First of all: those who found the book to be dull, such as me, listen to it on tape (it's abbreviated yet still dangerous = boring to listen to while driving, as I found out). Indeed, Hawthorne introduces some advanced ideas for the times, such as writing about a single mother, as well as musings about women's rights. His obsession with Victorian themes, such as the deification of children, fixation on bodily sins, as well as overdramatization and simplification of the plot equals predictability and annoyance to the reader. While this book could probably be considered "a classic," such as Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina," both are better classified as carefully crafted literary exercises rather than engaging stories.