Abstract Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Blithedale Romance", is the first person narration of a man bent upon joining a world that has no need of him by imposing an arbitrary order upon his reality. Blithedale, is a novel of polarities. Just as Coverdale imposes order on reality, Zenobia, the feminine voice of creation, understands reality as a fragmented thing that cannot have order forced upon it. We see in the novel oppositions in communities, in social order, and in place. But, Hawthorne also gives us a richly crafted story about what it is that defines community and the common spirit or communal soul. The romance, of this book, is not just that of man and woman, but of the romantic ideals of society and of order. Coverdale, who is the namesake of the primary translator of the King James bible, is a man bent upon making the world be what he wants it to be. Hawthorne's, The Blithedale Romance, provides the reader with a set of beliefs, ideals, and aspirations, that become ideologies that actually mask reality thus pitting the utopian hopes of Blithedale against actual human behaviors - which makes for a difficult conflict at best.
An examination of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Blithedale Romance", which details the lives of several characters who live through the creation and eventual failure of a Utopian commune called Blithedale.
Abstract Based on his own experiences at a utopian farm in the 1840s, Hawthorne wrote "The Blithedale Romance" in order to show the deficiency of much of the Transcendentalist's beliefs. This paper explains how Hawthorne uses the experience of his characters in Blithedale to critique Transcendentalist ideas, such as romantic idealism, ideal communities, the relationship of self to others, the possibility of a communal soul, and the possibility of an idealized pastoral world existing in contemporary society.
From the Paper "While most of the characters begin their stay at Blithedale strongly believing in the romantic ideals that underlie the commune's belief system, at the end of the novel, these beliefs are dramatically shaken. In fact, some of the characters begin to wonder what the worth of such idealistic devotions could be in the first place. Faced with a growing disillusionment with Blithedale, the loss of her family fortunes, and depressed by her unrequited love of Hollingsworth, Zenobia commits suicide by drowning herself. Indeed, while this decision might seem like a romantic, impulsive death, since she drowned herself out of love for another person, Westervelt questions the validity of such an intense romantic action."
Abstract This paper discusses "The Blithedale Romance" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and examines how Hawthorne's characters exemplify the social and cultural upheavals of the market revolution, why the various protagonists go to Blithedale and why they are disappointed in their longings.
Abstract The paper discusses "The Blithedale Romance", by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and examines how Hawthorne's characters exemplify the social and cultural upheavals of the market revolution, why the various protagonists go to Blithedale, and why they are disappointed in their longings. The paper comments that this is a very thought-provoking novel drawn from the author's stay at Brook Farm, a communal experiment in living the pastoral life. The paper describes how this engaging story touches on many of the issues of Hawthorne's day, such as brotherhood, women's rights, socialism, mesmerism, and spiritualism.
From the Paper " In the social context of the times, because of her firm rejection of her expected role as daughter and wife, Zenobia loses the right to her place in contemporary society in the minds of most people, man and women, and, as a consequence of doing so, must die. Priscilla, on the other hand, is lacking in free will. She does not reject the male-assigned, stereotyped identities that Zenobia does, although the reader never sees her actively accept one. ollingsworth's actions demonstrate to Zenobia that there is no place for feminism in a society that produces males such as Hollingsworth and Coverdale. Consequently, disillusioned to the point of utter despair, Zenobia tragically drowns herself because death is the only type of freedom she feels she can have in such a society. Ultimately, Hollingsworth marries Priscilla, and Coverdale remains a skeptical, solitary observer of mankind's aspirations and its disappointments. It should be noted at this point that some readers see Hollingsworth as having in effect put Zenobia on trial for her feminism and maternal neglect of Priscilla, and question Zenobia's motivation for her suicide. "
Abstract This paper explores the way in which Nathaniel Hawthorne employs the trope of the "Veiled Lady" in his novel "The Blithedale Romance" to characterize and comment on not only Zenobia, but several other key characters as well, including Hollingsworth, Coverdale, and Priscilla, who is the 'real' Veiled Lady. The writer explains that the trope is an apt way in which to organize or approach some of the romance's major themes, including sexual politics and male-female domination. The various themes of, and struggles for, love, such as the half-sisters 'vying' for Hollingsworth's affections are a deceitful veil behind which various 'factions' attempt to assert themselves, and their respective ideologies, as heads of the community, and attempts at domineering are a mask to hide true emotions. The paper concludes that, ultimately, politics, social roles, and love are inextricably entangled, and Blithedale is a world where masks insulate individuals from one another and from themselves.
From the Paper "The fact that the social experiment is a failure, and that we have numerous references to this failure from the very outset, suggests that the veil behind which the majority of the characters conceal themselves, extends not only to hiding their true faces from the world, or those around them, but masks them from themselves as well. Coverdale's initial zeal for his new life, evident in the joyous ride through the snowstorm, is quickly transformed into joy and ardour for Zenobia, and just as rapidly, into a rejection of the utopian experiment in favour of death (yet another new form of being) during his illness. He is shown to be a character that rapidly vacillates between various positions."
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the novel, "The Blithedale Romance," by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Specifically, it examines Miles Coverdale as the narrator, paying special attention to the tension between what really happened in the story and what Miles Coverdale says happened. It also looks at how the book is a romanticized view of communal life and social experimentation.
From the Paper "Coverdale often exaggerates the negative qualities of the people he lives with. In fact, he seems to have a knack for picking out these qualities and dwelling on them. Hawthorne uses Coverdale as a disguise to show his own dissatisfaction with the negativity of the people who lived at Brook Farm. Many people believe that the fictional Coverdale is really a representation of Hawthorne himself, and Coverdale's weaknesses are how Hawthorne saw his own weaknesses. One of those weaknesses must surely be that he exaggerated both good and bad at Blithedale, and had a negative opinion of the endeavor from the start. Hawthorne seems to be poking fun at himself by making Coverdale a shiftless poet who really has little interest in anything and survives primarily alone."
Abstract An examination of Hawthorne's "The Blithedale Romance". The author analyzes the two main themes in the novel: transcendentalism and materialism and how they are depicted in the two main characters, Zenobia and Priscilla.
From the Paper "Readers of The Blithedale Romance would do well to keep the motif of layered identity uppermost in their minds when examining the back story of this novel. For example, despite his entreaties not to see Blithedale as Brook Farm, it appears folly not to do so. There are just too many parallels. There is too much of Hawthorne in Coverdale for the reader not to draw another connection there. However, Hawthorne applies even more complex layered ideological identities to his two main female characters, Zenobia and Priscilla. The former, with her assumed name, epitomizes the various tenets of Transcendentalism, whilst the veiled Priscilla represents Materialism. Thus an exploration of the two characters provides the reader with an exploration of Hawthorne's attitude towards both Transcendentalism and the Materialist society in which he lived."
From the Paper "Thematically, "The Blithedale Romance" is not terribly far removed from many of Hawthorne's other works. It is somewhat rare in that it is one of the few novels which is set totally within the time of his own period. It has been constructed from his own experiences at Brooke Farm. It also reflects one of his best attempts at character development, in the person of Zenobia.
In many ways, Zenobia is the central character in the book. While Hawthorne is basically sympathetic to her plight, he also resists expressing an outright sympathy with her because she is symbolic of the modern sort of woman that Hawthorne distrusts, if not dislikes. Coverdale's opening description of her gives some hint of Hawthorne's own opinion of her:
"While this passed, and while she spoke to
my companions, I was taking note of Zenobia's ... "
Abstract This six-page graduate-level paper examines and analyzes the female characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novels, "The Blithedale Romance" and "The House of Seven Gables".
