John Hathorne - Legacy

Legacy

John was the great-great-grandfather of Nathaniel Hawthorne (born "Hathorne"), author of many works, including The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. The latter work, set in Salem, contains allusions to the witch trials in its history of the house. Hawthorne was somewhat distressed at his ancestor's lack of remorse over the trials; he may have adopted the "Hawthorne" spelling in an effort to dissociate himself from the judge. He did publish several works in 1830 under the Hathorne name, and his assumption of the modified spelling may have been an echo of the family's ancestral name from Bray, Berkshire, England. Historical documents from England contain a variety of spellings of the name, including Hauthorne, Hathorn, Hothorne and Hawthorne.

In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible (and its film adaptations), Hathorne is portrayed as quite sadistic and, quite possibly, the most ignorant, antagonistic character besides Abigail Williams and her posse. Hathorne is the leading judge who continually denies witnesses any chance to redeem their names in court, as if he has already determined the outcome. He is cynical and rarely shows emotion, with the exception of the finale, where he is almost joyful that John Proctor is going to confess his crimes.

Hathorne is the judge appointed by Satan at the trial in Stephen Vincent Benet's story "The Devil and Daniel Webster", where he is described as "a tall man, soberly clad in Puritan garb, with the burning gaze of the fanatic." In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's play Giles Corey of the Salem Farms, Hathorne is shown debating Cotton Mather on the nature of witchcraft and presiding over hearings in which Giles Corey refuses to enter a plea. (In both the real trial and Longfellow's work, Corey was crushed to death for this refusal.)