Taking a Perspective: Hawthorne's Concept of Language and Nineteenth-Century Language Theory
This essay examines Hathorne9s concept of language and the characteristic indeterminacy of his writing in the context of nieteenth-century language study. Recently, two opposing theoretical postionss have emerged to account for this indeterminacy-the deconstructionist view as exemplified by J. Hillis Miller9s analysis of "The Minister9s Black Veil" and the more historical and political view that Jonathan Arac Takes in "The Politics of The Scarlet Letter." I argue that although Hawthorne9s indeterminacy may invite a deconstructionist analysis, it is a product of his historical context, not ours, and although, as Arac argues. Hawthornes9s indeterminacy may be connected to a politics of avoidance, it more directly arises out of the linguistic and philosophical issues being debated by his contemporaries. In his Notebooks and his fiction Hawthorne responds to these issues by experimenting with possible relations between literal and figurative meanings and with the role played by perspective in determining these meanings. In order to show the interaction bertweenn Hawthorne9s writing and the context of mindineteenth-century language study, I first briefly outline this context; then, using examples from his Notebooks. I describe Hawthorne9s concept of language; and finally, with "Rappaccini9s Daughter" as an example. I show how in his fiction Hawthorne experiments with the language theories of his contemporaries.