In the short Story “Wakefield,”
Very often Hawthorne uses his work to show some of his own characteristic; as he did in “Wakefield” It is necessary for everyone to have alone time, or to escape from the flurried bee-line of the busy world, however, no one needs twenty years aloneness or escapism.
Everyone needs time alone, unfortunately, we do not always have that privilege. The word loneliness is often used to mean solitude. Maybe Hawthorne means solitude, loneliness is a negative connotation and people do not really need loneliness in their lives they need solicitude. Solitude is a peaceful time; one thinks better and gain new insight on troublesome issues. In Psychology Today, Hara Estroff Marano (2003) says: “Solitude is the state of being alone without being lonely. It is a positive and constructive state of engagement with oneself. Solitude is desirable, a state of being alone where you provide yourself wonderful and sufficient company.” Wakefield does not take time off for any of these reasons.
Sometimes people leave their homes or friends to escape certain situations. The acknowledgement of the need to escape is often a sensible decision; escapism can be a life saving circumstance. Wakefield is not escaping his home- life; there is nothing at home that warrants flight. Wakefield is trying to run away from himself. Only a tormented person would leave home just to find out “how the little sphere of creatures and circumstances, in which he was a central object, will be affected by his removal. A morbid vanity, therefore, lies nearest the bottom of the affair” (Hawthorne).
Despite his love for mystery, and his wife’s indulgence, he is cruel and selfish. Being gone a week without contact is already pushing the limits, yet Wakefield finds it necessary to be gone for twenty years. The story does not identify any extreme passion in their marriage; however, it implies that he and his wife got along well. Nothing in these ten years of marriage indicates that Wakefield’s wife gives him any reason to want time-out from his marriage. “He was now in the meridian of life; his matrimonial affections, never violent, were sobered into a calm, habitual sentiment; of all husbands, he was likely to be the most constant, because a certain sluggishness would keep his heart at rest, wherever it might be placed” (Hawthorne)
Hawthorne asks, “What sort of a man was Wakefield?” Readers ask the same question. When Hawthorne says that Wakefield’s heart stays at rest due to certain sluggishness, one assumes he means lack of work; also it seems that it stays in that condition because of his inability to empathize. Day after day, week after week, year after year, Wakefield watches his wife fall into despondency. “The man, under pretence of going on a journey, took lodgings in the next street to his own house, and there, unheard of by his wife or friends, and without the shadow of a reason for such self-banishment, dwelt upwards of twenty years” (Hawthorne). This is no longer a mystery or a joke. For ten years this woman has slept with this man, take care of his needs, entertain his idiosyncrasies, even if there were no love on her part, they have develop a sense of comrade. Week-end she looks for him and when he was not there all kind of thoughts go through her head; is he dead; has he fallen ill and is unable to get in touch? Eventually she has to consider the fact that he is not coming back.
Giving ten years of one’s life to anyone is long time. He walks out of her life, a selfish, callous action, more than that, he “beheld his home every day, and frequently the forlorn Mrs. Wakefield” (Hawthorne). One must be void of feeling to watch a person hurt in this manner, knowing that he or she is causing this pain, for years and not feel the need to console that person. Wakefield feels no compassion for his wife. Who is Wakefield? How could he even say that he loves this woman? Most people treat strangers better than this. Nonetheless, in his slothful, unassuming, ghoulish way he feels he love her, yet not enough to go back home. Marano also says: “Loneliness is a negative state, marked by a sense of isolation. One feels that something is missing. It is possible to be with people and still feel lonely—perhaps the most bitter form of loneliness.” Allienne Becker (2011) says: “Wakefield must have experience this physiological state of mind to even conceive such a plan. Romantic irony plays and important part in the presentation of the story, which can be read as a psychological case study. “
Wakefield is truly mad when he decides to stay away from his wife for such a long time. Wakefield’s even exceeds the meaning of loneliness; no one who is a productive person in society wants to live like Wakefield. He obviously does not speak to anyone, he would jeopardize being recognized. He returns one day with an outlandish notion that he is coming home, he is not coming home, he is returning to his house. Whatever semblance of love he left there is long destroyed. His wife has come to terms with his death, to her, he is dead. Albeit, there are times when she wonders if he is really dead; whether it is literally or figuratively death or both his wife is moving on with her life. Mrs. Wakefield begins to live again; she has dealt with his passing, she even imagines him in a coffin. “In her many musings, she surrounds the original smile with a multitude of fantasies, which make it strange and awful: as, for instance, if she imagines him in a coffin, she dreams of him in heaven, still his blessed spirit wears a quiet and crafty smile”(Hawthorne).
In his life, Hawthorne has spent periods of time alone, but Wakefield’s behavior does not parallel any of Hawthorne’s alone time. Not only Is Wakefield is selfish and cruel, he is narcissistic. He is gone for twenty years and one evening he just walks through the door, confident that he will be welcomed home. When he left he was already middle aged, apparently, older than his wife, by then he may have lost his ability to perform sexually. That might have been the reason he stayed so close to home, to check if Mrs. Wakefield is taking another lover. He could not return while she morns for him; he could not return when he realizes that she is getting use to living without him. Yet when he views her from his window, he paints a very unattractive picture of her. “On the ceiling appears a grotesque shadow of good Mrs. Wakefield. The cap, the nose and chin, and the broad waist, form an admirable caricature” (Hawthorne)
After this viewing, Wakefield decides that it is time for him to return home, at this point Mrs. Wakefield pose no sexual threat. He would be able to maintain his over-valued self-worth. He would be able to fool himself that he would be able to perform if his wife were attractive. He would not have to feel ashamed that he cannot perform, since his wife is no longer desires sex. How will the story end? Wakefield does not care, he thinks at this point his wife will be happy to see him and they would grow old together—a nice comfortable life. Evenings by the fire, keeping each other company; no more fear of feeling incompetent. Wakefield thinks that Mrs. Wakefield is at the time of her life when she will welcome his presence. He would grace her with his divine presence; he is doing her a favor returning home.
Hawthorne knows that escape and solitude is good for the soul. In “Wakefield” he takes solitude to a different dimension. Wakefield is a typical example of selfishness and cruelty; no amount of time alone or escape can excuse the behavior of Wakefield. In his simplicity, Wakefield does not even realize the repercussion of his action.
Work Cited
Becker, Allienne. “Literary Analysis: Wakefield, by Nathaniel Hawthorne.” Helium.com. 23
Dec 2011 web 17 April, 2012.
Marano Estroff, Hara. “What is Solitude,” Psychology Today. 1 July, 2003. Web. 17 April,
2012.
