Nathaniel Hathorne in Hester: Character Analysis, Motivations, and Role in the Novel

Overview of Nathaniel Hathorne in Hester

In Laurie Lico Albanese's Hester, Nathaniel Hathorne is a young, unpublished writer living in Salem in 1829, burdened by his family's legacy as descendants of the witch-trial judge John Hathorne. He is also the man who will one day become Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter. The novel reimagines his early life, giving him a secret love affair with Isobel Gamble, a Scottish immigrant and gifted needlewoman. Hathorne is drawn to Isobel's boldness, her synesthetic perception of color, and her skill with a needle, and he uses their relationship as raw material for his fiction. Over the course of the story, he moves from an obscure, self-conscious writer to a man who abandons Isobel when she needs him most, and finally to the celebrated author who channels their affair into his masterpiece. His arc is one of ambition, cowardice, and artistic appropriation, set against the backdrop of Salem's haunted history.

Plot Role

Hathorne enters the narrative as a mysterious observer. He first appears at Blackwell's Store House, where he mistakes Isobel for an unmarried woman—a mistake she does not correct (chapter 7). He later encounters her at the East India Marine Society Hall, where she has broken into a display case to examine the back of a Polynesian tapestry. Instead of exposing her, he is intrigued, and he follows her out to introduce himself (chapter 8). He tells her he is a writer working on a story about a red-haired girl during the Salem witchcraft delusion, and he mentions the child Dorcas Good (chapter 8).

From that point, Hathorne becomes a recurring presence. He commissions Isobel to embroider his initials and hawthorn blossoms on a handkerchief (chapter 9), and their relationship deepens into a secret affair. He reads to her from his notebooks, shares his anxieties about publishing anonymously, and confides his obsession with Salem's dark past (chapter 22). He also serves as a foil to Isobel's husband, Edward Gamble, who is absent at sea and later revealed to be a thief and an addict.

Hathorne's role shifts dramatically in the latter half of the novel. When Isobel tells him she is pregnant and that Edward may not return, he accuses her of bewitching him and leaves (chapter 24). He disappears from her life, and she later learns he has gone to New Haven. The novel's final chapter, set in 1849, shows him completing The Scarlet Letter in his attic, reading it to his wife Sophia, who recognizes that the story is not about her but about another woman (chapter 33). Thus, Hathorne's plot role is both romantic catalyst and artistic thief: he takes Isobel's story, her needlework, and her suffering, and transforms them into a novel that will make him famous.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Hathorne is driven by a deep need for recognition, but he is also terrified of public judgment. He publishes anonymously, telling Isobel, “I publish anonymously—no one knows they're mine” (chapter 9). When a farmer publicly shames him for idleness, he is visibly wounded, though he tries to laugh it off (chapter 22). He confesses to Isobel that writing is “suspect activity for a strong and able man,” revealing his internal conflict between ambition and social expectation (chapter 22).

His curiosity about Isobel is genuine but self-serving. He is drawn to her because she is different—bold, talented, and unafraid to break rules. He watches her with admiration when she picks the lock on the tapestry case, and he later says, “You're a bold woman, Mrs. Gamble” (chapter 8). He also uses her as a muse: he tells her he had “it in mind to write my own story about a lovely Scottish needlewoman” (chapter 22). His interest is not purely romantic; it is also professional.

Hathorne is also haunted by his family's past. He spends his days reading old Salem court records, searching for stories of “battles and brutality, shipwrecks and landings” (chapter 22). He tells Isobel that “in every man's heart there is a coffin and a grave,” a line that reflects his obsession with death and guilt (chapter 22). His mother, Elizabeth, raised him to carry his father's name after his father died at sea, telling him to “be brave” (chapter 23). That early loss and the weight of his ancestor's role in the witch trials shape his melancholic, brooding personality.

Yet his most defining trait is his cowardice. When Isobel reveals her pregnancy and her fear that Edward will not return, he refuses to help, accusing her of bewitching him (chapter 24). He chooses his reputation and his future over her wellbeing. This is a stark contrast to his earlier charm and apparent affection.

Chronological Arc

Hathorne's arc can be traced through key moments:

1829, March: He meets Isobel at Blackwell's Store House and mistakes her for unmarried (chapter 7).
1829, March: He encounters her at the East India Marine Society Hall, where she is examining the tapestry. He introduces himself and tells her about his writing (chapter 8).
1829, April: He commissions her to embroider his handkerchief, and they begin a secret courtship (chapter 9).
1829, June: Their affair intensifies. He reads to her, teaches her to swim, and discusses leaving Salem together (chapter 22).
1829, July: He withdraws. He stops visiting, and Isobel sees him tearing papers in a graveyard, blood on his shoulder (chapter 23).
1829, July: At Charlotte's wedding, he ignores her. Later, he tells her he is leaving for New Haven, and when she reveals her pregnancy, he accuses her of bewitching him and leaves (chapter 24).
1849: He completes The Scarlet Letter in his attic, reading it to his wife Sophia, who realizes the story is about another woman (chapter 33).

This arc shows a man who is initially curious and passionate, but who retreats when faced with responsibility. His final appearance as a successful author underscores the irony: he has built his career on the very woman he abandoned.

Relationships

With Isobel: Their relationship is built on mutual fascination—she with his intellect and his connection to Salem's history, he with her artistry and her difference. He is the first person who sees her synesthesia as a gift rather than a curse. He reads to her, shares his notebooks, and teaches her to swim. But he also objectifies her: he calls her “the deathly girl in his stories” (chapter 23), and he ultimately uses her as material for his novel. Their love is real but unequal; he has the power to walk away, and he does.

With his mother, Elizabeth: Elizabeth appears in a flashback in 1808, telling her four-year-old son to be brave after his father's death (chapter 23). She instills in him the burden of carrying the family name. This early pressure contributes to his fear of failure and his need for public validation.

With his wife, Sophia: In the 1849 scene, Sophia listens to him read The Scarlet Letter and immediately recognizes that the heroine is not her. She asks, “Who is the woman, Nat? For she is not me” (chapter 33). This moment reveals that Hathorne has carried his relationship with Isobel into his marriage, and that his wife is aware of it, though she cannot bear to read his journals.

With his ancestor, Judge John Hathorne: The novel repeatedly connects Nathaniel to his great-great-grandfather, who presided over the Salem witch trials and never recanted. This inherited guilt is a central theme. Hathorne is obsessed with the past, and his writing is an attempt to reckon with it, but he ultimately perpetuates the pattern of using women's stories for his own gain.

Key Decisions and Consequences

Publishing anonymously: This decision allows him to write without public scrutiny, but it also keeps him in obscurity. It reflects his fear of judgment and his desire for control over his reputation.
Pursuing Isobel: He chooses to engage with a married woman, knowing the risks. This decision brings him joy and inspiration, but it also leads to his eventual betrayal.
Abandoning Isobel: When she reveals her pregnancy, he refuses to help, accusing her of witchcraft. This decision destroys their relationship and leaves Isobel to fend for herself. It also reveals his moral weakness.
Writing The Scarlet Letter: He transforms his affair with Isobel into a novel, using her story and her needlework as inspiration. This decision brings him fame but also perpetuates the cycle of appropriation and erasure that the novel critiques.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Hathorne is central to several of the novel's themes. His character embodies inherited guilt and the haunting of history: he is literally a descendant of a witch-trial judge, and he spends his life trying to understand and escape that legacy. His obsession with the past mirrors the novel's exploration of how history repeats itself.

He is also tied to needlework as a hidden language of resistance. Isobel's embroidery—the red A she stitches, the handkerchief she decorates for him—becomes a form of communication and self-expression. Hathorne appropriates this language for his novel, turning Isobel's craft into his own literary symbol.

His relationship with Isobel connects to synesthesia as a double-edged inheritance. Isobel sees colors in voices and letters, a gift that both inspires and frightens her. Hathorne is drawn to this difference, but he also uses it to romanticize her as a “witch” or a “deathly girl,” reinforcing the novel's critique of how society labels female difference as dangerous.

Finally, Hathorne's actions tie into witchcraft persecution as a weapon against female difference. When Isobel reveals her pregnancy, he accuses her of bewitching him—a direct echo of the witch trials. This moment shows that the persecution of women is not just a historical event but a recurring pattern, and Hathorne is complicit in it.

Five Book-Specific Questions and Answers

1. Why does Nathaniel Hathorne publish his stories anonymously?

He publishes anonymously because he fears public judgment. He tells Isobel that writing is “suspect activity for a strong and able man,” and he is deeply shamed when a farmer publicly criticizes him for idleness (chapter 22). He wants to be known, but he is not ready to face the consequences of being a writer in a society that values manual labor over intellectual work.

2. What does Hathorne mean when he calls Isobel “the deathly girl in his stories”?

In chapter 23, Isobel realizes that she is the subject of his recurring story about a girl who dies of love or in childbirth. Hathorne has been writing about her without her knowledge, casting her as a tragic figure. The phrase reveals that he sees her not as a real person but as a character in his own narrative, foreshadowing his later appropriation of her story.

3. How does Hathorne's family history influence his behavior?

His ancestor, Judge John Hathorne, presided over the Salem witch trials and never recanted. This legacy weighs on him, and he spends his days reading court records and searching for stories from that era. His mother also instilled in him the burden of carrying the family name after his father's death. This combination of inherited guilt and familial pressure makes him both obsessed with the past and fearful of failure.

4. Why does Hathorne accuse Isobel of bewitching him?

When Isobel tells him she is pregnant and that Edward may not return, Hathorne is faced with a situation that threatens his reputation and his plans. He accuses her of bewitching him as a way to shift blame and avoid responsibility. This accusation echoes the witch trials and shows that he is willing to use the language of persecution to protect himself.

5. What role does Isobel play in the creation of The Scarlet Letter?

Isobel is the inspiration for Hester Prynne. Hathorne tells her he wants to write a story about a “lovely Scottish needlewoman,” and he uses her embroidery, her synesthesia, and her experiences of persecution as material for his novel. In the 1849 scene, his wife Sophia recognizes that the heroine is not her, confirming that Isobel is the model for Hester. The novel thus critiques how male authors have historically taken women's stories and made them their own.