The Complete Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Appendix to Volume XII: Tales, Sketches, and other Papers by Nathaniel Hawthorne with a Biographical Sketch by George Parsons Lathrop / Biographical Sketch of Nathaniel Hawthorne

The biographical sketch contrasts the subject's vigorous, sociable outward life with a deeply solitary, supernatural creative interior, describing robust health, a calm temper, and discretion in large groups alongside keen critical conversation and psychological insight. It emphasizes an artistic necessity that required solitude and secrecy, and explains how imaginative moods could shape picturesque descriptions of settings such as a house by an old graveyard while remaining distinct from the actuality of domestic affection. The essay stresses the limits of biography, arguing that many partial sketches together can only approximate, not fully reveal, the inward source of genius.