--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Another reason Hawthorne set his story in…" description: "\"“Another reason Hawthorne set his story in the past (in lies) was 'cause he couldn't say directly all the wild things he wanted to say. He was living i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/141/kathy-acker-4132_hawthorne_another-reason-hawthorne-set-his-story-i_2653928.png" --- # Another reason Hawthorne set his story in the past (in… ![“Another reason Hawthorne set his story in the past (in lies) was 'cause he couldn't say directly all the wild things he wanted to say. He was living in a society to which ideas and writing still mattered. In 'The Custom House', the introduction to The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne makes sure he tells…” quote by Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/141/kathy-acker-4132_hawthorne_another-reason-hawthorne-set-his-story-i_2653928.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/141/kathy-acker-4132_hawthorne_another-reason-hawthorne-set-his-story-i_2653928.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/141/kathy-acker-4132_hawthorne_another-reason-hawthorne-set-his-story-i_2653928.png) > ““Another reason Hawthorne set his story in the past (in lies) was 'cause he couldn't say directly all the wild things he wanted to say. He was living in a society to which ideas and writing still mattered. In 'The Custom House', the introduction to The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne makes sure he tells us the story of The Scarlet Letter occurred long ago and has nothing to do with anyone who's now living. After all, Hawthorne had to protect himself so he could keep writing. Right now I can speak as directly as I want 'cause no one gives a shit about writing and ideas, all anyone cares about is money. Even if one person in Boise, Idaho, gave half-a-shit, the only book Mr Idaho can get his hands on is a book the publishers, or rather the advertisers ('cause all businessmen are now advertisers) have decided will net half-a-million in movie and/or TV rights. A book that can be advertised. Define culture that way.”” [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hawthorne used historical settings to veil controversial ideas; today creators hide behind marketability, sacrificing depth for profit. **In simple terms:** Writers conceal truth to survive; profit drives culture now. Key Takeaway Prioritize authenticity over market trends. Themes art culture commercialism censorship authenticity Mood critical reflective skeptical Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - publishing decisions - advertising strategies - creative writing - media production - literary analysis Key Concepts historical allegory media economics self‑censorship Questions to Reflect On - How does profit influence the stories we tell? - Can art remain truthful in a commercial world? A Different Perspective Market pressures can stifle genuine expression and limit diverse voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [Scarlet Letter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scarlet-letter/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wild things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-things/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [“Nathaniel Hawthorne had placed the w in his name to distance himself from his cruel ancestor, his writing driven by his desire to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in-his-name-to-distance-himself/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [“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 > [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/) > [“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/) > [“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'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/) > [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 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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Kathy Acker > [I wasn't really into body piercings until I found that about half my female students had them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-wasn-t-really-into-body-piercings-until-i-found-that-about-half-my/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [I'm really fascinated and you know I've been wondering about that usage of language, various breathing techniques and why in these practices language is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-m-really-fascinated-and-you-know-i-ve-been-wondering-about-that/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [“What other knowledge will my solitude and muteness bring? What other worlds?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/what-other-knowledge-will-my-solitude-and-muteness-bring-what-other/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [One of the reasons I think the ultra right-wing has such power in this country is that no one talks out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/one-of-the-reasons-i-think-the-ultra-right-wing-has-such-power-in/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [There's a backlash against womyn that's really bad right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/there-s-a-backlash-against-womyn-that-s-really-bad-right-now/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [i am a limitless series of natural disasters and all of these disasters have been unnaturally repressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-am-a-limitless-series-of-natural-disasters-and-all-of-these/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [My nutritionist read my pathology report and said, "There's only one way you can beat your cancer." "What's that?" "You have to find out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/my-nutritionist-read-my-pathology-report-and-said-there-s-only-one/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [“Every angel is terrifying. Through the darkness, they move silently... I will go down into death with you. I must go where I must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/every-angel-is-terrifying-through-the-darkness-they-move-silently-i/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [There are times when the law jeopardizes those who obey it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/there-are-times-when-the-law-jeopardizes-those-who-obey-it/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [You create identity, you're not given identity per se. What became more and more interesting to me wasn't the I, it was text because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/you-create-identity-you-re-not-given-identity-per-se-what-became-more/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [It's all up to you, girls. You have to be strong. These are the days of post-women's liberation. You have grown up by now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/it-s-all-up-to-you-girls-you-have-to-be-strong-these-are-the-days-of/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [“Since Pussy never had thought, nor would she think, that women shouldn't have abortions, she had to come to terms with the realization that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/since-pussy-never-had-thought-nor-would-she-think-that-women-shouldn/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [We don't have a clue what it is to be male or female, or if there are intermediate genders. Male and female might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/we-don-t-have-a-clue-what-it-is-to-be-male-or-female-or-if-there-are/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [Women need to become literary criminals, break the literary laws and reinvent their own, because the established laws prevent women from presenting the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/women-need-to-become-literary-criminals-break-the-literary-laws-and/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [There must be a secret hidden in this book or else you wouldn't bother to read it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/there-must-be-a-secret-hidden-in-this-book-or-else-you-wouldn-t/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) [Explore all 115 Kathy Acker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) ## 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 > [“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/) > [“Nathaniel Hawthorne had placed the w in his name to distance himself from his cruel ancestor, his writing driven by his desire to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in-his-name-to-distance-himself/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“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/) Browse all 41 Hawthorne quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Another reason Hawthorne set his story in the past (in lies) was 'cause he couldn't say directly all the wild things he wanted to say. He was living in a society to which ideas and writing still mattered. In 'The Custom House', the introduction to The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne makes sure he tells us the story of The Scarlet Letter occurred long ago and has nothing to do with anyone who's now living. After all, Hawthorne had to protect himself so he could keep writing. Right now I can speak as directly as I want 'cause no one gives a shit about writing and ideas, all anyone cares about is money. Even if one person in Boise, Idaho, gave half-a-shit, the only book Mr Idaho can get his hands on is a book the publishers, or rather the advertisers ('cause all businessmen are now advertisers) have decided will net half-a-million in movie and/or TV rights. A book that can be advertised. 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