--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nathaniel Hawthorne had placed the w in…" description: "\"“Nathaniel Hawthorne had placed the w in his name to distance himself from his cruel ancestor, his writing driven by his desire to make amends for all ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/alice-hoffman-427_hawthorne_nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in_785001.png" --- # Nathaniel Hawthorne had placed the w in his name to… ![“Nathaniel Hawthorne had placed the w in his name to distance himself from his cruel ancestor, his writing driven by his desire to make amends for all the evil his great-great-grandfather had done in the world.” quote by Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/alice-hoffman-427_hawthorne_nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in_785001.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/alice-hoffman-427_hawthorne_nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in_785001.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/alice-hoffman-427_hawthorne_nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in_785001.png) > ““Nathaniel Hawthorne had placed the w in his name to distance himself from his cruel ancestor, his writing driven by his desire to make amends for all the evil his great-great-grandfather had done in the world.”” [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests Hawthorne altered his name to symbolically distance himself from a notorious ancestor, using his writing as moral restitution. **In simple terms:** Hawthorne changed his name to at from a bad ancestor and wrote to atpen. Key Takeaway Consider how personal history shapes creative purpose. Themes identity redemption literary legacy family legacy moral responsibility Mood reflective thoughtful Type analytical interpretive When to use this quote - author biographies - family history research - creative writing workshops - personal branding strategies Key Concepts symbolic renaming psychological atonement creative catharsis Questions to Reflect On - Do you think personal lineage can dictate artistic themes? - How might a name influence one's self‑perception? A Different Perspective The claim about the letter change lacks historical evidence; it may be anecdotal or fictional. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestor Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestor-writing-6041403/) [Cruel Ancestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel-ancestor-6041402/) [Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hawthorne/) [Hawthorne Placed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hawthorne-placed-6041404/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nathaniel-hawthorne/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [ There is more suspense, more dramatic torque, in one page of \[Nathaniel\] Hawthorne's heart-racked ruminations onthe Christian consciencethaninall Demi Moore's woodland gallops and horizontal… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lane/there-is-more-suspense-more-dramatic-torque-in-one-page-of-nathaniel/) [Anthony Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lane/) > [It's Nathaniel Hawthorne Month in English. Poor Nathaniel. Does he know what they've done to him? We're reading The Scarlet Letter one sentence at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/it-s-nathaniel-hawthorne-month-in-english-poor-nathaniel-does-he-know/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [The American, who up to the present day, has evinced, in Literature, the largest brain with the largest heart, that man is Nathaniel Hawthorne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-american-who-up-to-the-present-day-has-evinced-in-literature-the/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Goodness! Golly! Good God! Blessed Allah! Zeus and Hera! Mary and Joseph! Nathaniel Hawthorne! Don't touch her! Grab her! Move closer! Run away! Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/goodness-golly-good-god-blessed-allah-zeus-and-hera-mary-and-joseph/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do you know what the lurid intermixture of complicated emotions produces, according to Nathaniel Hawthorne? That's right, it produces the illuminating blaze of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bachelder/do-you-know-what-the-lurid-intermixture-of-complicated-emotions/) [Chris Bachelder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bachelder/) > [Trying to imagine E. M. Forster, who found Ulysses indecorous, at a London performance of Lenny Bruce—to which in fact he was once taken.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-markson/trying-to-imagine-e-m-forster-who-found-ulysses-indecorous-at-a/) [David Markson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-markson/) > [The actual American childhood is less Norman Rockwell and Walt Disney than Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cheever/the-actual-american-childhood-is-less-norman-rockwell-and-walt-disney/) [Susan Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cheever/) > [My work holds up the mirror to hypocrisy, which puts me in a tradition of American writing that reaches back to Nathaniel Hawthorne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy-which-puts-me-in-a-tradition/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [There is the grand truth about Nathaniel Hawthorne. He says NO! in thunder; but the Devil himself cannot make him say yes. For all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/there-is-the-grand-truth-about-nathaniel-hawthorne-he-says-no-in/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [My first attraction to writing novels was the plot, that almost extinct animal. Those novels I read which made me want to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/my-first-attraction-to-writing-novels-was-the-plot-that-almost/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Do you know why teachers use me? Because I speak in tongues. I write metaphors. Every one of my stories is a metaphor you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/do-you-know-why-teachers-use-me-because-i-speak-in-tongues-i-write/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“There are two basic types of panicking: standing still and no saying a world, and leaping all over the place babbling anything that come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/there-are-two-basic-types-of-panicking-standing-still-and-no-saying-a/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/human-nature-will-not-flourish-any-more-than-a-potato-if-it-be/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [When I was a child, I loved 'The Marble Faun' by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The reason I liked it was because it had a beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/when-i-was-a-child-i-loved-the-marble-faun-by-nathaniel-hawthorne-the/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) ## More by Alice Hoffman > [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“All of the quarters in his hand were tarnished. He had no idea that the silver in a man’s pockets always turns black if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/all-of-the-quarters-in-his-hand-were-tarnished-he-had-no-idea-that/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [But most important of all, she explained that it was all right to say 'No. I disagree.' that was a gift. I understood it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/but-most-important-of-all-she-explained-that-it-was-all-right-to-say/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“It was after dark when the woods were most filled with magic, when there were fireflies and the mist was rising from the streams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/it-was-after-dark-when-the-woods-were-most-filled-with-magic-when/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Never look back, that's what she's told herself. Don't think about swans or being alone in the dark. Don't think of storms, or lightning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/never-look-back-that-s-what-she-s-told-herself-don-t-think-about/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [This was what it meant to be human, to know that time moved and all things changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/this-was-what-it-meant-to-be-human-to-know-that-time-moved-and-all/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“She preferred cats to human beings and turned down every offer from the men who fell in love with her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/she-preferred-cats-to-human-beings-and-turned-down-every-offer-from/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [I'm a really eclectic reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-m-a-really-eclectic-reader/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [It's not the lie that's the problem; it's the distance the lie forges between you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/it-s-not-the-lie-that-s-the-problem-it-s-the-distance-the-lie-forges/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Her vision was going, but she could see him, the way people see clouds-beautiful, racing by, casting shadows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/her-vision-was-going-but-she-could-see-him-the-way-people-see-clouds/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [That's why there are ten gates to pass through before you reach the garden. If life were easy there would be one gate. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/that-s-why-there-are-ten-gates-to-pass-through-before-you-reach-the/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“...the summer of the gypsy moths when all the trees in their yard were bare, the leaves chewed by caterpillars. You could hear crunching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/the-summer-of-the-gypsy-moths-when-all-the-trees-in-their-yard-were/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“The best way to die is when you're living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/the-best-way-to-die-is-when-you-re-living/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Haylin was given a good talking-to by the headmaster and made to write a paper about workers’ rights, which he considered a privilege rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/haylin-was-given-a-good-talking-to-by-the-headmaster-and-made-to/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/my-darling-girl-when-are-you-going-to-realize-that-being-normal-is/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) [Explore all 571 Alice Hoffman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) ## More Hawthorne quotes > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Great books are readable anyway. Dickens is readable. Jane Austen is readable. John Updike's readable. Hawthorne's readable. It's a meaningless term. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/great-books-are-readable-anyway-dickens-is-readable-jane-austen-is/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [I think that what happens is that all of my modern influences blend together with the older soul influences and you get Mayer Hawthorne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayer-hawthorne/i-think-that-what-happens-is-that-all-of-my-modern-influences-blend/) [Mayer Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayer-hawthorne/) > [Poe is a kind of Hawthorne and delirium tremens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/poe-is-a-kind-of-hawthorne-and-delirium-tremens/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [I'll never forget reading Chekhov's "A Doctor's Visit" on a train to Hawthorne, New York, and I got to the end - the scene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ross/i-ll-never-forget-reading-chekhov-s-a-doctor-s-visit-on-a-train-to/) [Adam Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ross/) > [“The sharp white steeple of the Hawthorne First Baptist Church stuck up through the leafless trees like an admonishing finger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-r-mccammon/the-sharp-white-steeple-of-the-hawthorne-first-baptist-church-stuck/) [Robert R. McCammon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-r-mccammon/) > [“I was too much of a Bronx kid to read Emerson or Hawthorne.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-was-too-much-of-a-bronx-kid-to-read-emerson-or-hawthorne/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Mayer Hawthorne's old school pop-R&B homages are so meticulous that it's tempting to overrate his pipes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-eddy/mayer-hawthorne-s-old-school-pop-r-b-homages-are-so-meticulous-that/) [Chuck Eddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-eddy/) > [“Because the power of God does not fade over time, Dr. Hawthorne,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-hoesel/because-the-power-of-god-does-not-fade-over-time-dr-hawthorne/) [Don Hoesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-hoesel/) > [“There is no decay. Each human soul is the first created inhabitant of its own Eden. We dwell in an old moss-covered mansion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-is-no-decay-each-human-soul-is-the-first-created-inhabitant-of/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [There is the grand truth about Nathaniel Hawthorne. He says NO! in thunder; but the Devil himself cannot make him say yes. For all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/there-is-the-grand-truth-about-nathaniel-hawthorne-he-says-no-in/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“I kiss her. I kiss her and kiss her. I try not to bite her lip. She tastes like vodkahoney.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-kiss-her-i-kiss-her-and-kiss-her-i-try-not-to-bite-her-lip-she/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [My work holds up the mirror to hypocrisy, which puts me in a tradition of American writing that reaches back to Nathaniel Hawthorne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy-which-puts-me-in-a-tradition/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [ \[Hawthorne''s\] pious blame is a chuckle of praise all the while. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/hawthorne-s-pious-blame-is-a-chuckle-of-praise-all-the-while/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Blanche: No, I have the misfortune of being an English instructor. I attempt to instill a bunch of bobby-soxers and drugstore Romeos with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/blanche-no-i-have-the-misfortune-of-being-an-english-instructor-i/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) [Browse all 41 Hawthorne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hawthorne/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Nathaniel Hawthorne had placed the w in his name to distance himself from his cruel ancestor, his writing driven by his desire to make amends for all the evil his great-great-grandfather had done in the world.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alice Hoffman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in-his-name-to-distance-himself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hawthorne" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in-his-name-to-distance-himself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/alice-hoffman-427_hawthorne_nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in_785001.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/alice-hoffman-427_hawthorne_nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in_785001.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/alice-hoffman-427_hawthorne_nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in_785001.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nathaniel Hawthorne had placed the w in his name to distance himself from his cruel ancestor, his writing…” — Alice Hoffman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alice Hoffman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Nathaniel Hawthorne had placed the w...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in-his-name-to-distance-himself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in-his-name-to-distance-himself/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```