"Wakefield" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1835. How is it possible for a person to be swallowed up so completely by a big city that he is able to live undetected for twenty years within one block of his wife's residence and never bump into any of the friends who believe him to be dead? That he would wish to do it at all is strange enough, but the fact that this story is regarded as one of Hawthorne's finest creations shows that many readers are able to identify with Wakefield.... Wakefield is not only a psychological study but also a sociological study.