My Kinsman Major Molineux

In the opening pages, Hawthorne provides historical context for the story. It is the early 1730s, and there is great resentment directed toward the Crown. Though the Revolutionary War will not begin until 1775, tension is already building, especially in the fast-growing city of Boston.

At the end of the first paragraph, Hawthorne tells the reader to “dispense with an account of the train of circumstances that had caused much temporary inflammation of the popular mind” (1). In this passage, the reader is instructed to disregard cliched narratives of the era that oversimplify the dynamics between the Crown and colonists. Hawthorne is writing outside the trope of patriotic hero.

In the second paragraph, the story’s action commences. Robin is portrayed as an innocent young man who has arrived in the big city to seek his fortune. His “bright, cheerful eyes” (2) suggest optimism. He expects the city’s appearance to reflect his kinsman’s nobility. However, upon entering town, the “mean wooden buildings” (2) temper his expectations.

When Robin approaches the old man, he assumes he will be treated with respect. He makes this assumption, at least in part, because of his relation to Major Molineux. However, Robin is scorned by the old man, who threatens him with jail. The old man speaks with “successive hems, of a peculiarly solemn and sepulchral intonation” (2). The old man’s rebuke, along with his macabre manner of speaking, create a stark contrast to Robin’s initial hopefulness. This foreshadows a number of interactions that depict a ghastly and chaotic city.

On Robin’s way toward the inn, the smell of tar portends the tar-and-feathering of his kinsman. However, he does not take this as any kind of sign and remains unaware of the hostility that exists in the city.

Upon entering the inn, Robin’s naivete continues to be apparent. Though he is a stranger, he expects his relation to Major Molineux to afford him respect and accommodation. As soon as the innkeeper learns that Robin has no money, he treats Robin insultingly. By insinuating that Robin is a wanted man, the innkeeper makes clear that, in this establishment, Robin is seen as a vagrant. This triggers an aggressive impulse in Robin, which increases the tension by suggesting that a violent event could ensue.

While at the inn, Robin finally encounters a sociable atmosphere—one in which, it seems, he could find community. However, upon his ostracization, this environment only highlights his outsider status. The divide between city-dwellers and rural Americans is foregrounded when Robin observes the “sheepish countrymen” (4). Contrary to oversimplified historical narratives of colonial times, the populous is not neatly divided between Brits and Americans. Rather, among colonists, there are still the same complicated interpersonal dynamics that exist in any large group of people.

When Robin crosses paths with the horned man, the city seems not only unwelcoming, but hellish and fraught with danger. The horned man represents the devil and creates a stark juxtaposition to the innocent country boy. Robin has left the purity of country life and arrived in the wickedness of the city. This encounter foreshadows the barbarous parade.

Upon returning to the street and continuing his search, he sees “embroidered garments, of showy colors, enormous periwigs, gold-laced hats, and silver hilted swords,” which make him feel “ashamed of his quiet and natural gait” (6). At first, Robin felt as though his relation to Major Molineux gave him higher standing than the average resident. Now, in his struggle to find respect and acceptance, he is beginning to see that he doesn’t necessarily hold this status.

When he encounters the woman in the scarlet petticoat, we see a connection to Hawthorne’s most famous work, The Scarlet Letter. In that novel, the protagonist Hester Prynne must wear a scarlet letter “A” to denote her promiscuousness.

Robin’s interaction with this woman, who is presumably a prostitute, offers a sinful temptation. Unlike the old man and the innkeeper, the prostitute treats him with great respect, at least superficially. Her flattery, along with her lie that his kinsman is inside, almost lure Robin, which could have spoiled his innocence, but he resists and ultimately retains his representation of purity in an unholy city. Especially when considering that he is the son of a rural clergyman, Robin now seems even more out of place among Boston’s sinners. It appears that he will soon flee the city; or, he will engage in sinful behavior as a means to connect. Either way, he seems to be on the verge of directional change, which heightens the story’s tension.

The discussion of the wizard suggests that a mystical event could be nearing. His second encounter with the horned man hints that this devilish figure is going to have a prominent role in the story’s climax. The horned man’s black and red face represents the fire of hell and the darkness of death.

Robin peers inside a church window and a moonbeam illuminates a Bible. This provides a direct contrast to the horned man and suggests that Robin is caught between good and evil. When he worries that his kinsman may be dead and that he might encounter him as a ghost, we see the increasingly fragile state of Robin’s mind. His religious beliefs have begun to permeate his physical surroundings. He grows increasingly unsure of his ability to grasp reality, which helps to establish a surrealistic tone for the coming procession.

The kind stranger enters the story as a sort of guardian angel. The stranger’s familiarity with both Major Molineux and the horned man indicates that he is well-connected in Boston. This implies that, if Robin can’t locate Molineux, perhaps the stranger can help Robin get his start in the city. He provides Robin with the first sense of comfort that he’s felt since disembarking the ferry.

The procession arrives and the neighborhood comes to life. Leading the march is the horned man, whose appearance atop a horse makes him seem both demonic and regal. This suggests that the American revolutionaries were not all godly patriots, as they have been portrayed in popular histories. Rather, among the revolutionaries, there are dark figures who do not neatly align with common perceptions of colonial-era patriotism.

Robin finally sees Major Molineux, who has been tarred and feathered and is displayed in a cart. Though Robin assumed that the locals held his kinsman in high regard, he now realizes that they regard him with the same contempt that they hold toward anyone representing the Crown. Robin still sees him as “large and majestic” (15). However, this reverence quickly dissipates, and he regards his kinsman with sadness and pity, and arguably even views him as pathetic.

The crowd begins laughing. Characters from earlier in the night, such as the old man and the prostitute, appear. Robin feels drunk on the spectacle. Upon bursting into laughter, he is no longer the innocent country boy. Rather, he is capable of succumbing to the barbaric impulses that he had so far resisted. He is partaking in mob rule, which runs contrary to the civilized democracy that is supposedly sought by the colonists.

Robin asks the stranger for directions to the ferry, but the stranger suggests that Robin instead try to make his way in the city without the assistance of Major Molineux. In the end, Robin is presented with the opportunity to declare his own form of independence. While it remains unclear what he will do, he must now consider the perils of striking out on one’s own—as must the American revolutionaries.