David B. Diamond is a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist in clinical practice. He was formerly Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and served as Director of Outpatient Psychiatry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, USA.
In this innovative book Dr David Diamond applies his Freudian psychoanalytic understanding to the pivotal emotional transformations major characters undergo in reaction to life crises in Hawthorne's four classic romances. Closely following Hawthorne's narrative, the author provides a new and interesting contribution to the extensive Hawthorne literature by filling in psychological gaps in each of these novels. His clear and concise writing will help both the serious scholar and the general reader gain a greater understanding of these American masterpieces. - Jonathan F. Borus, Stanley Cobb Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, USA Blessedly free of Freudian terminology, Diamond's study carefully and judiciously incorporates Freud's important insights to reveal the motivations underlying the actions of the principal characters in Hawthorne's four major novels. In my view, the individual readings supersede all previous psychological interpretations. Older readers will be surprised, perhaps gratified, to discover that Dimmesdale once again claims central importance in The Scarlet Letter. - Frederick Newberry, Professor Emeritus of American Literature, Duquesne University, USA Dr. Diamond writes extremely well, so the book is highly readable. The greatest strength of the work is its originality. The reader of this study will come away with a new appreciation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's deep understanding of human nature. The book is very definitely a valuable addition to the criticism on Nathaniel Hawthorne's work. I felt as if I understood the The Scarlet Letter better and appreciated it more after reading the chapters devoted to it even though I have read the book many times, taught it for at least forty years, and have published on the novel myself. - Mimosa Stephenson, Professor Emeritus, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA