Scholar Erich S. Rupprecht insisted it was one of Hawthorne's lesser works, claiming the "symbolic burden of the story clearly overwhelms the literal" and that the story "never manages to achieve much power or emotional resonance".
Scholar Erich S. Rupprecht believed this work to be among Hawthorne's lesser accomplishments, stating that the symbolic elements in the story overshadow its literal meaning, and that it fails to evoke strong emotions or connections with readers.