“Wakefield” is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne that was first published in 1835. It describes the non-trivial life of Mr. Wakefield, who leaves his wife of twenty years to live on a nearby street. From time to time, Wakefield comes to the street where his wife lives, but some power makes him stay alone. This paper aims to study what lies beyond the façade of Wakefield’s character.
At first glance, the story is terribly depressing and may even arouse tears. Still, after some reflection, the reader is left with more questions than answers, suspecting the author was not explicitly saying what he meant to say. Boccio notes that the story “reveals how privacy and surveillance operated in Hawthorne’s time as bases for different varieties of people: self-sovereigns with innate ability, free agency, and determining power, and non-agential, allegorical types, those yoked to social webs and adjusted by outside forces” (131). This is a highly valuable observation since it answers why Wakefield’s character is socially demonstrative.
Hawthorn is concerned with the fate of common men, not endowed with power. Dechêne suggests that Wakefield embodies “the quest for urban identity” (328). Hawthorne considers the character a rebel: “Amid the seeming confusion of our mysterious world, individuals are so nicely adjusted to a system, that, by stepping aside for a moment, a man exposes himself to a fearful risk of losing his place forever” (112). The author also considers the hero to be crazy: “Wakefield! You are mad!” (Hawthorne 111). He is compassionate to Wakefield, who “must never feel the warmth of his heart” nor the affection of his wife (Hawthorne 111). Probably, Hawthorne could not speak more directly about the problem because class inequality was a difficult issue in early 19th century America that has recently observed the French Revolution.
Thus, it was discussed what was hidden behind the facade of the common man, Wakefield. Interestingly, this character is outstanding since he embodies the urban quest for identity, which is so familiar to contemporaries. This story is also revolutionary since it puts the common man in the position of men endowed with power, which was risky in the early 19th century. The author’s talent manifests itself in deep compassion, observation, psychology, and realism.
Works Cited
Boccio, Rachel. ““What Sort of Man Was Wakefield?”: Selfhood and Sovereignty in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Twice-told Tale.” Nathaniel Hawthorne Review 45.2 (2019): 130-151.
Dechêne, Antoine. “Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Wakefield”.” Detective Fiction and the Problem of Knowledge. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2018. 327-337.
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