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This book is one of Hawthornes worst peices in that he failed to control what he created. Hawthorne created a monster (Zenobia) who he could not control. Zenobia ruled the book as a strong, powerful, and Independant woman. In order to challenge Zenobia's strong grip on the book, Hawthorne introduced her rival: Hollingsworth. However the fact that Zenobia, a strong queen bowed down and was rejected by Hollingsworth is not credible. Neither is the abrupt dramatic suicide.
Do you really think Hawthorne made mistakes when writing such piece?
I can remember a fragment from his sketchbook in which he planted several possible - and interesting - plots for fiction works. They might have been inspiration for writers to come after him to write real masterpieces.
In one of such fragments, Hawthorne planted the possibility of an author trying to write a novel, a masterpiece, and as he would set up the characters' features, environment, and such information, altogether, then he would end up realizing about these characters behaving in ways he never thought of, saying things he never wrote, and so on until the author finds out his characters have become independent beings, far beyond his management.
What I mean is not that this could happen to a writer, but that it is a good plot for a story, a really interesting set up. Perhaps, he actually attempted this piece to be seen as something like what he planted as I previously mentioned. We cannot forget that he had such texts from which a 'whatever man does does not trascend his time' message may easily be taken.
To sum up, there has got to be an intention, witty, subtle, deep, to cause such a feeling upon the readers' souls. I mean, it is so hard and authoritative to say Hawthorne ever had a failure in his work. I do not think such a problem you found in the quoted text is.