It is funny that as I am studying for my defense, I am finding that I like Herman Melville more and more. Lately, "Bartleby, the Scrivner" has become my life's theme (being on the other end of the "I would prefer not to" and trying not to act badly in response). In my reading, I ran across this statement Melville made about Hawthorne's work being "the rich and rare distilment of a spicy and slowly-oozing heart." That is such awesome diction! I am going to have to read the unabridged version of Moby Dick after my defense.