American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, quite simply, had a complicated relationship with women. When his father died from Yellow Fever in 1808, Hawthorne, then only four-years-old, was left to be raised by his mother and two sisters (Conway 16). Hawthorne’s childhood, which was shaped almost entirely by women, proved to have a profound impact on his life and perception of femininity. Consequently, Hawthorne more fully understood women and created female characters who were multifaceted, nuanced, and
INTRODUCTION AMERICAN LITERATURE American literature is the literature written or produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. During its early history America was a series of British colonies on the eastern coast of the present day United States. Therefore it is literary tradition of English literature. However, unique American characteristics and the breadth of its production usually now cause it to be considered a separate path and tradition. The New England colonies