| Author |
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864 |
| Title |
Fancy's Show-Box (From "Twice Told Tales")
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| Note |
Reading ease score: 65.8 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.
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| Credits |
Produced by David Widger
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| Summary |
"Fancy's Show-Box (From 'Twice Told Tales')" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a morality tale written in the early 19th century (Romantic era). The book delves into the complex nature of guilt, exploring the consequences of sinful thoughts and actions on the human soul. It raises philosophical questions about the implications of unacted desires and the weight of conscience in judging moral character. In this narrative, the protagonist, Mr. Smith, a seemingly virtuous elderly man, experiences an unsettling evening as he is visited by personifications of Fancy, Memory, and Conscience. Through a series of vivid and troubling scenes presented by Fancy from her box of pictures, he is confronted with the dark echoes of his past thoughts and actions that never materialized into deeds but still haunt him. Each image forces him to grapple with the depths of his conscience as Memory recounts his past, revealing how even unexecuted intentions can torment the soul. Ultimately, the story serves as a poignant examination of inner conflict, suggesting that guilt and repentance are intrinsic to the human experience, regardless of outward appearances of morality. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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| Language |
English |
| LoC Class |
PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature
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| Subject |
Short stories
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| Subject |
New England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
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| Subject |
Historical fiction, American
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| Category |
Text |
| EBook-No. |
9208 |
| Release Date |
Nov 1, 2005 |
| Most Recently Updated |
Jan 2, 2021 |
| Copyright Status |
Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads |
59 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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