Hawthorne and Romance: Rereading Fanshawe

Abstract

This paper aims at rereading Hawthorne’s first romance, Fanshawe, and finding its strength and weakness as a romance that reveals its potential for his later major works. Fanshawe has been generally deemed as a failure, and thus neglected by both readers and critics. As it faithfully followed the Gothic formulas and devices that were in fashion in the 1820’s, it became a traditional romantic love story teemed with adventure, seduction, abduction, confrontation and rescue. But it still shows Hawthorne’s potential in its impressive writing style and presentation of minor characters: while its major characters are sacrificed for the dramatic effects, its minor ones are presented lively and humorously which enliven the storyline; its plot is full of various incidents and coincidences to enhance dramatic effects. These are analyzed here in view of the theories on romance by Hawthorne himself and other critics.