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Article: Nathaniel Hawthorne and the unpardonable sin.
- Article from:
- The World and I
- Article date:
- March 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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During his leisure hours while serving as the American consul at the port of Liverpool, England, Nathaniel Hawthorne frequented the sites of Europe. One day in 1857, while attending an art exhibition in Manchester, he was informed by a friend that Alfred, Lord Tennyson, was present. Hawthorne already had achieved modest fame in both America and England with the publication of The Scarlet Letter in 1850, so it is likely Tennyson would have enjoyed meeting the American novelist.
Hawthorne, however, refused to introduce himself or to be introduced; he chose instead to observe the poet laureate from afar. As Tennyson perused the gallery, Hawthorne watched him, later ...