When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literature and Philosophy
- Matthew 13:45-46, the Pearl of Great Price: The reference to the "pearl of great price" (8.16) is an allusion to parable found in the Gospel of Matthew: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (Preface.28)
- William Ellery Channing (Preface.28)
- George S. Hillard (Preface.28)
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Preface. 28)
- Alcott, almost certainly Bronson Alcott, neglectful father of Louisa May Alcott (Preface.28)
Historical Figures
- Anne Hibbins (throughout, fictionalized as a character in the novel)
- Governor Richard Bellingham (throughout, fictionalized as a character in the novel)