THE SKETCH BOOK OF NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE: THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LITERARY SKETCHING IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

This study treats Hawthorne's literary practice, examining qualities that distinguish his sketches formally from their more esteemed counterparts, the tales. But I am also concerned with theoretical questions posed by a genre that tries to render in prose the dynamics of visual art. I compare the sketch to related types of fiction and consider several writers in addition to Hawthorne who practiced this form. My concern is to analyze the art of verbal sketching, both in its own right and as it contributes to the structure of the novel in Britain and America. More specifically, I argue that techniques common to Hawthorne's sketches also inform his tales and romances, often contributing to the peculiar power of given works. In combining this portrait of one artist's achievement with a broader scope of historical and theoretical perspectives, I attempt not only to define the literary sketch but to suggest the range of aesthetic possibilities inherent in its form.;The interaction between sketch and tale underscores a struggle between thematic elements in Hawthorne's longer fiction as well. Chapters on each of the major romances analyze the positive and negative effects of Hawthorne's sketching within these works. Throughout his literary career, Hawthorne gains compelling results by juxtaposing the temporal dynamics of a tale with the pictorial disposition of a sketch. While I do not propose raising all examples of the sketch to canonical stature, I argue that techniques of sketching are a major component of Hawthorne's literary practice. As such, the genre deserves greater consideration than it has formerly received.;The study identifies salient qualities of the sketch and surveys its evolution from three literary antecedents: the Theophrastian Character, the essay, and literature of travel. Theoretically, I define the sketch as a work of prose in which the fictional elements Aristotle calls character and spectacle prevail over plot as the primary structuring agent. I argue that Hawthorne's best sketches equal or exceed many of his tales in the depth of their psychological insight and the ironic power of their historical perspective.