The news out of Concord, Mass. is that about 40 descendants of Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne gathered in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery to view the reburial of Sophia and her daughter Una, who were previously entered in a London cemetery where they lived after Nathaniel’s death in 1864.
Now the bodies are near each other in Concord, but the article quotes a literature professor, talking about their passionate marriage, as saying, “It’s a misfortune that they were separated in death. It’s very satisfying to anyone who knows the story of the Hawthorne marriage that they’re being reunited for eternity.”
It probably isn’t polite to disagree with this small point of theology, but that’s why we blog, isn’t it? I’m glad the family is encouraged by this burial decision, but I hope they know that Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne have been eternally together for over a hundred years now, rejoicing along with Longfellow and Melville in the love of God the Father who has welcomed them for eternity through the redemption of Jesus Christ.
It’s comforting to know that regardless what may happen to our remains, when we are freed of this earthly shell we will be in the presence of God. I wonder what they would have said if either of the Hawthornes died in a way that left nothing to bury?
Indeed, blogging is an excellent outlet for musing.
And you both do it so well.
Take care–SK
The article mentions the book Hawthorne in Concord. I read it last year – – really good.
Hawthorne, it turns out (by the way), was a fine journal-writer. I like Hawthorne’s stories, but I don’t know that I would have expected that he would prove to be so good at describing scenes and people. If this interests you, start with the American Notebooks. The later notebooks (English; French and Italian) becomes largely travelogues, pleasant to dip into but less lively than the American or the earlier pages of the English.
Incidentally, I believe that Hawthorne’s daughter Rose became one of those people we instinctively call “saints,” working with people who had disfiguring cancers.
Thanks, Dale. I like Hawthorne and didn’t know about his journals. I should remember to look for them.