Excerpt from Student Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne by Melissa
McFarland Pennell (courtesy of Greenwood
Press, 1999) Used with the author's permission
Melissa McFarland Pennell on Hawthorne and authorship in the early 19th century
In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, authorship as a profession changed
substantially. Prior to the 1820s, authors depended upon the patronage of wealthy
benefactors or the income produced through another profession, such as law or
printing, to support themselves. Authorship was still considered an avocation
rather than a profession by many. When Hawthorne decided while in college to pursue
a career as a writer and to attempt to support himself by his earnings from publication,
he was embarking upon a risky venture. The challenges he faced as he attempted
to establish his reputation and find an audience provide insights into the changing
nature of authorship and the role of literature in American culture. (9)
