The Beautiful And Ethan Brand By Nathaniel Hawthorne

The insanity of the genius mind comes from deviation from society’s norms that society views as a disease. In the short stories, The Artist of the Beautiful and Ethan Brand by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the titular characters appear to suffer from an alteration of the mind, interpreted today as mental disorders, diseases that Hawthorne’s time did not recognize. Yet, this alteration sparks their endeavors. Through their deviance from society’s norms, abnormal behavior with women, and interactions with nature, the characters of Owen Warland and Ethan Brand engage in a corruption of the mind stemming from Hawthorne’s concept of Unpardonable Sin in a search for what their innate natures see as beautiful while society condemns such deviance. Owen Warland and Ethan Brand deviate from the norms of their respective societies that value normalcy and a sane mind. Hawthorne never defines the Unpardonable Sin in specific terms, and as such, Owen and Ethan’s Unpardona ble Sin can be interpreted as a deviance from the norms that their society constructs. During the times that Owen engages in his creation of the beautiful, society condemns him. Although, he recognizes that â€Å"[i]t is requisite for the ideal artist to possess a force of character that seems hardly compatible with its delicacy; he must keep his faith in himself while the incredulous world assails him with its utter disbelief† (Hawthorne 203). Owen’s eccentricities drive the â€Å"force of character† which he recognizes as â€Å"hardlyShow MoreRelated Sinfulness of the Puritans in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter2040 Words   |  9 PagesSinfulness of the Puritans in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne brings to The Scarlet Letter a notion of sin and guilt that seems to stem from his experience and knowledge of Puritan theology and religious practice. In The Custom House Hawthorne communicates his apprehension for the persecutory impulses of his ancestors who have mingled their earthly substance with the soil, until no small portion of it must necessarily be akin to the moral frame wherewith, for a little