I did not expect to like The Marble Faun by Hawthorne. I mean, The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables: not promising introductions to his oeuvre. That said, I sort of loved this one. It's a bit hard to explain why, though, since it really is not the sort of book that I should like. Despite that, I found it strangely captivating, almost bewitching even. It also had an unexpected intersection with part of my life.
The novel is set in a sort of fantastical imagining of Italy in the mid 19th century, exploring the relationships of four friends, Donatello, Kenyon, Miriam, and Hilda. The story is mainly about the effects of the murder committed by one of the friends, how it impacts the friendships, and general questions about justice, mercy, and morality. Art also plays a main role, and each character represents a way of thought or an archetype. Kenyon, for example, represents rational humanism.
I used to think that concept novels/allegorical novels didn't really work for me, but I actually love many of them, like this one. While I could take issue with the Hilda/Miriam sort of virgin/whore thing, I actually did not overall (only part I sort of had trouble with, but Hilda worked more than I would have expected her to).
One could teach a very interesting thematic course looking at guilt, criminality, justice, mercy, forgiveness etc. in literature, with this one, The Secret History, The Reader, Light of Day, and of course Crime and Punishment. It would be fascinating.
For whatever reason, this book did what I want most stories to do: it made me want to write and dive back into my own fiction. It also made me yearn for Europe. Seriously.
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