Neutral Territory: Cultural Spacein Hawthorne’s Travel Writing

The emphasis on the combination of physical space and metaphorical space is a major feature of Hawthorne’s narrative. This paper analyzes cultural space in Hawthorne’s travel writing, centering on his works The Old Manse and The Marble Faun from the perspective of neutral territory. The old manse and Rome carry different cultural metaphors, each reflecting a complex and subtle narrative space. Individually, Hawthorne transforms the old manse into Thoreauesque cabin, where American is affected by “sleepiness” and gains spiritual healing. At the national level, Hawthorne creates an allegorical Italy as borderland to explore the existence of American civilization.