Nathaniel Hawthorne: Earth’s Holocaust. Summary and analysis
In Earth’s Holocaust, Nathaniel Hawthorne presents an allegory in which humanity, determined to free itself from all the evils of the past, organizes a gigantic bonfire in a meadow to burn symbols of power, customs, institutions, and cultural objects. Noble titles, crowns, weapons, alcoholic beverages, books, money, instruments of execution, and even religious objects are destroyed in a radical attempt at social purification. Throughout the event, an anonymous narrator observes with growing unease how, in its eagerness for renewal, humanity also seems to be losing its spiritual and cultural roots. In the end, after even burning the Bible, a sinister figure reveals that it has all been in vain, for the true source of evil—the human heart—remains intact. The story concludes with the reflection that until the inner nature of human beings is transformed, all attempts at external reform are doomed to repeat past mistakes.