Nathaniel Hawthorne's Civil War

Abstract

Abstract:How should literary historians measure a writer's understanding of war as it is witnessed and what effect that might have on literary reputation. The occasion for posing this question is Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Chiefly about War Matters," his essay about a tour of Washington, DC, and environs during the second spring of the Civil War. The essay examines Hawthorne's understanding of the central conflict of his time and how, 160 years later, his article in the Atlantic magazine reveals some of his worst limitations as a cultural observer. Should we submit contemporary writers to similar tests? And when did the practice begin? To what end?