The snow-image: a childish miracle
Nathaniel Hawthorne's Snow-Image is a short story about a young girl named Violet who discovers a magical snow-image in the woods near her home. The snow-image is a beautiful figure of a woman, made entirely of snow. Violet is enchanted by the snow-image and visits it every day, until one day it suddenly disappears. Violet is heartbroken and sets out to find the snow-image, enlisting the help of her brother, a local farmer, and a mysterious old man. Along the way, Violet learns about the power of imagination and the importance of believing in the impossible. The story culminates in a magical ending, as Violet discovers that the snow-image was created by her own imagination and that it was never really gone. In the end, Violet learns that the power of imagination can make even the most impossible dreams come true.
By Nathaniel Hawthorne · First published 1864 · Genre: Romanticism, Fantasy, Children's Literature · 8,973 words
First lines
One afternoon of a cold winter's day, when the sun shone forth with chilly brightness, after a long storm, two children asked leave of their mother to run out and play in the new-fallen snow. The elder child was a little girl, whom, because she was of a tender and modest disposition, and was thought to be very beautiful, her parents, and other people who were familiar with her, used to call Violet. But her brother was known by the style and title of Peony, on account of the ruddiness of his broad and round little phiz, which made everybody think of sunshine and great scarlet flowers. The father of these two children, a certain Mr. Lindsey, it is important to say, was an excellent, but exceedingly matter-of-fact sort of man, a dealer in hardware, and was sturdily accustomed to take what is called the common-sense view of all matters that came under his consideration. With a heart about as tender as other people's, he had a head as hard and impenetrable, and therefore, perhaps, as empty, as one of the iron pots which it was a part of his business to sell. The mother's character, on the other hand, had a strain of poetry in it, a trait of unworldly beauty -- a delicate and dewy flower, as it were, that had survived out of her imaginative youth, and still kept itself alive amid the dusty realities of matrimony and motherhood.
What this Textopian page supports
The snow-image: a childish miracle is listed on Textopian as a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, dated 1864 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Date: 1864 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Romanticism, Fantasy, Children's Literature, Short Story
- Length: 8,973 words
- Structure: 1 section, 94 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
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Genres
- Romanticism — The Snow-Image is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a renowned American Romantic writer. The story is set in a rural New England village and follows the journey of a young girl, Viola, as she discovers a magical snow-image. The story is full of romantic themes such as the power of imagination, the beauty of nature, and the innocence of childhood.
- Fantasy — The Snow-Image is a fantasy story, as it contains elements of the supernatural and magical. The story follows Viola as she discovers a snow-image that comes to life and speaks to her. This magical element is a key part of the story and is essential to the plot.
- Children's Literature — The Snow-Image is a children's story, as it follows the journey of a young girl, Viola, and is written in a style that is accessible to children. The story is full of themes that are relevant to children, such as the power of imagination and the beauty of nature.
- Short Story — The Snow-Image is a short story, as it is a relatively short work of fiction that is usually focused on a single incident or theme. The story follows Viola as she discovers a magical snow-image and is only a few pages long.
Tags
Children's stories · Fantasy literature · child · children · cold · come · could · cried · garden · girl · good · image