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".
Rupprecht, a scholar, contended that this tale is one of Hawthorne's less impressive works, arguing that the symbolic weight of the narrative dominates its literal significance, and that it lacks the emotional resonance needed to make an impact.