Hawthorne’s writing style in this novel was perhaps my favorite part of the story. The vocabulary, sentence structure, and prose were what I admired the most about Hawthorne’s style. Old English writing styles are difficult for me to comprehend, and while I did struggle with Hawthorne’s writing, I was not overwhelmed and deterred from the story. 

I am no expert on the time period, but I can certainly believe that the concept and content were ahead of its time, and that is something I appreciate. While outdated, there were certainly very intriguing themes and plot points throughout the story. That being said, I found myself disliking a character that I assume is meant to be likable for misogynistic undertones. Comparing a woman’s experience to a man’s and asserting that one’s pain is “greater than” is a questionable decision in my opinion. I do believe this was an interesting analysis of the gendered politics at the time and sadly some themes hold true today.

The final chapter had elements that I appreciated and was shocked were written by a man in the 1840-50s. 

Overall, I think this book is an excellent conversation starter and is thus justifiably taught in schools.