Sophia Peabody Hawthorne
| Sophia Amelia Peabody Hawthorne | |
|---|---|
etching by Stephen Alonzo Schoff
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| Born |
September 21, 1809 Salem, Massachusetts |
| Died | February 26, 1871 (aged 61) London, England |
| Spouse(s) |
Nathaniel Hawthorne (m. 1842–64; his death) |
| Children | Una Hawthorne, Julian Hawthorne, Mother Mary Alphonsa (Rosa Hawthorne) |
Sophia Amelia Peabody Hawthorne (September 21, 1809 – February 26, 1871) was a painter and illustrator as well as the wife of American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. She also published her journals and various articles.
Sophia Amelia Peabody was born September 21, 1809, in Salem, Massachusetts, and named after two of her aunts. Peabody's father was the dentist Nathaniel Peabody, while her mother was the strong Unitarian Elizabeth Palmer. She had three brothers; her sisters were Elizabeth Palmer Peabody and Mary Tyler Peabody Mann, later Horace Mann's wife. Her sister Elizabeth educated Sophia, focusing on geography, science, literature and both American and European history; eventually, she learned to read in Latin, French, Greek and Hebrew; she knew some German, as well.
Sophia's health had been questionable since infancy, and she was an occasional invalid. One possible cause was a fashionable treatment her dentist father prescribed for her teething pains that included mercury. In later life, she was a frequent user of calomel and opium to relieve her pain and migraines. When doctors pronounced Sophia had no discernible illness, she sought the "rest therapy". She left for Cuba on December 4, 1833, with her sister Mary.
Sophia first met Nathaniel Hawthorne through her sister, Elizabeth. When the author came to visit once, Elizabeth is said to have reported, "He is handsomer than Lord Byron!" When she urged Sophia to come downstairs to meet him, she laughed and said, "If he has come once he will come again". After meeting her, Nathaniel wrote the tale "Edward Randolph’s Portrait", which included an artist character inspired by Sophia Peabody named Alice Vane.
Sophia had originally objected to marriage, partly because of her health. They became secretly engaged by New Year's Day, 1839.
Sophia gave two of her paintings to Hawthorne in 1840 on the first anniversary of their engagement. "Hawthorne valued the paintings so much that he hid them behind curtains to enjoy when he was alone".
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