 152 Hawthorne's Coverdale: Character and Art in The Blithedale Romance (1975) / James H. Justus 164 Beyond Convention: The Dynamics of Imagery and Response in Hawthorne's Early Sense of Evil (1980) / David Downing 180 Nathaniel Hawthorne and His Mother: A Biographical Speculation (1982) / Nina Bryan 194 The Scarlet Letter and Revolutions Abroad (1985) / Larry J. Reynolds 221 Nature and Frontier in "Roger Malvin's Burial" (1988) / James McIntosh 245 Nathanel Hawthorne's Intention in "Chiefly About War Matters" (1989) / James Bense 262 Index 277

Review :
"The journal American Literature was founded in 1929 and since that time has regularly published important articles on the study of literature in the United States. Many of the articles that appeared in the journal have, in fact, become the ‘standard view’ or ‘the final word’ on a particular literary subject. . . . The series will be an important acquisition for every college library." - Choice