Project Gutenberg 2005-11-01 Public domain in the USA. 231 Hawthorne, Nathaniel 1804 1864 The Wives of the Dead (From: "The Snow Image and Other Twice-Told Tales") David Widger "The Wives of the Dead" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a short story written in the early 19th century, which falls within the American Romantic literary movement. The narrative explores the themes of grief and the complexities of human emotion, particularly as they relate to love and loss experienced by two sisters who have recently lost their husbands in tragic circumstances. The story unfolds in a simple parlor where two widowed sisters, Mary and Margaret, grapple with their profound sorrow after receiving news of the deaths of their husbands—one a sailor and the other a landsman. As they mourn together, the stark contrast between their experiences of grief becomes evident; Mary maintains a semblance of hope and piety, while Margaret is consumed by despair. Throughout the night, each sister faces her own emotional struggles, punctuated by a series of critical revelations—the joyful news that Mary’s husband has survived the shipwreck, contrasting with Margaret's lingering sorrow. The tale artfully balances these emotions, ultimately highlighting the bittersweet nature of joy and sadness intertwined in the human experience. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 66.3 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Short stories New England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction Historical fiction, American PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: American Literature 40088 2025-07-04T08:16:28.581440 text/html 39843 2022-05-16T13:47:41 text/html 86712 2025-07-04T08:16:32.974431 application/epub+zip 85591 2025-07-04T08:16:31.050443 application/epub+zip 70550 2025-07-04T08:16:30.060461 application/epub+zip 190795 2025-07-04T08:16:34.406443 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 184535 2025-07-04T08:16:32.403445 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 174715 2022-09-05T03:35:13.656267 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 33824 2025-07-04T08:16:28.355464 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 33604 2022-05-16T13:50:13 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18827 2025-07-04T08:16:34.527415 application/rdf+xml 14185 2025-07-04T08:16:30.536429 image/jpeg 3622 2025-07-04T08:16:30.296459 image/jpeg 13277 2022-05-16T13:50:41 application/octet-stream application/zip 14537 2022-05-16T13:51:03 application/octet-stream application/zip 85284 2025-07-04T08:16:28.585464 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia