Mediating Mosses and Memory: Hawthorne, History, and Heritage

Ryan McWilliams explores how Nathaniel Hawthorne’s anger at the defoliation of mosses from the Old Manse’s roof becomes a focal point for his representations of revolution, tradition, decay, and renewal. Dwelling on the... [ view full abstract ]

Ryan McWilliams explores how Nathaniel Hawthorne’s anger at the defoliation of mosses from the Old Manse’s roof becomes a focal point for his representations of revolution, tradition, decay, and renewal. Dwelling on the Old Manse’s proximity to the Concord revolutionary war battlefield, Hawthorne portrays the removal of  accreted growth as a reprise of the war’s leveling, uprooting, and violence. Arguing that mosses should be allowed to gradually erode the roof’s structure, Hawthorne prefers to let counter-monumental, “curated decay” (in Caitlin DeSilvey’s terms) mediate national memory. By doing so, Hawthorne participates in a broader nineteenth century debate about the relative values of decay and memorial, reframing history itself as neither relic nor refuse, but compostable material to be transformed. This paper concludes by exploring how Hawthorne’s dispositions towards mosses and history influence the current Old Manse’s curators’ competing imperatives to preserve the site’s physical, cultural, and natural heritage in light of global climate change.