Wakefield

Published in 1837 in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s collection Twice-Told Tales, this short story, narrated by Hawthorne himself, describes an instance in which a man leaves his house, telling his wife that he is going on a short trip but instead moving into a room the next street over. After 20 years of spying on his wife and family, Wakefield walks back into his home and returns to being a caring husband as if nothing had happened. In his characteristic style, Hawthorne speculates on Wakefield’s a...