“ He needed to bask himself in that smile . . . in order that the chill of so many lonely hours among his books might be taken off the scholar's heart. ”
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (1850). copy citation
| Author | Nathaniel Hawthorne |
|---|---|
| Source | The Scarlet Letter |
| Topic | books loneliness |
| Date | 1850 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25344/25344-h/25344-h.htm |
Context
“Attempting to do so, she thought of those long-past days, in a distant land, when he used to emerge at eventide from the seclusion of his study, and sit down in the[215] firelight of their home, and in the light of her nuptial smile. He needed to bask himself in that smile, he said, in order that the chill of so many lonely hours among his books might be taken off the scholar's heart. Such scenes had once appeared not otherwise than happy, but now, as viewed through the dismal medium of her subsequent life, they classed themselves among her ugliest remembrances. She marvelled how such scenes could have been!”
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Meaning and analysis
