Pictorial Cross-Currents between Hawthorne and Atwood: Negotiating with the Dead

This paper analyzes the way in which a contemporary Canadian novelist, Margaret Atwood, uses the work of a canonical nineteenth-century American novelist, Nathaniel Hawthorne, to define her own position as a writer, while at the same time criticizing and transforming her precursor’s reflection on th...

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Main Author: Patricia Simonson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá 2015-06-01
Series:Perífrasis. Revista de Literatura, Teoría y Crítica
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Online Access:http://revistaperifrasis.uniandes.edu.co/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=218%3Apictorial-cross-currents-between-hawthorne-and-atwood-negotiating-with-the-dead-patricia-simonson-universidad-nacional-de-colombia-&catid=38%3Aindice&lang=es
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author Patricia Simonson
author_facet Patricia Simonson
author_sort Patricia Simonson
collection DOAJ
description This paper analyzes the way in which a contemporary Canadian novelist, Margaret Atwood, uses the work of a canonical nineteenth-century American novelist, Nathaniel Hawthorne, to define her own position as a writer, while at the same time criticizing and transforming her precursor’s reflection on the writer’s task. I identify this process in Atwood’s 1996 novel, Alias Grace: it takes the form of a rewriting of Hawthorne’s most famous novel, The Scarlet Letter. An important connection between the two writers is their common use of visual art to pose, and potentially to resolve, the problems they encounter as artists in a hostile environment. Este artículo analiza cómo una novelista canadiense contemporánea, Margaret Atwood, utiliza la obra de un novelista norteamericano del siglo diecinueve, Nathaniel Hawthorne, para definir su propia posición como escritora, y también para criticar y transformar la reflexión de su predecesor. Este proceso se da en una novela de 1996, Alias Grace, en forma de una reescritura de la novela más famosa de Hawthorne, La letra escarlata. Una conexión importante entre los dos escritores es su uso del arte visual para plantear, y posiblemente resolver, los problemas que encuentran como artistas en un entorno hostil.
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spelling doaj-art-2e39b523d92e46f68dad4ce8672688132025-08-20T03:09:44ZengUniversidad de los Andes, BogotáPerífrasis. Revista de Literatura, Teoría y Crítica2145-89872145-90452015-06-01611105119Pictorial Cross-Currents between Hawthorne and Atwood: Negotiating with the DeadPatricia Simonson0Universidad Nacional de Colombia This paper analyzes the way in which a contemporary Canadian novelist, Margaret Atwood, uses the work of a canonical nineteenth-century American novelist, Nathaniel Hawthorne, to define her own position as a writer, while at the same time criticizing and transforming her precursor’s reflection on the writer’s task. I identify this process in Atwood’s 1996 novel, Alias Grace: it takes the form of a rewriting of Hawthorne’s most famous novel, The Scarlet Letter. An important connection between the two writers is their common use of visual art to pose, and potentially to resolve, the problems they encounter as artists in a hostile environment. Este artículo analiza cómo una novelista canadiense contemporánea, Margaret Atwood, utiliza la obra de un novelista norteamericano del siglo diecinueve, Nathaniel Hawthorne, para definir su propia posición como escritora, y también para criticar y transformar la reflexión de su predecesor. Este proceso se da en una novela de 1996, Alias Grace, en forma de una reescritura de la novela más famosa de Hawthorne, La letra escarlata. Una conexión importante entre los dos escritores es su uso del arte visual para plantear, y posiblemente resolver, los problemas que encuentran como artistas en un entorno hostil.http://revistaperifrasis.uniandes.edu.co/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=218%3Apictorial-cross-currents-between-hawthorne-and-atwood-negotiating-with-the-dead-patricia-simonson-universidad-nacional-de-colombia-&catid=38%3Aindice&lang=esomparative literaturehistorical novelintermedialityNorth-American narrativetext-image relationsintermedialidadliteratura comparadanarrativa norteamericananovela históricarelaciones entre texto e imagen
spellingShingle Patricia Simonson
Pictorial Cross-Currents between Hawthorne and Atwood: Negotiating with the Dead
Perífrasis. Revista de Literatura, Teoría y Crítica
omparative literature
historical novel
intermediality
North-American narrative
text-image relations
intermedialidad
literatura comparada
narrativa norteamericana
novela histórica
relaciones entre texto e imagen
title Pictorial Cross-Currents between Hawthorne and Atwood: Negotiating with the Dead
title_full Pictorial Cross-Currents between Hawthorne and Atwood: Negotiating with the Dead
title_fullStr Pictorial Cross-Currents between Hawthorne and Atwood: Negotiating with the Dead
title_full_unstemmed Pictorial Cross-Currents between Hawthorne and Atwood: Negotiating with the Dead
title_short Pictorial Cross-Currents between Hawthorne and Atwood: Negotiating with the Dead
title_sort pictorial cross currents between hawthorne and atwood negotiating with the dead
topic omparative literature
historical novel
intermediality
North-American narrative
text-image relations
intermedialidad
literatura comparada
narrativa norteamericana
novela histórica
relaciones entre texto e imagen
url http://revistaperifrasis.uniandes.edu.co/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=218%3Apictorial-cross-currents-between-hawthorne-and-atwood-negotiating-with-the-dead-patricia-simonson-universidad-nacional-de-colombia-&catid=38%3Aindice&lang=es
work_keys_str_mv AT patriciasimonson pictorialcrosscurrentsbetweenhawthorneandatwoodnegotiatingwiththedead