Sophia Peabody Hawthorne

http://www.uncp.edu/news/2004/pat_valenti_2.htm

Dr. Valenti presents the first biography of Sophia Hawthorne

By Scott Bigelow


Sophia Peabody Hawthorne is known almost exclusively in her role as the wife of Nathaniel, who portrayed her as the fragile, ethereal, infirm "Dove." The image invented by Nathaniel served his needs but the reality was very different from fiction.

Dr. Valenti's research reveals an independent, sensuous and daring woman. Sophia was an accomplished artist before her marriage to Nathaniel, and she ignited Nathaniel's imagination.

"She changed the way he thought," Dr. Valenti said. "It was not acknowledged, but people now recognize the marital relationship and the influence of a wife on her husband. Look at Nancy and Ronald Reagan."

In "Sophia Peabody Hawthorne," Dr. Valenti places the story of Sophia's life within its own context, as well as within the context of her marriage. Dr. Valenti begins the book with parallel biographies of Sophia and Nathaniel at comparable periods in their lives.

Sophia was born into a progressive home, in which women played strong roles. She was an ambitious and talented student, who aspired to become a professional painter.

While an 18-month journey to Cuba was a watershed event in the young Sophia's life, by comparison, Nathaniel's travels took him as far as Niagara Falls, Dr. Valenti said.

Nathaniel's early life contrast sharply with the experience of the worldly woman who became his wife. Those differences resulted in a creative tension that inspired his best writing during the first years of their marriage.

Volume I of Dr. Valenti's biography concludes with the birth of their second child. The book also offers fresh interpretations of Nathaniel Hawthorne's fiction, examining it through the filter of Sophia's personality. Students and scholars of American literature, literary theory, feminism and cultural history will find much to enrich their understanding of this woman and the era.