FREESylph Etherege (From: "The Snow Image and Other Twice-Told Tales")
by Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864
"Sylph Etherege" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a short story written during the mid-19th century, a time noted for its romantic literary movements. This tale explores themes of love, fantasy, and the collision of dreams with reality, centering around a delicate and imaginative young woman named Sylvia Etherege who finds herself caught in a web of manipulation and romantic idealism. In the narrative, Sylvia, an orphan raised in seclusion, has long imagined her cousin Edgar Vaughan as her ideal lover, referring to her as "Sylph," reflecting her ethereal qualities. Upon his return from Europe, she is set to meet him for the first time. However, Edward Hamilton, a companion of Vaughan, darkly toys with Sylvia’s attachment to this fantasy by presenting himself as Vaughan and ultimately shattering her illusions by exposing the fabricated nature of her dreams. The story culminates with a deep exploration of Sylvia's emotional turmoil as she grapples with the loss of her idealized love, leading her to question her very existence and identity in a poignant conclusion that reveals the consequences of romantic fantasy clashing with harsh realities. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Automated conservative edition review 2026-10-20T13:09:13.884Z (historical-original-en-v2), Philippines scope. English historical author Hawthorne, Nathaniel, died 1864; original-language author allowlist, matching sole EPUB/catalog creator, no credited contributors, no extra artwork, no flagged editorial/translation/copyright cues in isolated text. US public-domain source label and retained Gutenberg license; EPUB CRC passed. This is rule-based screening, not a worldwide rights opinion or a claim of manual review. Source: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9238; Philippine term reference https://www.ipophil.gov.ph/copyright/. EPUB SHA256 a2bb61e8e3a963ad8887194f659ac4c6afb3d4543339b7ebbd2ad9edf42add9f; RDF SHA256 74859fd88a287277a2e3bf52c6a5c47b6a37b26d46d82e12df63331b6cc85165.
View source & edition information ↗