Nathaniel hawthorne the wives of the dead. The Wives of the Dead 2022-10-24
Nathaniel hawthorne the wives of the dead
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"The Wives of the Dead" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1832. It tells the story of two widows, Mrs. Pierce and Mrs. Fenton, who are struggling to come to terms with the loss of their husbands.
The story begins with the two women traveling to the cemetery to visit the graves of their husbands, who died in the same battle during the Napoleonic Wars. As they stand at the graves, they reflect on their own feelings of grief and loneliness. Mrs. Pierce, in particular, is overwhelmed with emotion, as she was only married to her husband for a short time before his death.
Despite their sadness, the two women find solace in each other's company. They share their memories of their husbands and the love they had for them, and they find comfort in knowing that they are not alone in their grief.
As the story progresses, we see that both women have found ways to cope with their loss and move forward with their lives. Mrs. Fenton has thrown herself into charitable work, while Mrs. Pierce has found solace in her faith.
Throughout the story, Hawthorne explores themes of love, loss, and the enduring power of friendship. He shows how the two women are able to support and comfort each other in their time of need, and how their love for their husbands endures even in death.
In conclusion, "The Wives of the Dead" is a poignant and moving tribute to the enduring power of love and friendship. It is a reminder that even in the darkest of times, we are not alone, and that the love we have for others can help us through even the most difficult of experiences.
The Wives of The Dead by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Time went on, and their usual hour of repose arrived. Her mind was thronged with delightful thoughts, till sleep stole on, and transformed them to visions, more delightful and more wild, like the breath of winter but what a cold comparison! The storm was over, and the moon was up; it shone upon broken clouds above, and below upon houses black with moisture, and upon little lakes of the fallen rain, curling into silver beneath the quick enchantment of a breeze. Mary experienced the effect often consequent upon grief quietly borne, and soon sunk into temporary forgetfulness, while Margaret became more disturbed and feverish, in proportion as the night advanced with its deepest and stillest hours. Two vacant arm-chairs were in their old positions on opposite sides of the hearth, where the brothers had been wont to sit in young and laughing dignity, as heads of families; two humbler seats were near them, the true thrones of that little empire, where Mary and herself had exercised in love a power that love had won. But then she remembered that Margaret would awake to thoughts of death and woe, rendered not the less bitter by their contrast with her own felicity. Happy is it, and strange, that the lighter sorrows are those from which dreams are chiefly fabricated.
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The Wives of the Dead, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
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You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. She now shrunk from Mary's words, like a wounded sufferer from a hand that revives the throb. He tarried at my house to refresh himself with a drop and a morsel, and I asked him what tidings on the frontiers. Margaret shrunk from disturbing her sister-in-law, and felt as if her own better fortune had rendered her involuntarily unfaithful, and as if altered and diminished affection must be the consequence of the disclosure she had to make. But then she remembered that Margaret would awake to thoughts of death and woe, rendered not the less bitter by their contrast with her own felicity. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. With a sudden step she turned away.
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The Wives of the Dead
A lantern was reddening the front of the house, and melting its light in the neighboring puddles, while a deluge of darkness overwhelmed every other object. Before retiring, she set down the lamp, and endeavored to arrange the bedclothes so that the chill air might not do harm to the feverish slumberer. United, as they had been, by the relationship of the living, and now more closely so by that of the dead, each felt as if whatever consolation her grief admitted were to be found in the bosom of the other. But Margaret stayed not to watch these picturesque effects. Margaret shrunk from disturbing her sister-in-law, and felt as if her own better fortune had rendered her involuntarily unfaithful, and as if altered and diminished affection must be the consequence of the disclosure she had to make. For a little time, slumber hung about her like a morning mist, hindering her from perceiving the distinct outline of her situation. She lay listening to the drops of rain, that came down in monotonous succession, unswayed by a breath of wind; and a nervous impulse continually caused her to lift her head from the pillow, and gaze into Mary's chamber and the intermediate apartment.
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Wives of The Dead, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
What exactly did it mean when she awoke? Her face was turned partly inward to the pillow, and had been hidden there to weep; but a look of motionless contentment was now visible upon it, as if her heart, like a deep lake, had grown calm because its dead had sunk down so far within. But Mary goes to Margarets bedroom and is in there rearranging Margarets bedding when her had accidentally touches Margarets neck and her tear falls upon Mary's cheek, awakening Mary. Mary recognized him as one whose livelihood was gained by short voyages along the coast; nor did she forget that, previous to her marriage, he had been an unsuccessful wooer of her own. But then she remembered that Margaret would awake to thoughts of death and woe, rendered not the less bitter by their contrast with her own felicity. The cold light of the lamp threw the shadows of the furniture up against the wall, stamping them immovably there, except when they were shaken by a sudden flicker of the flame. Again there was a quick peal upon the street-door.
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Story of the Week: The Wives of the Dead
The rainy twilight of an autumn day,--a parlor on the second floor of a small house, plainly furnished, as beseemed the middling circumstances of its inhabitants, yet decorated with little curiosities from beyond the sea, and a few delicate specimens of Indian manufacture,--these are the only particulars to be premised in regard to scene and season. Margaret knew him as a friendly innkeeper of the town. These stories are well appreciated! The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501 c 3 educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. She arose, placed her foot upon the floor, and slightly arrayed herself, trembling between fear and eagerness as she did so. She suffered the rays of the lamp to fall upon the unconscious form of the bereaved one.
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The Wives of the Dead
Again there was a quick peal upon the street-door. The cheerful radiance of the fire had shone upon the happy circle, and the dead glimmer of the lamp might have befitted their reunion now. He tells me we had the better in the skirmish you wot of, and that thirteen men reported slain are well and sound, and your husband among them. Thither the widowed ones retired, after heaping ashes upon the dying embers of their fire, and placing a lighted lamp upon the hearth. Margaret lay in unquiet sleep, and the drapery was displaced around her; her young cheek was rosy-tinted, and her lips half opened in a vivid smile; an expression of joy, debarred its passage by her sealed eyelids, struggled forth like incense from the whole countenance. And who do you think I saw standing on deck, well and hearty, only a bit thinner than he was five months ago? The doors of both chambers were left open, so that a part of the interior of each, and the beds with their unclosed curtains, were reciprocally visible. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.
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He tells me we had the better in the skirmish you wot of, and that thirteen men reported slain are well and sound, and your husband among them. Thither the widowed ones retired, after heaping ashes upon the dying embers of their fire, and placing a lighted lamp upon the hearth. While Margaret groaned in bitterness, she heard a knock at the street door. Besides, he is appointed of the escort to bring the captivated Frenchers and Indians home to the province jail. He tarried at my house to refresh himself with a drop and a morsel, and I asked him what tidings on the frontiers. For a little time, slumber hung about her like a morning mist, hindering her from perceiving the distinct outline of her situation. By some accident, it had been left unhasped, and yielded easily to her hand.
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Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Wives of the Dead
As the window grated on its hinges, a man in a broad-brimmed hat and blanket-coat stepped from under the shelter of the projecting story, and looked upward to discover whom his application had aroused. With a sudden step she turned away. The brothers and their brides, entering the married state with no more than the slender means which then sanctioned such a step, had confederated themselves in one household, with equal rights to the parlor, and claiming exclusive privileges in two sleeping-rooms contiguous to it. Margaret lay in unquiet sleep, and the drapery was displaced around her; her young cheek was rosy-tinted, and her lips half opened in a vivid smile; an expression of joy, debarred its passage by her sealed eyelids, struggled forth like incense from the whole countenance. Her misfortune, besides, as earliest known, should earliest cease to interfere with her regular course of duties; accordingly, having placed the table before the fire, and arranged a frugal meal, she took the hand of her companion. A young man in a sailor's dress, wet as if he had come out of the depths of the sea, stood alone under the window. Her first impulse was to rouse her sister-in-law, and communicate the new-born gladness.
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The Wives of The Dead by Nathaniel Hawthorne Flashcards
As the window grated on its hinges, a man in a broad-brimmed hat and blanket-coat stepped from under the shelter of the projecting story, and looked upward to discover whom his application had aroused. A lantern was reddening the front of the house, and melting its light in the neighboring puddles, while a deluge of darkness overwhelmed every other object. Mary recognized him as one whose livelihood was gained by short voyages along the coast; nor did she forget that, previous to her marriage, he had been an unsuccessful wooer of her own. And who do you think I saw standing on deck, well and hearty, only a bit thinner than he was five months ago? But joy could not long be repressed, even by circumstances that would have excited heavy grief at another moment. They joined their hearts, and wept together silently. She lay listening to the drops of rain, that came down in monotonous succession, unswayed by a breath of wind; and a nervous impulse continually caused her to lift her head from the pillow, and gaze into Mary's chamber and the intermediate apartment. When the night was far advanced, Mary awoke with a sudden start.
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