| Author |
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864 |
| Title |
Sylph Etherege
(From: "The Snow Image and Other Twice-Told Tales")
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| Note |
Reading ease score: 68.8 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.
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| Credits |
David Widger
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| Summary |
"Sylph Etherege" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a short story written during the mid-19th century, a time noted for its romantic literary movements. This tale explores themes of love, fantasy, and the collision of dreams with reality, centering around a delicate and imaginative young woman named Sylvia Etherege who finds herself caught in a web of manipulation and romantic idealism. In the narrative, Sylvia, an orphan raised in seclusion, has long imagined her cousin Edgar Vaughan as her ideal lover, referring to her as "Sylph," reflecting her ethereal qualities. Upon his return from Europe, she is set to meet him for the first time. However, Edward Hamilton, a companion of Vaughan, darkly toys with Sylvia’s attachment to this fantasy by presenting himself as Vaughan and ultimately shattering her illusions by exposing the fabricated nature of her dreams. The story culminates with a deep exploration of Sylvia's emotional turmoil as she grapples with the loss of her idealized love, leading her to question her very existence and identity in a poignant conclusion that reveals the consequences of romantic fantasy clashing with harsh realities. (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
|
| Subject |
New England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
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| Subject |
Historical fiction, American
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| Category |
Text |
| EBook-No. |
9238 |
| Release Date |
Nov 1, 2005 |
| Most Recently Updated |
May 16, 2022 |
| Copyright Status |
Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads |
67 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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