The Blithedale Romance

Although Coverdale fails to uncover the true nature of the relationships among Zenobia, Priscilla, and Hollingsworth in this section, his observations about the trio foreshadow important plot points later in the story. Coverdale’s subjective view of other characters and his voyeurism, however, point to ambiguities in the story. He learns, for instance, that Professor Westervelt had a prior relationship with Zenobia and is aware of her close proximity to both Priscilla and Hollingsworth. However, he remains uncertain of other characters’ motivations.

Coverdale treats his newfound friends as mysteries to uncover along his journey of discovery. He often muses on the past activities and intentions of others, believing that events pointed to some past relationship between Zenobia and Priscilla but remains unsure of their peculiar bond. Coverdale’s belief in hidden agendas and a desire to understand human nature causes him to spy on his friends, watching them from within his “hermitage.” From this hidden enclosure, Coverdale overhears conversations, but his reporting of these discussions remains as elusive as the discussions themselves. Admitting that he only heard a segment of Zenobia and Westervelt’s exchange in the woods, Coverdale questions whether he “fairly understood” their words and muses that “by long brooding over our recollections, we subtilize them into something akin to imaginary stuff, and hardly capable of being distinguished from it” (104-05). Thus, his interpretation of events remains questionable and adds to the mystery of the romance.

Zenobia’s “ghost story” about the Veiled Lady accentuates the ambiguity of the text’s meaning, emphasizing the theme of Secrecy and Deceit, and foreshadows the eventual revelation of Priscilla’s past. The reoccurring images of the veil and references to the Veiled Lady highlight the novel’s preoccupation with masking and veiling. Truths about the characters’ pasts and their complex decisions remain hidden from Coverdale. In addition, Coverdale’s misreading of truth becomes clear in this section. He relates that Zenobia’s legend is “undeniable nonsense,” when in reality the story presents a deeper truth about the relationships between characters and Coverdale’s own anxiety about uncovering the truth.

The rising action of this section culminates in Coverdale’s break with Hollingsworth. Although Coverdale hints at Hollingsworth’s single-minded focus and contempt for the socialist project of Blithedale earlier, the events at Eliot’s Pulpit and the confrontation between Coverdale and Hollingsworth highlight the masculine competition between the two men. Indeed, at Eliot’s Pulpit, the men engage in a battle for the women’s affection. Coverdale, who aligns himself with feminism and Zenobia’s hope for equality of the sexes, expresses his support for government to “devolve into the hands of women” (121). However, Hollingsworth’s misogynistic take on women is what moves Priscilla and Zenobia to revere him and causes Coverdale to question his own masculinity.

Hawthorne’s use of Eliot’s Pulpit shows not only the disintegration of relationships between characters but also the possibility of harmony in the natural world. The rock formation, named for John Eliot, a 17th-century Puritan missionary to the Indigenous peoples of Massachusetts, conjures up images of a venerable apostle preaching on spiritual matters and filled with “the half-perceptible glow of a transfiguration” (119). Nevertheless, instead of the unity and spiritual renewal to which this historical figure alludes, Coverdale and his friends argue over constructions of gender and speak with malice toward each other. By employing an allusion to the Puritan way of life, Hawthorne likens the Blithedale community members to Puritans, filled with an initial resolution and hope for a better life but eventually consumed with religious intolerance. Like the Puritans, the socialists long for positive change and view themselves as harbingers of a new age; however, also like the Puritans, the Blithedale community eventually fails in its endeavors. For many critics, Eliot’s Pulpit, then, stands as a criticism of the dream of American progress, which eluded not only the Puritans but the utopian communities of the 19th century as well.

Coverdale’s bond with Hollingsworth suffers a further blow when the philanthropist gives Coverdale a final chance to join his scheme. Although Coverdale imagines a world in which his and Hollingsworth’s joint labor and attachment at Blithedale will “make a romantic story for young people” (129), Coverdale is unable to accept Hollingsworth’s dream. Hollingsworth’s request for Coverdale’s support, spoken in a murmur and implying a deep and possibly erotic bond (“there is not the man in this wide world, that I can love as I could you”), impacts Coverdale viscerally, causing him to feel as if Hollingsworth is trying to pull his heart from his body (133). Coverdale’s rejection, therefore, stands as a rejection of subtly erotic bonds as well as a rejection of philosophical attitudes.