The Troubadour Podcast

PT 2: Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Birth of Sci-Fi

December 07, 2018 Kirk j Barbera
The Troubadour Podcast
PT 2: Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Birth of Sci-Fi
Show Notes Chapter Markers

On this episode I'll be reading the short story "The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

A scientists deepest desire and motivation is to master nature in the same way that the artist represents nature.

In this episode we will explore the deeper motivations of Hawthorne's character creation: The Mad Scientist.

We will explore the nature of art and science, literature as an artform, science fiction as a genre, and how all of these ideas converge within Hawthornes short story.

The four short stories we are covering are:

1) Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
2) The Birthmark
3) Rappaccini's Daughter
4) The Artist of the Beautiful

This is science fiction not as it is, but as it should be!

Introductory Discussion
A Reading of The Birthmark
Discussion of the story