The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1899-03-04

other work which shows greater
marks of genius than Hawthorne dis
played before he reached the age of
| 35. Hawthorne's masterpiece was
written in the maturity of his powers,
and is greater than anything that Bel
lamy ever produced because Bellamy
spent 10 or more years Of his life as re-
former, denying himself romance for
the sake of his fellow men. It was a
case of love struggling with genius,
and love conquering and using genius
as it's servant to help humanity. 1t
was sublime sacrifice on the part of
Bellamy, and one that is not made
enough of in the estimates Of his char
acter.
When Equality" was finally finish
ed, the author felt free to return to
romance. If he could only have
strength, he felt certain that he could
write the greatest book of his life;
but it was too late. Equality" had
been finished in great weakness and
pain. The effort to correct the proofs
exhausted all his strength, and the
task of sending them off was left to
/ his wife. There is no more heroic
and pathetic struggle recorded, and
vet the book is no sooner on the mar
ket than he turns to new tasks. He
did not live fully to outline, much
less to finish, his contemplated work.
In CDR. Heidenhoff's Process Made
line Brand is beautiful and proud
young woman who, rejecting her real
lover, Henry Burr, for a heartless fop,
is betrayed and abandoned. In shame
she leaves her home and attempts to
hide in Boston; but her old lover,
Burr, finds her, and without mo-
ment's hesitation asks her to become
his wife. In daze OF Dewilderment
she seems to assent. In time a real
love is awakened in her heart for
Henry, who is one of the noblest, most
ideal characters of fiction; but now
Madeline, burdened with the memory
of her shame, feels that she cannot
marry him. Meanwhile he dreams Of
a certain DR.. Heidenhoff, who has
marvellous process for removing disa-
greeable things from the memory.
This process is applied to Madeline,
and seems to succeed. The wedding
day is appointed, and the bride, with
all memory of her shame blotted out,
orders her trousseau. In the midst of
all this happiness and splendor, Burr
awakes to find it nothing but dream.
There is no DR.. Heidenhoff, no pro-
cess to blot out an evil memory; but,
instead, remorse and shame are tri-
umphant, and Madeline is suicide.
The story as told is a, fine work of
art, is true to life-that is, to one kind
of life-and the style is delightful.
There is no artistic reason why it
should not come out as it does, but
there is moral reason. The author
leaves the impression that death is the
only means by which sense of shame
and guilt can be blotted out of the
memory, or be made tolerable. Now,
that suicide is a means often employ
ed is true, but that it is necessary
is not true. If there is no HeidenhoH
process, there is a divine one; or, it
you do not like the term divine, there
is natural one, for the really natur-
al is the truly divine. There is no
need that any soul should despair.
Whatever be the circumstances of life,
the law of compensation applies, IT
not full, at least Il partial compensa-
ton, and the soul is sustained. lC is
the duty of the novelist to bring out
this fact. In later years Bellamy
thoroughly understood 1t, but this
story was written in his youth. In
this one point the mature Hawthorne
greatly excels him.
Madeline Brand had at most made
sad mistake She had 1ntended d no
evil. She had trusted, and been be-
trayed. But Hawthorne's Hester
Pyrnne had knowingly done wrong.
She violated her marriage vows, she
had sinned against the laws of God
and man, and yet the great artist in
his masterpiece has her redeemed. The
symbol of her shame becomes trans
figured. gloritied. 10 quote from ''The
Scarlet letter." in the lapse of the
tolsome, thoughtful, and self-devoted
years that made up Hester's life, the
scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma
which attracted the worlds scorn and
bitterness, and became Il type OF
something to be sorrowed over, and
looked upon with awe, yet with rever-
ence too. And as Hester Prynne had
no selfish ends, nor lived in any mea-
sure for her own profit and enjoy
ment, people brought all their sor-
rows and perplexities, md besought