The Ballsy Fanny Fern, Why Hawthorne Praised Ruth Hall
Fanny Fern’s novel Ruth Hall provides more than a story about a struggling woman; it provides insight into Fern’s own struggles and portrays in a realistic manner problems in her life that should have not been written by a woman. Yet Fern pays no mind to what is expected of her; she hikes up her skirt and trudges over the men who push at her to get out of the publishing house. One man takes notice of this: Nathaniel Hawthorne. But why? Why is Hawthorne so interested in Fanny Fern’s Ruth Hall? Why did he praise Fern? Hawthorne gives Ruth Hall praise, but does he do this to protect his image to the public eye and save himself from the comments he previously makes of women writers? It is true that Hawthorne openly praises Fanny Fern and several other female authors, yet he says some extremely offensive remarks about ‘scribbling women.’ Before Hawthorne, stands a woman who is not afraid to give someone the finger. Before him is not a ‘scribbling woman’ but rather a ‘ballsy’ one. Hawthorne’s interest in Ruth Hall stems from natural truth Ruth Hall portrays and Fern’s inability to keep her thoughts to herself; she does not keep the injustice in her life to herself. She publishes and shares it with the world.
H. J. Ortiz 