A once innocent heart split in two, half died and was lost while the other half grew old, but was forever rotten. How does such a thing happen, and how did a man once in love turn into a completely different person? Death and wealth. Death of his beloved wife, but more important was the new found, unearned, wealth he acquired. His love at first was cherished and pure, but when his riches became part of him, his love turned cold and passionless.
Mr. Lantin is seen as being truly happy with his wife and without a need in the world, his life is bliss. In the beginning of Nathaniel Hawthorn’s short story, The Jewelry the main character Mr. Lantin, “…became enveloped in love as in a net.” (The Jewelry page 1) and his wife, “She ruled his home with …show more content…
After just realizing the Jewelry is real, and any piece could sustain him for any number of years, he turns to the merchant and says, “…I have some other jewelry…Would you purchase them also from me?” (page 3). He no longer wants to live the life he had before, but a better life, a high class life, and he does this by rabidly spending his riches at fancy restaurants and by going to the theater (page 4). As Mr. Lantin stuffs his mouth full of this kind of aristocratic life style, he slowly sacrifices the happiness he had with his wife when he was poor. For the final nail in the coffin of Mr. Lantin’s old self, and all that he held dear, came with the marriage of an, “upright of spouses, but had a terrible temper. She made his life very miserable.” (page 4) with this the transformation is complete for he clearly did not marry his second wife for her love, but more so for her stability. The once madly in love man whose life was simple, but his love pure is laid to rest as luxury and loveless love floods in and takes over.
The heart of Mr. Lantin did love and loved for the right reasons, yet, the fate of his wife’s death and newly acquired wealth was too much for the innocents of Mr. Lantin to handle. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Jewelry is a remarkable story with a remarkable character, but what makes the story truly great is the change in character that Mr. Lantin has. If there is one thing one should take heed from Mr. Lantin,
Mr. Lantin is seen as being truly happy with his wife and without a need in the world, his life is bliss. In the beginning of Nathaniel Hawthorn’s short story, The Jewelry the main character Mr. Lantin, “…became enveloped in love as in a net.” (The Jewelry page 1) and his wife, “She ruled his home with …show more content…
After just realizing the Jewelry is real, and any piece could sustain him for any number of years, he turns to the merchant and says, “…I have some other jewelry…Would you purchase them also from me?” (page 3). He no longer wants to live the life he had before, but a better life, a high class life, and he does this by rabidly spending his riches at fancy restaurants and by going to the theater (page 4). As Mr. Lantin stuffs his mouth full of this kind of aristocratic life style, he slowly sacrifices the happiness he had with his wife when he was poor. For the final nail in the coffin of Mr. Lantin’s old self, and all that he held dear, came with the marriage of an, “upright of spouses, but had a terrible temper. She made his life very miserable.” (page 4) with this the transformation is complete for he clearly did not marry his second wife for her love, but more so for her stability. The once madly in love man whose life was simple, but his love pure is laid to rest as luxury and loveless love floods in and takes over.
The heart of Mr. Lantin did love and loved for the right reasons, yet, the fate of his wife’s death and newly acquired wealth was too much for the innocents of Mr. Lantin to handle. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Jewelry is a remarkable story with a remarkable character, but what makes the story truly great is the change in character that Mr. Lantin has. If there is one thing one should take heed from Mr. Lantin,