ホーソーン文学と読者 : 「古い指輪」を中心に

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Ancient Ring” was published in 1843. It was not reprinted in any short story collection during his lifetime. Few papers have been published discussing this work, partly because it is considered a failure. In this paper, I will argue that Hawthorne’s feelings toward his readers, that is, his disappointments and expectations, are shown in the reactions of the characters in the work, who either praise or complain about the “Legend,” even though it is not of much substance.
In a church fundraising scene, when the cursed ring is donated by the poor, the curse is purged. However, it is usually difficult to imagine a very expensive ring being donated by a poor group of people, but the audience hearing the story accepts it as a conventional morality tale and raves about it. This is the reader who does not take the story seriously. In such a situation, Edward’s fiancée, Clara, praises the work but says, “Your moral does not satisfy me. What thought did you embody in your ring?”
I would like to cite a certain work in the gift book to ponder this statement of Clara’s. As the story ends, a character outside the story comes out and asks, “this is all very well, sir, but what is the moral?” The moral is obvious, but he looks for the part where it is clearly written. This is an attitude of trying to quickly get to the heart of the story in simple, simplistic terms, without being willing to explore for oneself what the work is trying to convey. The author clearly states the moral of the story to prevent the“ meddler” from asking the same question. This act of being asked about the moral of the story indicates that the “Legend” written by Edward is at the level of a gift book, and that Clara is a“ meddler.” She was only asking for moral support because she hit on an idea.
It is certain that Hawthorne does not take well to a literary market that has to continually respond to the demands of such readers. It is important to note here that when Clara asks for more morals, Edward gives her “a half-reproachful smile.” In other words, at that time, he is still half-expecting his readers.
Hawthorne does not expect readers to read only the surface of the story. In his last completed romance, The Marble Faun, a “postscript” is added in response to the reader's request for more clarification of the enigmatic parts. He answers some of the questions, if not unwillingly, but ends up refusing to answer the crucial ones. Perhaps this is the moment when Hawthorne gives up on the reader who creates the world of romance together. The difference between“ The Ancient Ring” and other works that indirectly blame the reader is that it was written by Edward, “somewhat of a carpet knight in literature,” and it uses that as a cover for blatantly blaming the reader. Hawthorne joined Brook Farm in April 1841 with a large sum of money in the hope that he would have the means to support his wife; he abandoned his life there in November, married the following July, and wrote his first short story there, “The Ancient Ring.” Many readers admired the easy-to-understand light reading, even though he was a newlywed with little money, and writing works does not make much money. This work may have depicted such a literary market. I believe that Edward’s marriage to Clara, who demands moral values in his work, is a preparation to share Hawthorne’s own fate with such readers. “The Ancient Ring” is not only a failure, but it dares Edward to create an ordinary story and focus on the readers who admire it so much. This overt criticism of the reader may be one reason why Hawthorne did not subsequently include it in his short story collection.