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Metaphors
Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Mood
Explanation and Analysis:
The mood of “Ethan Brand” is eerie and haunting. Save for the very end of the story (when the sun rises), the entirety of it takes place in the dark in front of a fiery lime kiln whose flames create all sorts of haunting shadows. The following passage demonstrates how Hawthorne uses the kiln to create an eerie mood:
Within the furnace were seen the curling and riotous flames, and the burning marble, almost molten with the intensity of heat; while without, the reflection of the fire quivered on the dark intricacy of the surrounding forest, and showed in the foreground a bright and ruddy little picture of the hut, the spring beside its door, the athletic and coal-begrimed figure of the lime-burner, and the half-frightened child, shrinking into the protection of his father’s shadow.
The language that Hawthorne uses here to capture the interplay of light and dark is meant to frighten and unsettle readers, as seen in descriptions like “the curling and riotous flames,” “the dark intricacy of the surrounding forest,” and “the half-frightened child, shrinking into the protection of his father’s shadow.”
As the story continues, the haunting mood is quite consistent—the mentally unstable Brand arrives to the kiln to share stories of his greatest sins, repeatedly frightening the child (and a group of locals who arrive) before assuming the role of lime-burner alone and ultimately killing himself in its flames. It is only after the sun rises that the mood becomes more hopeful and peaceful—Brand is gone and, the story suggests, the local people no longer risk being influenced by his sinful ways.
Related Themes:
