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"The Great Carbuncle" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It first appeared in Twice-Told Tales, a collection of short stories, in 1837.
[edit] Plot synopsis
In the White Mountains, a band of eight adventurers gathers together. They are each on a personal quest for the Great Carbuncle, a brilliant gem legendary in its elusiveness. The adventurers are as follows:
- The Seeker: a man sixty years of age who has sought the Great Carbuncle nearly his entire life. He says when he finds the Carbuncle he will die alongside it.
- Doctor Cacophodel: a chemist. He hopes to perform many tests on the Carbuncle and make many copies of it.
- Master Ichabod Pigsnort: a merchant, who wishes to sell the Carbuncle to the highest bidder.
- The Cynic: a bespectacled man with a constant sneer. He considers the hopes of the other adventurers futile. He seeks the Carbuncle to prove to everyone that it doesn't exist.
- The Poet: He hopes the Carbuncle will bring him inspiration.
- Lord de Vere: a wealthy prince, who would use the Carbuncle's brilliance as a symbol of his family's greatness for posterity.
- Matthew and Hannah: newlyweds, who wish to use the gem as a light in their household and as a conversation piece.
The next morning, Matthew and Hannah wake up realizing that the others have left before them. Even though they fear they have lost the Carbuncle, they take their time in preparing for their morning's adventure.
They begin to climb a great mountain. They soon fear they will be lost, until they spy a great red brilliance. They realize it is the Carbuncle. Beneath the Carbuncle, they see the figure of the Seeker, who has died trying to reach the gem. The Cynic approaches them and claims that he cannot see the Carbuncle. He removes his glasses and is immediately blinded by the gem's brilliance. Matthew and Hannah decide the gem is too brilliant for their household, and they leave it where it lies.
[edit] External links
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
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Nathaniel Hawthorne |
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| Novels |
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| Twice-Told Tales |
"The Gray Champion" · "Sundays at Home" · "The Wedding-Knell" · " The Minister's Black Veil" · " The May-Pole of Merry Mount" · "The Gentle Boy" · "Mr. Higginbotham's Catastrophe" · "Little Annie's Ramble" · "Wakefield" · "A Rill from the Town-Pump" · " The Great Carbuncle" · "The Prophetic Pictures" · "David Swan" · "Sights from a Steeple" · "The Hollow of the Three Hills" · "The Toll-Gatherer's Day" · "The Vision of the Fountain" · "Fancy's Show Box" · " Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" · "Legends of the Province-House" · "The Haunted Mind" · "The Village Uncle" · " The Ambitious Guest" · "The Sister Years" · "Snow-Flakes" · "The Seven Vagabonds" · "The White Old Maid" · "Peter Goldthwaite's Treasure" · "Chippings with a Chisel" · "The Shaker Bridal" · "Night Sketches" · "Endicott and the Red Cross" · "The Lily's Quest" · "Foot-prints on the Sea-shore" · "Edward Fane's Rosebud" · "The Threefold Destiny"
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The Snow-Image, and
Other Twice-Told Tales |
"The Snow-Image" · "The Great Stone Face" · "Main-street" · " Ethan Brand" · "A Bell's Biography" · "Sylph Etherege" · "The Canterbury Pilgrims" · "Old News" · " The Man of Adamant" · "The Devil in Manuscript" · "John Inglefield's Thanksgiving" · "Old Ticonderoga" · "The Wives of the Dead" · "Little Daffydowndilly" · " My Kinsman, Major Molineux"
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| Mosses from an Old Manse |
" The Old Manse" · " The Birth-Mark" · "A Select Party" · " Young Goodman Brown" · " Rappaccini's Daughter" · "Mrs. Bullfrog" · "Fire-Worship" · "Buds and Bird-Voices" · "Monsieur du Miroir" · "The Hall of Fantasy" · "The Celestial Rail-road" · "The Procession of Life" · " Feathertop" · "The New Adam and Eve" · " Egotism; or, The Bosom-Serpent" · "The Christmas Banquet" · "Drowne's Wooden Image" · "The Intelligence Office" · "Roger Malvin's Burial" · " P.'s Correspondence" · "Earth's Holocaust" · "Passages from a Relinquished Work" · "Sketches from Memory" · "The Old Apple-Dealer" · "The Artist of the Beautiful" · "A Virtuoso's Collection" |
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