Elizabeth Hawthorne

Elizabeth Manning Hawthorne (March 7, 1802 – January 1, 1883) was an American author of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. She often wrote alongside and for her younger brother Nathaniel Hawthorne. She is known for her contributions to publications such as the American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge and Peter Parley's Universal History, as well as for the vast number of personal letters that she wrote. She is noted for her skill as an editor and writer in an era when women faced difficulty in the publishing world. Early life Hawthorne was born on March 7, 1802, to Nathaniel Hawthorne and Elizabeth Clarke Manning in Salem, Massachusetts. She spent her early years living with her mother, brother, and paternal grandmother while her father worked as a ship's captain. Called Ebe by her family, Hawthorne grew up in a household that encouraged education and reading. In 1808, when she was eight years old, her father died at sea, and the family moved into her mother's childhood home with Hawthorne's maternal grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Soon after their father's death, Clarke Manning Hawthorne sent her two children to school, where they studied under the same schoolteacher for a few years before Nathaniel moved on to various private academies. Hawthorne often refused to do work that did not interest her, from chores to schoolwork other than reading or writing. Her teachers and classmates remarked at her reading ability as well as her skill in writing, noting that her accomplishments in those areas surpassed those of her peers. However, Hawthorne was often subjected to criticism of these solitary skills and habits from her family, while they approved of her younger brother's similar behavior. Despite their criticisms of Elizabeth, the family did not enforce social expectations of her. This left Elizabeth only "partially socialized," according to her peers and scholars of her brother Nathaniel. At an age where she was expected to marry, Hawthorne was described as "unpleasant," "cold, hard, and painfully proud." However, Hawthorne prided herself on her independent spirit, and many of her letters reflect an unwillingness to conform to the expectations of her family.