The Haunted Mind

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 10K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Haunted Mind (From "Twice Told Tales") by Nathaniel HawthorneAuthor: Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 1, 2005

Editor's review

A short sketch from Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales, brief in length yet a concentrated expression of his gaze into the mind's darker corners. Told in the first person, it lays out the thoughts, memories, and unease of the half-waking state with delicate restraint, bearing the clear stamp of Puritan moral sensitivity and Romantic lyricism. It is not a plot-driven story but rather a psychological sketch written in prose, suited to slow reading in quiet hours, to savor the rhythm of the language and the layered progression of images. For readers studying the nineteenth-century American short story, the Gothic tradition, or Hawthorne's recurring themes, it is a small work that reveals much. As a public-domain electronic text, it is easily obtained and also serves well as a short piece for practicing reading in the original English.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy Hawthorne and American Romantic literature
Learners who want to practice reading original English through short pieces
Literature lovers interested in psychological description and Gothic atmosphere
Teachers who need teaching materials for nineteenth-century American short stories

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer strong plots and fast-paced narrative
Readers expecting a full-length story or character saga
Readers who find the original English difficult and have no aids

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the atmosphere, then go back and mark recurring images and shifts in mood.
Read it alongside other Hawthorne short stories to observe how his psychological technique continues and changes.
For the original English, use an annotated edition or introductory materials to ease the obstacles of period vocabulary.
Choose a quiet, uninterrupted time to read, which suits the text's introspective rhythm.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What kind of work is this?

It is a short sketch from Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales, closer to a narrative blending psychological prose and Gothic atmosphere than to a plot-driven story. When reading, focus on the narrator's inner activity, the imagery, and shifts in tone.

Can I read it without having read other works by Hawthorne?

Yes. This piece is short and its characters are simple, with no reliance on prior background. Still, knowing something of Hawthorne's Puritan cultural context and the Romantic literary setting will make its moral anxiety and symbolism easier to understand.

How difficult is the English, and is it suitable for beginners?

The original is nineteenth-century English, with sentence patterns and vocabulary characteristic of the period, posing a challenge for beginners. It is best suited to readers with intermediate or higher English reading ability, or used with annotated editions, introductions, or bilingual materials as a short text for close reading.

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About the author

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864 Author

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) was an American novelist known for his engagement with Puritan tradition and moral allegory. He wrote about sin, guilt, confession, and social prejudice in a restrained style with vivid imagery, often using historical settings and legendary tales to reveal the subtleties of human nature. The collection here holds 98 of his works, including the frequently translated novel The Scarlet Letter, the short-story collection Twice-Told Tales, and children's books drawn from myth and legend such as A Wonder Book for Girls & Boys, Tanglewood Tales, The Gorgon's Head, and The Three Golden Apples, showing his dual interest in New England history and classical myth. His writing has had a lasting influence on American literature's treatment of conscience and identity. Publicly available details of his life are limited, so they are not elaborated here.