The Marble Faun; Or The Romance Of Monte Beni - Volume 1

The fourth and last of Nathaniel Hawthornes four main romances is The Marble Faun: Or The Romance of Monte Beni also known in Britain as Transformation. Four primary characters-Miriam Hilda Kenyon and Donatello-are the focus of this relationship.Miriam is a stunning painter who has no idea about her history. She is likened to several other women throughout the book including Eve Beatrice Cenci Judith and Cleopatra. A strange menacing figure who is Miriams evil genius throughout life is after her. Hilda is a good-hearted copycat. Both the Virgin Mary and the white dove are used to compare her. Despite having a soft heart she may become stern due to her straightforward unbending moral ideals. Hilda and Miriam are frequently compared.Kenyon is a sculptor who embodies humanist rationalism. He treasures his romantic attachment to Hilda. The Count of Monte Beni Donatello is in love with Miriam and is frequently likened to Adam. The marble Faun of Praxiteles by Donatello remarkably resembles it and the story plays on the protagonists suspicion that the Count could be a relative of the old Faun. However even in the novels final chapters and postscript Hawthorne refrains from making a firm declaration.