First published in 1984, this book offers a unique interpretation of Hawthorne's work, making use of perspectives opened up by Derrida in his work on Rousseau. It offers a psycho-biography of the author as discoverable in the texts and avoids a simplistic Freudian analysis. In doing so, it illuminates the work and re-opens Hawthorne's texts to creative discussion.

This book will be of interest to those studying 19th century literature.