The Marble Faun
Marble Faun, The,romance by Hawthorne, published in 1860. It was issued in England as Transformation.
Kenyon, an American sculptor, Hilda, a New England girl, and the mysterious Miriam are friends among the art students in Rome. They become acquainted with Donatello, Count of Monte Beni, a handsome Italian who resembles the Faun of Praxiteles, not only physically, but also in his mingling of human and animal qualities, his amoral attitude, and his simple enjoyment of the life of the senses. The dark, passionate Miriam is loved by Donatello, but she is haunted by an unrevealed sin and by the persecution of a mysterious man who dogs her footsteps after an accidental meeting in the Catacombs. Donatello is enraged by this man, and after an encouraging glance from Miriam flings him to his death from the Tarpeian Rock. Thereafter they are linked by their mutual guilt, which they keep secret. Donatello becomes brooding and conscience-stricken,...
[The entire page is 225 words long]
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