A passage from the introduction to The Scarlet Letter: "Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in the same worn-out soil. My children have had other birthplaces, and, so far as their fortunes may be within my control, shall strike their roots into unaccustomed earth."Historically, literally, and literarily. The monthly book group just read The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. We had read quite a bit of reading from local authors this past year (The Brothers Bulger, All Souls, A Family Story from Southie, Walden, American Bloomsbury, etc.). We wanted to see the sites in Concord related to the stories and notable figures (we also want to go to Salem, MA before the summer is out).
As far as The Scarlet Letter goes, we talked about whether Pearl represented good or evil or even Arthur Dimmesdale's conscience. She definitely has an "evil streak." Or is it the "poison of her parent's guilt" (as one review says). Makes one think about some religions and the accompanying sin and guilt. One of the docents pointed out that Nathaniel Hawthorne was the Stephen King of his time and that his writing might be considered gothic terror. We could see that in this book, the whole self-mutilation thing going on with the minister. It also reminded us of Edgar Allen Poe, too, like in the Tell-Tale Heart.
We thought about Hester Prynne and how she was both obedient (keeping secrets) and courageous (wearing the letter so boldly and with dignity, reforming her life into one of charity). There was a theme about keeping secrets (lying) and how they can destroy relationships (Hester and Minister couldn't be together, Arthur couldn't acknowledge Pearl, Hester couldn't answer Pearl's questions - maybe that's why Pearl was a little weird) and individuals Arthur, Roger Chillingworth). Actually, Hester appears to be the only main character that seems "okay." She has a desire to determine her own identity. When we look at the theme of "sin," we can see that Hester integrates this theme into her life and identity and will not be told later change it, even though the townfolk would be okay with her removing the letter. She stays in town wearing the letter because running away or removing it would be an acknowledgment of society’s power over her and she is stronger and more determined than that.
Roger Chillingworth becomes more and more evil as the book progresses. At first the townfolk think he's a nice and kind doctor and then they see his body change and so does his heart as he plots revenge. We talked some about the pedophilic nature of these novels, old men marrying young women.
Let's not forget day vs. night, visibility vs. concealment. The book is organized into actions taking place in "acceptable" society and those under the covert of darkness.
How about the theme of the "futility of symbols." The letter is supposed to symbolize adultery, but eventually the townsfolk want to change it to "Able" which just goes to show the stupidness of such forms of punishment, clearly having a child is more of a symbol than a letter. Not to mention that Hester can remove the letter whenever she wants, but she cannot remove her child. One could even say that the letter is "human-made" while the child is "God-made." Nature (like the rosebush outside the prison door) endures beyond the acitivities and beliefs of humans.
Sparknotes interprets Pearl as a symbol: Although Pearl is a complex character, her primary function within the novel is as a symbol. Pearl is a sort of living version of her mother’s scarlet letter. She is the physical consequence of sexual sin and the indicator of a transgression. Yet, even as a reminder of Hester’s “sin,” Pearl is more than a mere punishment to her mother: she is also a blessing. She represents not only “sin” but also the vital spirit and passion that engendered that sin. Thus, Pearl’s existence gives her mother reason to live, bolstering her spirits when she is tempted to give up. It is only after Dimmesdale is revealed to be Pearl’s father that Pearl can become fully “human.” Until then, she functions in a symbolic capacity as the reminder of an unsolved mystery.
Also from Sparknotes, I picked up this about the character names: The names in this novel often seem to beg to be interpreted allegorically. Chillingworth is cold and inhuman and thus brings a “chill” to Hester’s and Dimmesdale’s lives. “Prynne” rhymes with “sin,” while “Dimmesdale” suggests “dimness”—weakness, indeterminacy, lack of insight, and lack of will, all of which characterize the young minister. The name “Pearl” evokes a biblical allegorical device—the “pearl of great price” that is salvation. This system of naming lends a profundity to the story, linking it to other allegorical works of literature such as Pilgrim’s Progress and to portions of the Bible. It also aligns the novel with popular forms of narrative such as fairy tales.
I know we talked about more, but with all the new information about authors and houses, we tended to integrate the books on the spot and my memory isn't so good about the details of the book separate from the details of the houses.
The Book Group had been looking forward to visiting the homes of authors we have read when their houses reopened for the summer. Well, July 3rd was the day. We grabbed our daughters for a mother/daughter book group outing. A week later, we saw some more homes. Then I went back today by myself and filled in some of the photo gaps. Here's a summary of what we saw and learned (lots and lots of trivia in here with many, many interconnections). The first post is primarily about the houses and the next post is about the cemetery.
We started at the Old Manse which is located next to the Old North Bridge at the end of a column of trees. This was the home built by Ralph Waldo Emerson's Grandfather (who was descendant from Peter Buckley (spelled by him Bulkeley, the founder of Concord, MA). At different points, it was a boarding house for a couple of widows who ended up marrying their boarders who happened to be the new minister in town at the time. Anyway, Nathaniel Hawthorne and his young wife, Sophia Peabody (first name had a long "i" sound back then) rented it when they were first married, until he moved into The Wayside (which was Hillside when Louisa May Alcott lived their and had the adventures which she wrote about in Little Women). Sophia and several other folks used their diamond rings to carve into the glass window panes. It was extraordinary to see the writing and know that these folks had stood in this same spot marking their place in history.
Outside, we toured the garden, originally planted by Henry David Thoreau (rhymes with "thorough" as in "you did a good job" with an accent on the first syllable, if you want to say it like the family does and not like the rest of the world) as a present to Nathaniel and Sophia, and replicated here in about 1991. It was just too cool to come across an interesting plant with purple flowers and pods that looked like snap peas, or should I say "indigo" flowers??? Since, that's what kind of plant it was.In some of our books Louisa May Alcott, and other women of the times, wrote about their indigo plants, dyes, and crops.
Then we went to The Orchard House. This is where the Alcotts lived and where Louisa wrote Little Women (about experiences from her last house, Hillside). She was as big and famous for her time as J.K. Rowling is for ours. She made $100 a pop, while her father made $100 for a full year of work as superintendent of the Concord Schools (just for comparison). 80% of the furnishings are original due to Alcott descendants giving back all the furniture they had inherited to the preservation society when the house became protected. The house is set up just like the Alcotts had it (they used old photographs). The Alcotts had indoor plumping due to a well that Henry Thoreau located and dug. They also kept a huge kettle near the fire so they could always have hot water (this was a luxury that was also in The Old Manse).
Other Alcott descendants still live in Concord, one of whom founded The Concord Players which "reside" at 51 Walden (seen in this photo). And Fritz & Gigis (aka Kussins), a children's clothing store, is also owned by Alcotts.This was my third trip to the Alcott house in 18 months, and it's still a great tour. I learn something new every time. The docents are always studying and sharing new and different stories, they all have their specialties, you know. There is a smaller building located in the back yard is the Transcendental School.
Then we had lunch at Helen's. I remember when it was Brigham's. Our server asked, "But do you remember when my grandmother ran it and it was named "Helen's." Answer, nope, that was way before my time, but does tell you how long it's been there. The moms had the Walden sandwich (cranberry chicken salad) and the girls finished their meals with ice cream cones.
A week later, we went to The Wayside (formerly Hillside). This is where Lousia May Alcott actually lived and experienced the stories she wrote about in Little Women (she wrote it when she lived in the Orchard House). The barn/garage (to the right with the green door) was where they held their "theater shows", but the barn was on the left side of the house back then, it was Hawthorne who moved it to this location. Hawthorne bought the house but hardly lived there since he was doing many political things, like supporting President Franklin Pierce who probably slept in this house. Hawthorne built the large "tower" you can see. But it was Margaret Sidney (aka Harriet Lothrop), author of the Little Pepper series, who preserved this house and the Orchard House (which she bought for $1.00 as the bulldozers were in the front lawn). The Lothrops owned it longer than any other family (over 100 years).
Emerson's house is the most modern of the four we visited (all within a mile of each other). It's only about 150 years old. It was his "summer home" so had much higher ceilings to keep cool, no need to stay warm in the winter when you aren't living there. The Emerson family still owns it, they have a care taker, and they hold family reunions there sometimes.
This part of the worldwind Concord tour which our Book Group took is about Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, located on Route 62 behind the Town Hall, walking distance from the center of town. There are 10,000 grave sites in Sleeping Hollow Cemetery which is composed of six distinct sections totaling 119 acres laid out in several phases from 1823-1998. The name is probably from the Washington Irving novel which was published at the same time that this cemetery was beginning. This is a view of The Basin.
This plot is immediately next to a shed which is next to a one room school house which was decommissioned in 1880. The building is now being used by the DPW for storage and today there were 50 flags from the 4th of July drying out inside. I got a sneak peak to this closed building because the DPW arrived when I was there. Anyway, the lot is located in the oldest and western-most section of the cemetery behind the New Hill entrance. It is called the Dunbar lot because it was purchased by Henry Thoreau's grandmother, Mary Dunbar. It was the original place of internment for Henry, his sibings John and Helen, and their father John, Sr. In the 1870s, the bodies of all the Thoreaus were re-interred on Authors Ridge.Besides the beautiful landscaping, there were, of course, many interesting headstones.
This Native American mortar stone was found by Edward Nealey and Henry Thoreau during a walk in the local woods. It is now the gravestone for Edward.
Prudence Ward (1731-1811) was a close friend of the Thoreau family and grandmother of Ellen Sewall, the girl to whom both Henry and John Thoreau proposed marriage (Her father said no to both). Her gravestone was old, worn, and hard to read (and find).
Katherine Davis wrote The Little Drummer Boy. This had to be one of the most difficult stones to find. It was very simple, obviously, in the newly paved section way in back and had no identification of her "claim to fame."
Anne Rainsford French was the first woman in the United States to be issued a driver's license around 1910 and is known by her husband's name, Mrs. Walter Bush.Melvin’s Memorial was commissioned by James Melvin as a memorial to his three brothers who had died in the Civil War. Daniel Chester French created it. May Alcott was his first art teacher.
Samuel Staples was the friendly constable who in 1846 arrested Henry Thoreau and watched over him for one night in the county jail. He also took over management of the New Burying Ground after J.S. Keyes.
This is the view of Authors Ridge when you turn around from Daniel Chester French's gravestone and his gravesite is behind you.
Daniel Chester French also sculpted the Concord Minuteman at the Old North Bridge.
AND the statue of John Harvard in Harvard Yard.
AND the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.
There's so much to say about this cemetery, but the main thing is that we saw the last place the families of some pretty famous people laid their loved ones to rest. Authors Ridge is where many of the most famous gravesites can be seen.
Franklin Sanborn (1831-1917) was a teacher, Transcendentalist, abolitionist, and member of John Brown’s “Secret Six”. He taught the children of Emerson, Hawthorne, Horace Mann, and John Brown. He also taught a young, blind, abused girl named Annie Sullivan who later became the teacher of Helen Keller.Nathaniel Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody in the 1840s and spent many days in the glade of “Sleepy Hollow.” Their graves are where the two dreamed of building a castle. Two years ago, the remains of Sophia and her eldest daughter Una were brought back to Sleepy Hollow from Kensal Green Cemetery in London (where the lot was deteriorating) to be rejoined with Nathaniel. The Order of Rose Hawthorne (youngest daughter) made the arrangements. This order is so large that Rose is being considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church.
In another part of the cemetery, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, the sister of Sophia Hawthorne and Mary Mann, is buried. She was also a Transcendentalist and introduced the kindergarten system to the United States.Margaret Sidney (aka Harriet Lothrop) is the author of the Little Pepper series, and the one whose family owned The Wayside longer than any other family.
Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), her parents, and her sisters have simple headstones. She is the only famous author on this ridge to receive military honors on her head stone, being the only one who served for the country. In 1862-1863, for six weeks, she served at the Union Hospital in Georgetown, D.C. During this time she contracted typhoid and was forced to return home. She was treated with large doses of calomel, a mercury compound which caused her to be ill for the remainder of her life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) has a large, large rose-quartz boulder and his wife, Lidian, is adorned with a frieze of tulips. There are 22 members of Emerson’s extended family buried there.
When I was searching for Katherine Davis on the other side of the cemetery, I found another Emerson burial plot. Here is where the son of Lidian and Ralph Waldo Emerson is buried.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) has one of the simplest gravestones in the cemetery. His parents and three siblings are buried there (they were originally interned in the Dunbar Lot and re-interred on Authors Ridge in the 1870s).
Ephraim Wales Bull developed the Concord grape. He cultivated wild, native grapes and other fruits in his backyard garden at his home on Lexington Road where the original parent vine of all the Concord grapes in the world is. The Welch's grape company comes every year to prune and make sure the vine is still healthy.
UPDATE: In the fall, I managed to actually find Ephraim's house and a marker about the grapevine. It's just a short walk down from The Wayside along the white picket fence.
On the way out, there are a few other stops to see. The Pope Mausoleum is built of granite.
John Shepard Keyes (1812-1910) was the first superintendent of Public Grounds and established Sleepy Hollow as a “garden” cemetery.
William Whelldon was the Chairman of the Bunker Hill Monument Association that erected the Bunker Hill Monument in 1843. There are four small obelisks in his family plot. The Concord obelisk, and numerous others, were inspired by Bunker Hill.And finally, one last note, Peter Buckley came from England in 1635 and was educated at St. Johns College, Cambridge, England, of which he was a fellow for some time. He was rector of Woodhill for twenty-one years, and having, through his non-conformity, come into conflict with Archbishop Laud, emigrated to Cambridge, Mass. In 1636 he was the principal founder of Concord, where he was pastor until his death in 1659 (never did find his site).
