A Select Party

In Short

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story is a lighthearted yet razor-sharp allegory set in a cloud-built castle in the sky. A imaginative host gathers a roster of impossible, mythic, and ideal figures—ranging from the Oldest Inhabitant and the Clerk of the Weather to Nobody, Posterity, and the unacknowledged Master Genius of American literature. Through this strange assembly, Hawthorne explores the boundary between groundless fantasy and true creative vision. The tale has endured because it converts abstract cultural tropes into vivid, comical characters while offering a surprisingly profound defense of the human imagination.

The Story

The narrative opens upon a magnificent castle in the air, constructed out of heavy, sombre clouds by the Man of Fancy. Finding the initial appearance of his cloud-quarried fortress rather gloomy, the host gilds the entire exterior with evening sunshine, transforming it into a glowing hall of gold, cupolas, and glittering windows. Terrestrial onlookers below mistake the grand edifice for a mere passing heap of sunset clouds, lacking the imaginative faith needed to perceive its reality.

Inside the central saloon, double rows of giant variegated cloud pillars support the ceiling, illuminated by captured meteors suspended inside globes of evening mist. The host receives his guests as they arrive. The first is the Oldest Inhabitant, an ancient, tremulous man who remembers every weather extreme of the past century. Next comes an invisible, selfless guest revealed to be Nobody—the legendary performer of impossible tasks like squaring the circle or jumping down his own throat. The gossiping Monsieur On-Dit arrives to whisper state secrets and rumors, followed by the Clerk of the Weather, the Wandering Jew, and a horde of shadowy phantoms from the host's own youthful dreams and childhood fever-terrors.

The host also welcomes ideal human archetypes, such as an incorruptible Patriot, a Scholar without pedantry, and a Reformer untrammelled by theory. However, the true guest of honor is a poorly dressed young man with glowing eyes: the unrecognized Master Genius destined to write America's great original literature. Soon after, Posterity arrives from the future, scolding the present generation for seeking immediate fame rather than living wisely for their own era.

To entertain his guests, the Man of Fancy tours them through rooms filled with stored nocturnal moonshine, uncarved ideal statues, and a library containing lost or unwritten masterpieces by Chaucer, Spenser, Coleridge, and Dryden. They visit a hall filled with morning sunshine and wasted earthly joys, where the Child Unborn plays freely. Finally, the host ushers the company into a magnificent banqueting-hall. Posterity escorts the Master Genius to the head of the table beneath a noble canopy, and the guests feast on mythical delicacies, including a roasted phoenix, ice-creams from the Milky-Way, and water from the Fountain of Youth. At the height of the festivities, the Clerk of the Weather warns that a sudden thunderstorm is approaching. The castle is swept by a violent tempest that blows out all lights, throwing the guests into utter darkness and confusion as the cloud-mansion collapses around them.

How It Unfolds

The cloud castle is raised The Man of Fancy builds a massive castle from dark clouds, gilds its exterior with late-afternoon sunlight, and lights its grand saloon with muffled meteors to welcome an exclusive company of guests.

The legend and the impossible arrive The Oldest Inhabitant wanders in to complain of the heat, followed by the selfless character Nobody, the gossip Monsieur On-Dit, and the Clerk of the Weather.

Phantoms and ideals enter The portal fills with shadowy figures from the host's youthful dreams, childhood fever-phantoms, and flawless human ideals who prove rather uninteresting companions.

The Master Genius and Posterity meet The host pays high homage to an unsung young writer destined to create American literature, while the visiting representative of Posterity warns the gathered crowd against chasing hollow posthumous fame.

The tour of unrealized wonders Guests walk through rooms storing harvested moonshine, perfect uncarved statues, and a library of unwritten masterpieces by history's greatest authors.

The banquet and the storm The company feasts on mythological foods and drink until the Clerk of the Weather warns of a storm, which promptly shatters the castle and leaves the guests wandering in the dark.

The People

• The Man of Fancy: The imaginative host who constructs an ethereal palace and gathers non-existent, legendary, and ideal personages. He seeks to test his youthful ideals against reality, ultimately honoring true creative genius while dismissing hollow illusions.
• The Oldest Inhabitant: A white-haired, fragile old man obsessed with comparing current conditions to the weather of decades past. He represents the rigid memory of the past, bewildered by the host's ideal creations and jealous of the attention paid to the future.
• Nobody: An unobtrusive, selfless guest capable of performing mathematical and physical impossibilities. He prefers the interests of others and reflects nothing when looking into a mirror.
• The Master Genius: A poor, unheralded young man with glowing eyes who carries the intellectual destiny of American literature. Though ignored by his contemporaries, he is awarded the chair of honor at the feast.
• Posterity: The blunt visitor from the future who rejects the self-serving pleas of contemporary authors, advising them to live truly in their own time rather than obsession over future fame.

In Its Own Voice

"Had they been worthy to pass within its portal, they would have recognized the truth, that the dominions which the spirit conquers for itself among unrealities become a thousand times more real than the earth whereon they stamp their feet, saying, 'This is solid and substantial; this may be called a fact.'"

— The host reflects on how worldly observers misunderstand the profound reality of imaginative creations.

"He it is, then, who prefers the interests of others to his own and a humble station to an exalted one."

— The narrative describes the self-effacing traits of the impossible guest, Nobody.

"Your names are as strange to me as your faces; and even were it otherwise,—let me whisper you a secret,—the cold, icy memory which one generation may retain of another is but a poor recompense to barter life for."

— Posterity rebuffs the eager writers begging for a guarantee of lasting fame.

What It's Really About

Hawthorne uses a satirical, visionary party to probe the nature of art, national identity, and human ambition. The story critiques the superficialities of public fame, personified by the gossip Monsieur On-Dit, while mourning how society ignores true original intellect in favor of conventional mediocrity. By displaying a library of unwritten masterpieces, Hawthorne suggests that human thought always surpasses actual execution. Furthermore, the dialogue between the Oldest Inhabitant and Posterity sets up a tension between nostalgic tradition and future promise. Ultimately, the fragile cloud castle serves as a metaphor for the imagination itself: a realm capable of capturing divine truths and lost joys, yet constantly vulnerable to being destroyed by the harsh storms of reality.

Why Read It Today

This short story offers a delightful, witty showcase of Hawthorne's lighter allegorical talent. Readers who associate his work solely with dark Puritan moralizing will be pleasantly surprised by the sparkling humor, inventive satire, and playful prose on display here. The central conceit—personifying idioms, abstract social types, and literary tropes—feels remarkably modern, anticipating surrealist and meta-fictional comedy.

The text presents very few barriers to enjoyment, though readers should expect 19th-century sentence structures, formal vocabulary, and classical literary references to figures like Chaucer, Spenser, and Dryden. The narrative moves at a brisk, entertaining pace, delivering sharp observations about celebrity culture and artistic frustration that remain entirely relevant. It is an ideal read for anyone who appreciates clever satire, reflections on the creative process, or subtle investigations into what makes art endure across generations.