American Literary History 465 spirit of the American Renaissance;England,where he served as consul in Liverpool from 1853 to 1857,and where he felt himself more "surrounded by materialisms,and hemmed in with the gross- ness of this earthly life,than anywhere else"in his experience (XXII:433);and Italy,where he resided through most of 1858- 59,drafted The Marble Faun (1860),and was challenged,like James's Americans abroad,by the obliquities of an older,denser civilization morally as well as culturally at variance with his own. Beyond geographical localities,"habitations"thus imply mental residences,or regions of thought and sensibility associated with place but not narrowly co-extensive with it and having their own distinctive attitudes,colorations,and constellation of themes.Of these habitations,New England,or "Salem,"has priority not simply because it was the first but because,like Faulkner's South, it was the lens through which he processed all the others.In this respect,Hawthorne never left "Salem"or divested himself of his identity-shaping ambivalence toward New England. Toward the end of "The Custom-House"Hawthorne wrote with wishful finality of Salem,"Henceforth,it ceases to be a reality of my life.I am a citizen of somewhere else"(I:4).He had previously tried to sever his roots in Salem,settling in Concord's Old Manse in July 1842 and reinventing himself as writer and man in the three years that followed.In the fall of 1845 life returned him to Salem like a "bad half-penny,"as he put it (II: 12),and it was in Salem,after his mother's death nearly four years later,that he wrote The Scarlet Letter (1850).The ending of "The Custom-House"was intended as a farewell to Salem not only as a residence but as a mental "habitation"associated with an identity (the lonely recluse of the Twice-Told Tales period)and a literary practice.But the bad penny returned,inwardly at least,once more. Even in self-exile in the distant Berkshires,Salem remained for Hawthorne both a weight and a gravitational pull."Mr.Hawthorne thinks it is Salem which he is dragging at his ankles still,"his wife reported of his gloomy spirits on 1 August 1850,more than two months after the move to Lenox (qtd in Wineapple 220).By early September Hawthorne had begun The House of the Seven Gables (1851),his Salem book,which also ends with a decisive break from the town.Salem had imprinted itself on Hawthorne in ways that physical separation alone could not erase.His first exorcism in "The Custom-House"had been incomplete;the ritual had to be performed again. I use "Salem"as synecdochical for "New England"because in Hawthorne's imagination it largely was,despite his broad acquaintance with the region.As a boy,Hawthorne had lived for a time in Maine,where his maternal relatives,the Mannings,had This content downloaded from 202.120.14.172 on Fri,10 Nov 2017 17:39:07 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/termsAmerican Literary History 465 spirit of the American Renaissance; England, where he served as consul in Liverpool from 1853 to 1857, and where he felt himself more "surrounded by materialisms, and hemmed in with the gross ness of this earthly life, than anywhere else" in his experience (XXII: 433); and Italy, where he resided through most of 1858 59, drafted The Marble Faun (1860), and was challenged, like James's Americans abroad, by the obliquities of an older, denser civilization morally as well as culturally at variance with his own. Beyond geographical localities, "habitations" thus imply mental residences, or regions of thought and sensibility associated with place but not narrowly co-extensive with it and having their own distinctive attitudes, colorations, and constellation of themes. Of these habitations, New England, or "Salem," has priority not simply because it was the first but because, like Faulkner's South, it was the lens through which he processed all the others. In this respect, Hawthorne never left "Salem" or divested himself of his identity-shaping ambivalence toward New England. Toward the end of "The Custom-House" Hawthorne wrote with wishful finality of Salem, "Henceforth, it ceases to be a reality of my life. I am a citizen of somewhere else" (I: 4). He had previously tried to sever his roots in Salem, settling in Concord's Old Manse in July 1842 and reinventing himself as writer and man in the three years that followed. In the fall of 1845 life returned him to Salem like a "bad half-penny," as he put it (II: 12), and it was in Salem, after his mother's death nearly four years later, that he wrote The Scarlet Letter (1850). The ending of "The Custom-House" was intended as a farewell to Salem not only as a residence but as a mental "habitation" associated with an identity (the lonely recluse of the Twice-Told Tales period) and a literary practice. But the bad penny returned, inwardly at least, once more. Even in self-exile in the distant Berkshires, Salem remained for Hawthorne both a weight and a gravitational pull. "Mr. Hawthorne thinks it is Salem which he is dragging at his ankles still," his wife reported of his gloomy spirits on 1 August 1850, more than two months after the move to Lenox (qtd in Wineapple 220). By early September Hawthorne had begun The House of the Seven Gables (1851), his Salem book, which also ends with a decisive break from the town. Salem had imprinted itself on Hawthorne in ways that physical separation alone could not erase. His first exorcism in "The Custom-House" had been incomplete; the ritual had to be performed again. I use "Salem" as synecdochical for "New England" because in Hawthorne's imagination it largely was, despite his broad acquaintance with the region. As a boy, Hawthorne had lived for a time in Maine, where his maternal relatives, the Mannings, had This content downloaded from 202.120.14.172 on Fri, 10 Nov 2017 17:39:07 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms