Time's Portraiture: (from: "the Doliver Romance and Other Pieces: Tales and Sketches")
1838
Time's Portraiture: (from: "the Doliver Romance and Other Pieces: Tales and Sketches")
1838
Here is Nathaniel Hawthorne without his famous shadow. Written in 1838 as a New Year's greeting to readers of The Salem Gazette (a tradition where newspaper carriers would solicit tips with poetic addresses), this piece finds the future author of The Scarlet Letter experimenting with humor, social satire, and playful philosophy. The narrator, a humble carrier, reimagines Father Time not as the traditional skeletal figure but as a fashionable gentleman who mingles through Salem's streets, forgetful and shrewd, bringing both comfort and misery to human lives. Hawthorne inspects our misconceptions about time's passage with wit and warmth, revealing a writer far more engaged with daily existence than his darker reputation suggests. The piece culminates in an endearing plea for generosity from patrons, grounding its poetry in practical reality. For readers who know only Hawthorne's Gothic depths, this offers a charming surprise: a young writer capable of levity, charm, and keen observation of ordinary life.
