The Intelligence Office

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

3.1

Word count: 30K words
Chapters: 3

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 Intelligence Office (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") 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

"The Intelligence Office" is a short story from Hawthorne's collection "Mosses from an Old Manse." Written in an allegorical mode, it conjures an "intelligence office" where visitors arrive with secret wishes, using the setting to explore the human desire for knowledge, fate, and self-understanding, and the limits of that desire. Hawthorne's narration carries the typical coloring of nineteenth-century American Romanticism, relying more on symbol and suggestion than on direct exposition, so that the story reads like a moral parable. For readers familiar with longer works such as "The Scarlet Letter," this short piece shows how concisely Hawthorne handles the subtle recesses of human nature in the short-story form. The original is a public-domain English e-book, suitable as an entry text for reading English originals and also for close reading by students of American literature or the art of the short story. It is short enough to finish in a single commute or an afternoon, and leaves considerable room for reflection afterward.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to encounter Hawthorne's English prose through a short story
Learners interested in American Romanticism and allegorical fiction
Readers who want to practice close reading in English within a shorter text
Literature students studying symbolic technique in nineteenth-century short fiction

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a full-length plot and complete character arcs
Beginners with weak English reading skills who need annotated support
Readers who prefer contemporary fast-paced narrative and have little patience for allegory

Reading tips

Read through once for the plot, then return to key passages and watch for recurring symbolic images.
Jot down what each visitor to the "intelligence office" seeks, and map these against the theme of desire.
Read alongside other stories in Hawthorne's "Mosses from an Old Manse" to see the consistency of his style.
With the English original, try reading some passages aloud to feel the rhythm of nineteenth-century prose sentences.

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

Is this work similar in style to Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter"?

Both are by Hawthorne and both dwell on hidden motives and moral dilemmas, but this is a short allegorical tale with denser symbolism and a simpler plot, whereas "The Scarlet Letter" is a novel with more fully developed characters and narration. This piece can be seen as a light entry point into Hawthorne's thematic concerns.

What English level is needed to read the original?

The text is nineteenth-century English prose with long sentences and rather formal diction. Readers with intermediate or higher English reading ability who are used to classical prose will find it easier to enter; beginners are advised to use annotations or a parallel translation, understanding the plot first before reading the original.

Is this suitable for literary analysis in class?

Yes. It is short and its symbolism is concentrated, making it easy to read the whole text within limited class time and to discuss themes such as desire, knowledge, and self-understanding; it is also well suited to practicing close reading of short fiction.

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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.