Marble Faun, The

The, a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published simultaneously in Boston and London in 1860. The London publishers gave it the title of Transformation. The scene is laid in Rome. The principal characters are Kenyon, an American sculptor, Hilda and Miriam, two art students, and Donatello, a young Tuscan count. Donatello's resemblance to the statue of the Marble Faun by Praxiteles gives the title to the book. According to rumor, he is a descendant of an ancient faun; in the opening of the story he is represented as possessed of the simple, joyous, irresponsible nature which might belong to such a creature. He falls in love with Miriam, an artist, and for her sake impulsively commits a murder. The remorse for his crime and his passion for Miriam awaken him to a sense of responsibility and the higher destiny of man.