Chippings with a Chisel (From "Twice Told Tales")

"Chippings with a Chisel (From 'Twice Told Tales')" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story set in a small community on Martha’s Vineyard, where the author reflects on themes of mortality and remembrance by exploring the work of a tombstone carver named Mr. Wigglesworth. The narrative unfolds through the narrator's observations of Wigglesworth's interactions with his customers who are commissioning gravestones and shows how people deal with loss while memorializing their loved ones. Through these encounters, the story displays the complicated nature of sadness and the strength of affection, highlighting how the act of creating memorials brings together the living and the those who have died. Hawthorne emphasizes the meaning of sincere emotion over fancy expressions, while carefully showing the difference in how memory sticks around for men and women.