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The Ambitious Guest
"The Ambitious Guest" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. First published in The New-England Magazine in June 1835, it was republished in the second volume of Twice-Told Tales in 1841.
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Nathaniel Hawthorne
5,542 books3,673 followersNathaniel Hawthorne was a 19th century American novelist and short story writer. He is seen as a key figure in the development of American literature for his tales of the nation's colonial history.
Shortly after graduating from Bowdoin College, Hathorne changed his name to Hawthorne. Hawthorne anonymously published his first work, a novel titled Fanshawe, in 1828. In 1837, he published Twice-Told Tales and became engaged to painter and illustrator Sophia Peabody the next year. He worked at a Custom House and joined a Transcendentalist Utopian community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The Wayside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment took Hawthorne and family to Europe before returning to The Wayside in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, leaving behind his wife and their three children.
Much of Hawthorne's writing centers around New England and many feature moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His work is considered part of the Romantic movement and includes novels, short stories, and a biography of his friend, the United States President Franklin Pierce.
Shortly after graduating from Bowdoin College, Hathorne changed his name to Hawthorne. Hawthorne anonymously published his first work, a novel titled Fanshawe, in 1828. In 1837, he published Twice-Told Tales and became engaged to painter and illustrator Sophia Peabody the next year. He worked at a Custom House and joined a Transcendentalist Utopian community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The Wayside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment took Hawthorne and family to Europe before returning to The Wayside in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, leaving behind his wife and their three children.
Much of Hawthorne's writing centers around New England and many feature moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His work is considered part of the Romantic movement and includes novels, short stories, and a biography of his friend, the United States President Franklin Pierce.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
September 1, 2025
We may all, in some small way, wish that we might be of distinguished position, whether in character or deed, in the present or the future, living or extinguished. But oftentimes such a fate comes to those who are least cognizant of their esteemed place in hearts and minds, and they leave this world comfortable and contented in their place only to become revered in their passing. Alas, these are the ones who have earned their stature and perhaps that is the lesson to be learned here. To become a distinguished person and remain alive in thought and memory, it cannot be expectedly sought, but must be quietly, respectfully, and often unexpectedly realized.
A purposeful tale contemplating if one's destiny can or should be preordained, or does it all just come down to chance and circumstance?
Read it here:
https://americanliterature.com/author...
A purposeful tale contemplating if one's destiny can or should be preordained, or does it all just come down to chance and circumstance?
Read it here:
https://americanliterature.com/author...
September 25, 2019
First published in The New England Magazine (June, 1835), this is one of the most romantic and ominous of Hawthorne’s moral tales. It was based on a real event, known as the Willey Tragedy: in 1826, in Crawford’s Notch, New Hampshire, seven members of the Willey Family and their two hired men were buried in an avalanche precipitated by a violent rain.
Hawthorne decides not to concentrate on the disaster, but on the period immediately before it. He eliminates the two hired men, but adds a young visitor to the Willey’s rough inn: the “ambitious guest” of the title. After dinner, this young man, although does not care about being famous while he lives, confides that he wishes to be remembered after death for some great deed. “I cannot die till I have achieved my destiny. Then, let Death come! I shall have built my monument!" Stirred by his confidences, members of the Willey Family express their final wishes too.
This conversation gives a particular dignity and poignancy to the inevitable catastrophe. The body of the poor young man is never identified, and Hawthorne ends his tale with this reflection:
“Wo for the high-souled youth, with his dream of Earthly Immortality! His name and person utterly unknown; his history, his way of life, his plans, a mystery never to be solved, his death and his existence equally a doubt!”
April 28, 2026
^ `°` ^ The ambitious guest.
✓ "إزاي الإنسان بيموت مجهول وهو بيحلم بالمجد؟"
• شاب طموحه واصل للسما، بيقتحم دفا عائلة بسيطة في جبال "وايت ماونتينز". بيخليهم يحلموا معاه بكرة والشهرة، وفجأة القدر بيقرر ينهي الحوار ده بانهيار جبلي مرعب.
> اللي صدمني:
• إن العائلة والضيف سابوا البيت اللي فضل واقف وسليم، وجريوا لـ "الملجأ" اللي افتكروه أمان.. فكان هو قبرهم! البيت الجماد عاش، والناس اللي بتخطط للمستقبل ماتت.
> وفجأة الكاتب يصدمنا في النهاية:
" Some people thought that a stranger had been with the family on that terrible night. But no one ever discoverd who the stranger was. His name and way of life remain a mystery. His body was never found.
✓ طب ليه هاوثورن مخلاش للضيف اسم؟
• عشان يكون "نكرة": هاوثورن كان قاصد يحقق للشاب "أسوأ كوابيسه"؛ الشاب كان بيموت في الشهرة، فالكاتب حرمه حتى من اسم على غلاف القصة أو جثته، عشان يوريك إن القدر سخر من طموحه.
• عشان يمثلنا كلنا: الضيف ده هو أي حد فينا غرقان في أحلام بكرة وناسي يعيش النهاردة. هو "نموذج" مش مجرد شخص.
• عالمية القصة (Universal): لما يكون ملهوش اسم، القصة بتتحول لـ "أسطورة" تنطبق على أي زمان ومكان.
^'^ وفي النهاية، لم أجد أبلغ من كلمات ويليام شكسبير لتصف حال هذا الضيف:
"الحياة ما هي إلا ظل ماشٍ، ممثل مسكين يتبختر ويستشيط غضباً لساعته على المسرح، ثم لا يُسمع له صوت بعدها."
..» قرأتها في 26/4/2026
✓ "إزاي الإنسان بيموت مجهول وهو بيحلم بالمجد؟"
• شاب طموحه واصل للسما، بيقتحم دفا عائلة بسيطة في جبال "وايت ماونتينز". بيخليهم يحلموا معاه بكرة والشهرة، وفجأة القدر بيقرر ينهي الحوار ده بانهيار جبلي مرعب.
> اللي صدمني:
• إن العائلة والضيف سابوا البيت اللي فضل واقف وسليم، وجريوا لـ "الملجأ" اللي افتكروه أمان.. فكان هو قبرهم! البيت الجماد عاش، والناس اللي بتخطط للمستقبل ماتت.
> وفجأة الكاتب يصدمنا في النهاية:
" Some people thought that a stranger had been with the family on that terrible night. But no one ever discoverd who the stranger was. His name and way of life remain a mystery. His body was never found.
✓ طب ليه هاوثورن مخلاش للضيف اسم؟
• عشان يكون "نكرة": هاوثورن كان قاصد يحقق للشاب "أسوأ كوابيسه"؛ الشاب كان بيموت في الشهرة، فالكاتب حرمه حتى من اسم على غلاف القصة أو جثته، عشان يوريك إن القدر سخر من طموحه.
• عشان يمثلنا كلنا: الضيف ده هو أي حد فينا غرقان في أحلام بكرة وناسي يعيش النهاردة. هو "نموذج" مش مجرد شخص.
• عالمية القصة (Universal): لما يكون ملهوش اسم، القصة بتتحول لـ "أسطورة" تنطبق على أي زمان ومكان.
^'^ وفي النهاية، لم أجد أبلغ من كلمات ويليام شكسبير لتصف حال هذا الضيف:
"الحياة ما هي إلا ظل ماشٍ، ممثل مسكين يتبختر ويستشيط غضباً لساعته على المسرح، ثم لا يُسمع له صوت بعدها."
..» قرأتها في 26/4/2026
May 2, 2019
In rough weather a young man, a stranger, knocks at the door of a family of mountain dwellers. Inside he chats with the happy family and tells them about his ambitious plans for the future. He's flirting with the elder daughter, ma and pop listen to the young man's talk and can imagine to live somewhere else, grandmother talks about the perfect outfit and fitting of the clothes when laid to rest in a coffin. And how does the story end? There seems to be a landslide outside moving toward the cottage with our characters inside. Will they survive? I really enjoyed this classic Hawthorne tale with this fine Gothic references and the setting full of foreboding (so much happiness can't last, can it). Captivating, errie and with a surprising twist at the end. Absolutely recommended, not only to Hawthorne fans.
July 3, 2020
Woah! Completely unexpected. Hawthorne artfully, painstakingly paints his characters' personalities between their interactions... then -BAM- kills them all in one fell swoop. And now the juxtaposition: by twist of fate, a stranger who wished to be reknown dies an unknown, while his plain-folk hosts are recalled dearly by survivors.
Well played, Mr. Hawthorne, well played.
.
Well played, Mr. Hawthorne, well played.
.
January 24, 2019
Beware the consequences of striving, restlessness, and dreaming of greener pastures. Home sweet home.
January 4, 2025
go girl give me nothing
February 10, 2020
“ it’s in our nature to want a monument. Some want only a stone on their grave. Others want to be a part of everyone’s memory”
Ironic story that talks about ambition. We spend most of our lives just wishing to make something to be remembered, without realizing that life is short.
Ironic story that talks about ambition. We spend most of our lives just wishing to make something to be remembered, without realizing that life is short.
August 16, 2016
I have arranged my thoughts on this short story into a haiku:
"The joy of planning--
Rocks fall. Everybody dies.
Nothing is assured."
"The joy of planning--
Rocks fall. Everybody dies.
Nothing is assured."
September 28, 2019
"Oh, I have always had a gift of feeling what is in other people's hearts," said he, half seriously. "Shall I tell the secrets of yours? For I know what to think when a young girl shivers by a warm hearth, and complains of lonesomeness at her mother's side. Shall I put these feelings into words?"
Okay, first of all, who gave Hawthorne the right to be so brutally real? This is my third story of his and I just CAN'T handle how he manages to downright pierce through your ribcage and yank out your guilty conscience. You feel at fault and ashamed even when he doesn't directly accuse you of the sin—even when you did not commit it! The judge's gavel reverberates and you know, struck speechless from the futility of an attempt at defence, that you are meant for the gallows.
Like holy crap, man.
"Old and young, we dream of graves and monuments," murmured the stranger youth. "I wonder how mariners feel when the ship is sinking, and they, unknown and undistinguished, are to be buried together in the ocean—that wide and nameless sepulchre?"
The story started out like a fairy tale. One night, a family—mother, father, daughter, little children, grandmother—sits cosily around their fireplace. A travelling stranger arrives and is greeted warmly. A hearty meal, laughter and merriment. Then, they begin to talk...
But while they spoke softly, and he was watching the happy sadness, the lightsome shadows, the shy yearnings of a maiden's nature, the wind through the Notch took a deeper and drearier sound.
We see the wants and wishes of different demographics here. The little children have whimsical, adventurous fantasies. The daughter longs for a romantic relationship. The parents desire peace, contentment, simplicity, quiet. The grandmother, in metaphors and superstition, expresses the inability to achieve more and the hope to die without regrets. The travelling stranger... yearns recognition. Solitary for most of his life, he journeys in the trail of that Something that will make his name known. He is sure in his heart that he will one day be famed. Regard earnestly that to "freeze myself to death on the top of Mount Washington, only that people might spy at me from the country round about" as "a noble pedestal for a man's statue". He yearns, and yearns, and yearns, and yearns...
"As yet," cried the stranger—his cheek glowing and his eye flashing with enthusiasm—"as yet, I have done nothing. Were I to vanish from the earth tomorrow, none would know so much of me as you: that a nameless youth came up at nightfall from the valley of the Saco, and opened his heart to you in the evening, and passed through the Notch by sunrise, and was seen no more. Not a soul would ask, 'Who was he? Whither did the wanderer go?' But I cannot die till I have achieved my destiny. Then, let Death come! I shall have built my monument!"
Along all these wants and wishes come the impediments that prevent fulfillment. It might be an essential acquirement of maturity. A need for courage. A rekindling of curiosity and excitement. A release of the fear of the unknown. A... more tangible manifestation of an ambition. Less dreaming, more doing. We know their wants, and we know their obstacles. And yet...
*sigh* Not gonna lie, I saw myself most in the travelling stranger. And this made the ending that much more painful. (Thanks, Hawthorne.)
Woe for the high-souled youth, with his dream of Earthly Immortality! His name and person utterly unknown; his history, his way of life, his plans, a mystery never to be solved; his death and his existence equally a doubt! Whose was the agony of that death moment?
(Read it here.)
April 3, 2024
Well, that story went somewhere that I didn’t expect. What seems to be a simple story about a traveler coming to a place secluded under the mountain on a trail, happy to share their hearth and food, turns out to be a surprising rendition of the 17th century version of being hit by a semi when crossing the road. The point, I gather, is to note that one must live for the moment.
August 29, 2020
This is a twistfully crafted story of a family who lived atop a mountain where there are slides that happen every now and then. This family likes to gather around the fire, grandmother, husband and wife, and the children, and share the warmth of the hearth and of the family, in contrast to the cold winter outside their cottage.
I remembered reading this first on high school, and during such time, was not that... Good enough at conprehending stories as these, especially since English is not my first language. It was a hard time understanding such command of words but now, at a better light, and I humbly reckon, of higher level of comprehension than I was then, I can say that this story is quite wonderfully told about the unpredictability of life, and how one may dream and express about what is to come, only to have it remain a dream.
The guest was a young lad expressing his desire to someday die and be remembered, and this being said, spread courage like wildfire, to the family members, making them express how they want to be in the future. There is a masterful and almost indiscernable literary devices that shall only resurface after you have finally grasped what actually happened in the end. I may quite be one to tell that the stranger must be a phantom or a vision himself of what is to come.
All in all, it is an eerie, and perhaps, if I may say, fantastic story with a plot twist in the end.
I remembered reading this first on high school, and during such time, was not that... Good enough at conprehending stories as these, especially since English is not my first language. It was a hard time understanding such command of words but now, at a better light, and I humbly reckon, of higher level of comprehension than I was then, I can say that this story is quite wonderfully told about the unpredictability of life, and how one may dream and express about what is to come, only to have it remain a dream.
The guest was a young lad expressing his desire to someday die and be remembered, and this being said, spread courage like wildfire, to the family members, making them express how they want to be in the future. There is a masterful and almost indiscernable literary devices that shall only resurface after you have finally grasped what actually happened in the end. I may quite be one to tell that the stranger must be a phantom or a vision himself of what is to come.
All in all, it is an eerie, and perhaps, if I may say, fantastic story with a plot twist in the end.
September 25, 2021
The Ambitious Guest by Nathaniel Hawthorne was first published in 18sr. It is a beautiful romance and morality tale that is based on a real event (the Willey tragedy) and is a shocking story that develops the characters so well you are surprised it can be done in so few pages.
The book tells the story of the few moments before the tragedy when a young visitor arrives at the Willey's home. They share a dinner and conversation, and allow the reader to know them and care about them. When the visitor confides that he wants to be remembered well after death: “I cannot die till I have achieved my destiny. Then, let Death come! I shall have built my monument!" the reader knows that most of us feel the same. It resonates. The message is poignant, and we find ourself dreading the goodbye that is sure to come.
The book tells the story of the few moments before the tragedy when a young visitor arrives at the Willey's home. They share a dinner and conversation, and allow the reader to know them and care about them. When the visitor confides that he wants to be remembered well after death: “I cannot die till I have achieved my destiny. Then, let Death come! I shall have built my monument!" the reader knows that most of us feel the same. It resonates. The message is poignant, and we find ourself dreading the goodbye that is sure to come.
October 13, 2014
This is more of a summary than it is a review :)
This story is centered around a humbled and unified family, who is gathered around a hearth. A strange person who will be known as " The Ambitious Guest" makes his appearance and is welcomed with so much warmth from all the family.
We can see that although they live in a very cold and isolated place, the family is always happy and thankful. such a contrast between the reality of the harsh outside and the cozy inside.
Throughout the story we learn bits and pieces about the personalities of each member of the family. And even the stranger shares his view of the future and his ambitious.
In the end, because the house was situated in a dangerous Notch. The family and the stranger were victims of the falling of the slide which led to their tragic death.
This story is centered around a humbled and unified family, who is gathered around a hearth. A strange person who will be known as " The Ambitious Guest" makes his appearance and is welcomed with so much warmth from all the family.
We can see that although they live in a very cold and isolated place, the family is always happy and thankful. such a contrast between the reality of the harsh outside and the cozy inside.
Throughout the story we learn bits and pieces about the personalities of each member of the family. And even the stranger shares his view of the future and his ambitious.
In the end, because the house was situated in a dangerous Notch. The family and the stranger were victims of the falling of the slide which led to their tragic death.
October 27, 2015
To not be remembered in death are the ultimate fears of the characters in "The Ambitious Guest." Hawthorne makes use of nature and humanly requests to show the disparity's between people and the earth.
July 4, 2018
I knew what I was in for as I came across this, " Is not the kindred of a common fate a closer tie than that of birth?".
Then again I like the author's style even if I don't think much of the content.
Then again I like the author's style even if I don't think much of the content.
September 19, 2018
If told slightly in a different manner, this would have been an outstanding ghost story, but as it is, it's simply a well done short story about people in the last moments of their lives even though they are unaware of that fact.
July 2, 2014
KABAM. That good!
November 12, 2014
while I was going through this short story I couldn't think of that meticulous end. I lived in that warm cottage for a while and loved it:)
November 12, 2021
“Man proposes, G-d disposes” stunningly illustrated.
December 12, 2024
The Ambitious Guest was published in June 1835 in The New England Magazine. In 1841, it was re-published in Twice-Told Tales, Vol. II.
This story is set in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and revolves around a young traveler who seeks shelter with a family living in a remote, isolated inn. The young man, driven by his ambition, shares his dreams of fame and success with the family. Despite their humble and contented lives, the family becomes enchanted by the young man's passionate aspirations. As they discuss their own hopes and desires, a sudden landslide strikes, threatening to bury them alive. In their panic, they flee the safety of their home, only to meet their tragic end in the wilderness.
The story ends with a poignant irony: the young man's dreams of glory and the family's newfound aspirations are all dashed, and their deaths go unnoticed by the world. The moral of the tale is a reflection on the futility of ambition and the unpredictability of life.
Hawthorne's story is based upon the real-life 1826 tragedy of the Willey Family which consisted of Samuel Willey, his wife, five children, and two farm hands who lived in Crawford Notch, New Hampshire. Located in the Notch, surrounded by mountains, the Willey's house served as an Inn for travelers passing through the desolate valley. One night, following heavy rainstorms and flooding in the valley, the mountain gave way, crashing down. Hearing the slide, the family ran from the house seeking safety in a cave they have previously built for such a threat. They were too late and were all buried by the slide. The house survived, untouched.
Jeremiah and Annie Willey family.
The Willey Family House
This story is set in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and revolves around a young traveler who seeks shelter with a family living in a remote, isolated inn. The young man, driven by his ambition, shares his dreams of fame and success with the family. Despite their humble and contented lives, the family becomes enchanted by the young man's passionate aspirations. As they discuss their own hopes and desires, a sudden landslide strikes, threatening to bury them alive. In their panic, they flee the safety of their home, only to meet their tragic end in the wilderness.
The story ends with a poignant irony: the young man's dreams of glory and the family's newfound aspirations are all dashed, and their deaths go unnoticed by the world. The moral of the tale is a reflection on the futility of ambition and the unpredictability of life.
Hawthorne's story is based upon the real-life 1826 tragedy of the Willey Family which consisted of Samuel Willey, his wife, five children, and two farm hands who lived in Crawford Notch, New Hampshire. Located in the Notch, surrounded by mountains, the Willey's house served as an Inn for travelers passing through the desolate valley. One night, following heavy rainstorms and flooding in the valley, the mountain gave way, crashing down. Hearing the slide, the family ran from the house seeking safety in a cave they have previously built for such a threat. They were too late and were all buried by the slide. The house survived, untouched.
Jeremiah and Annie Willey family.
The Willey Family House
September 23, 2017
Just finished listening to the audible version of "THE AMBITIOUS GUEST" by NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE and narrated by B.J. HARRISON.
A young traveler stops for the night with a family that lives in a "notch" next to a mountain. They make friendly conversation, interrupted once by the sound of a wagon carrying other travelers , and then by the sound of rocks falling from the slope. The father reassures the visitor that rockfalls happen regularly without causing harm, but that the family has a "safe place" to go in the event of a serious collapse.
The group carries on with their friendly conversation. The visitor acknowledges that he is young and has no accomplishments of note, but hopes he will have "achieved my destiny" before he dies and then "I shall have built my monument!" The father expresses the wish for a more humble legacy,
Suddenly, they are noticed by the sound of a much larger avalanche. They scream in fear of "The Slide!" and bolt outside for their safe place. But they are all caught up in the rock slide and killed, while the house is completely undamaged. Their bodies are swept away and never found.
A young traveler stops for the night with a family that lives in a "notch" next to a mountain. They make friendly conversation, interrupted once by the sound of a wagon carrying other travelers , and then by the sound of rocks falling from the slope. The father reassures the visitor that rockfalls happen regularly without causing harm, but that the family has a "safe place" to go in the event of a serious collapse.
The group carries on with their friendly conversation. The visitor acknowledges that he is young and has no accomplishments of note, but hopes he will have "achieved my destiny" before he dies and then "I shall have built my monument!" The father expresses the wish for a more humble legacy,
Suddenly, they are noticed by the sound of a much larger avalanche. They scream in fear of "The Slide!" and bolt outside for their safe place. But they are all caught up in the rock slide and killed, while the house is completely undamaged. Their bodies are swept away and never found.
January 22, 2019
Intr-un han la poalele muntelui, personaje din mai multe generatii dezbat aspecte legate de sensul vietii si fatetele confruntarii cu mortalitatea. Membrii familiei extinse sunt impacati in fata mortalitatii, simtindu-se protejati de valorile familiale. Tanarul vizitator este ambitios si spera obtinerea faimei intre timp. Cugetari sfatoase asupra carora imprevizibilul destinului cade ca un ciocan. Si pentru acest final am acordat si a treia stea, altfel tonul molcom, intelept nu e chiar pe gustul meu.
February 25, 2022
Entertaining listening 🎧
A will written American New England novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne about a cottage in Maine where the travelers stop on the way to the White Mountains. An event happens to end the lives of the people at the cottage. I would recommend to anyone looking for a quick read. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎧 to novels. 📖😎✨🎉 2022
A will written American New England novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne about a cottage in Maine where the travelers stop on the way to the White Mountains. An event happens to end the lives of the people at the cottage. I would recommend to anyone looking for a quick read. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎧 to novels. 📖😎✨🎉 2022
June 17, 2026
‘Your place of refuge may be the cause of your death.’
This short story raises an idea we might all avoid thinking about: in our pursuit of glory and our desire to leave an unforgettable mark, we must not forget that there is something written for us—destiny.
I highly recommend this chilling, yet a brilliant classic that you will not forget.
This short story raises an idea we might all avoid thinking about: in our pursuit of glory and our desire to leave an unforgettable mark, we must not forget that there is something written for us—destiny.
I highly recommend this chilling, yet a brilliant classic that you will not forget.
July 4, 2024
Hawthorne Hawks #1
Going to read the works of Hawthorne in the order that Fantastic Fiction has presented them, and this is the first one.
A short average yarn, oh which I won't remember much about, but signifies the beginning of a journey.
Going to read the works of Hawthorne in the order that Fantastic Fiction has presented them, and this is the first one.
A short average yarn, oh which I won't remember much about, but signifies the beginning of a journey.
July 29, 2019
Pretty solid writing. Pretty solid plot twist.
September 19, 2019
Well that was depressing.
July 3, 2020
A must read for all whose love Franconia Notch, this was charming.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews