negative-capability

NegativeCapabilityin19thCenturyAmericanLiterature—NathanielHawthorne,HermanMelville,andEdgarAllanPoeUnderdiscussioninthischapterarethreeauthors—NathanielHawthorne,HermanMelville,andEdgarAllanPoe—whoseliteraryachievementsmarkedanewlevelofmaturityin19thcenturyAmericanliterature.intermsoftheirrelationwithTranscendentalism:ofthethree,PoewasnotassociatedwithTranscendentalismoranyothernoticeable–ismsofhisage.Ontheotherhand,HawthorneandMelvilleweremarginallyassociatedwiththeideasofTranscendentalism,andtheywouldoftentakeacriticaldistancefromthatmovement.concerninggenres,Poewroteshortstoriesprimarilyandwasamongthefirstgenerationofliterarycritics.Hawthornewrotebothlongerandshorterfictionalworksandhecalledhisshorterworksthatspeakwiththewisdomofparablesandallegoryromancetales.Ofthethree,Melvillewastheonlyoneknownfortheepic-scaleworkandwrote,amongotherthings,MobyDick.Healsowroteshortstoriesandsomeofwhicharemasterpieces.NegativeCapability:despitetheirdifferencesinstyleandvision,thethreearestrikinglysimilarinoneaspect,namely:theyareallmastersofnegativecapability.theoriginofthephrase:negativecapabilitywasfirstusedbyJohnKeats,theBritishromanticpoet.InaletterwritteninDecember1817,Keatsdefineditasthecapabilityingoodpoetsofincludinguncertaintiesandothernegativeemotionswithoutstretchingforreasonandwithoutlosingreason.Keatswrote:“…thatiswhenmaniscapableofbeinginuncertainties,mysteries,doubts,withoutanyirritablereachingafterfactandreason.”Thenegativecapability,byimmersingusinambiguities,doubtsandothernegativeemotions,infactstrengthensusandimprovesourjudgmentbycomplicatingourexistingsystemofjudgment.Itisthereforeasignofthekindofaestheticsophisticationfoundonlyingoodpoets.Hawthorne,MelvilleandPoewerehealthyskeptics.Theirabilityindoubts,ironyanddetachmentenabledthemtointerrogatetheinnocenceoftheage.Toputitdifferently,itisawaytoquestionthebasisofoptimismsothatoptimismisnotbuiltonmereillusions.Hawthorne’srelationshipwiththeTranscendentalclubisacaseinpoint.HewasamemberoftheClubbutlivedonthefringesoftheirphilosophy.Hewasquitesuspiciousoftheirsunnyoptimism.Hawthorne’sexperiencetherewasasheerirony,whichledtohiswritingofTheBlithedaleRomance(1852).Melville’sskepticismaboutTranscendentalismisevidentinwhathesaysinMobyDick:“hewhohathmoreofjoythansorrowinhim…cannotbetrue—nottrue,orundeveloped.”Poe’sisuniqueinthathisinterestinthecomplexdynamismofthehumanpsychemadehimaprecursortothe20thcenturyphenomenonofpsychoanalysis.IfthehousesinHawthorne’sfictionalworksharborthesecretsofmoralsinsandguilt,Poeismoremoderninthathishousesarebutallegoriesforthehauntedhumanmind.Theword“Psychology”wasintroducedtotheTranscendentalistsfromGermanRomanticists.ButitisinHawthorne,MelvilleandPoethatthewordtookrootsandgrewintoatreewithfruits.NathanielHawthorne(1804-1864)TheScarletLetterandHawthorne’sMoralVision:theimportanceofSalem:HawthornewasanativeofSalem,Massachusetts.Salemwashisbirthplace.In1846heleftConcordandReturnedtoSalemasgovernoroftheport.HawthornefoundhismaterialsforwritingintheNewEnglandPuritanpastortheheritageofPuritanisminthe“present”.Forthatreason,Salem,withitspuritanheritageanditshistoryofwitchcraft,wasthesymboliclocaleforHawthorne’screativeimagination.Salem,togetherwiththe“allthepuritantraits,bothgoodandevil”foundanunalienableimprintuponHawthorne’sworks.TheScarletLetter:TheScarletLetterisafirstGreatAmericannovel.Thestoryline,set200yearsearlierintheBostonarea,isostensiblefocusedontheadulterouslovebetweenArthurDimmesdale,aPuritanminister,andHesterPrynne,amarriedwomaninhiscongregation.Butadulteryisnotthemaininterestofthenovel.Thefocusofthenovelistheirmoralsituationinthelongyearsinwhichtheyhavetoenduresuffering.Indeed,whenthenovelbeginsandunfolds,itistheconsequenceoftheadulteryandrespectivestruggleofthetwoloversthatgetusinvolved.Thenovel’sfocusisonthecomplexmoralimplicationsoftheaffair.ForanunderstandingofHawthorne’sintriguingmoralvisionandrelatedthemes,wecanbeginbyreviewingtwoofhisshortstories.“YoungGoodmanBrown”:itisthedreamexperienceofGoodmanBrownwhoisyoung,innocentand,ashisnamesuggests,anaverageman.Brownisnewlywedandonenight,heleaveshiswife“Faithbehindtogoonajourneyintheforest.Theforest,inHawthorne’sallegoricaltale,istheabodeofsinandevil.ThereistheforestBrowndiscovers(or,discoversthroughhisdreaming)thepuritancommunityinitsentirety,engagedinacollectiveconfessionoftheirassociationwithevilandsin(somethingtheywouldvehementlydenyinbroaddaylightforsure).Butthegreatestshockisthathefindshis“Faith”tobeamongthem,atthedevilworship.Justashecallsuphis“Faith”torefusethebaptismofevil,GoodmanBrownwakesup.Thereafter,wheneverheseeshisSalemPuritanneighbors,heseesthemnotaswhattheyclaimtobe,butassecretandhypocriticalsinners.ThecombinationofallegoryandironyischaracteristicallyHawthornian.Allegorically,thetalerevealsthatthePuritancommunityhaveaninclinationtowardsevilinthattheysecretlyharborsinandtheattendantguilt.WhatisinterestingisthatHawthornebothconfirmstheCalvinist/PuritantenetoforiginalsinandexposesthehypocrisyinhowthePuritancommunity,intheirpractices,triedtohidetheirsins.A