Great Stone Face, and Other Tales of the White Mountains

"e;The Great Stone Face"e; is a short story published by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850.

The story reappeared in a full-length book, The Snow-Image, and Other Twice-Told Tales, published by Ticknor, Reed & Fields in 1852.

It has since been republished and anthologized many times.

Hawthorne sets the scene in a rural valley located in an unnamed U.S. state that resembles New Hampshire. A rock formation in a nearby notch is imagined, by many locals and visitors, to resemble the shape and features of a human face.

The local folklore of the valley includes a prophecy, alleged to descend from the Native Americans, that at some future date a native son would be born within sight of the notch whose features would resemble the Great Stone Face; and when this face was seen, those who would see him would recognize that he was "e;the greatest and noblest personage of his time."e; This prophecy inspires an innocent youngster of the valley, Ernest, who feels within himself the quest to help uncover this hero.