A reading of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s select novels and tales in new historicist perspective

Abstract

New historicist approach to literary works emerged in the 1980s in a vitriolic response to text centered reading of New Criticism. New Historicists rejected the formalistic approach of the new critical precept that considered text an autonomous unit which should be analyzed without falling prey to what New Critics termed as intentional fallacy [that is relating it to the life of the author or his intention behind composition] or the Historical Fallacy [relating it to social, political, economic, and religious contexts]. New Historicists focused on a literary work as a product of time, place, and circumstances of its composition rather than as an isolated creation of genius. They examined the social factors, the psychological background of the author, and the influence of various books and theories upon the writer which shaped his consciousness. They combated empty formalism by pulling historical considerations to the center stage of literary analysis against the decontextualized study of New Critics. newlineNew Historicist approach exposes in manifold ways, how culture and society affect each other. Like earlier historical approaches, it does not focus on a literary work as reflective of the time in which it has been conceived. It reveals how the work is influenced by the time in which it has been composed. New Historicists believe that literature is one of the mediums to represent society like other narratives are. They do not suggest any single or easily identifiable historical context. They stress on the new self questioning historicist who views literary works as fields of contradictory forces, place of dissension, shifting interests, and occasion for the jostling of orthodox and subversive impulses. They also refute the notion of objectivity in critical interpretation and dare to make themselves the subject of study. Hawthorne s novels and tales have been analyzed and discussed from a range of angles and perspectives.