The Blithedale Romance

The revelation of the relationship between Zenobia and Priscilla as well as Westervelt’s role as the mesmerist controlling Priscilla highlight Coverdale’s inability to fully grasp situations earlier in the novel. This section of the romance uses various narrative techniques that provide a series of coincidences and dreamlike sequences that further denote Coverdale’s unreliability as a narrator and his imaginative reading of events.

Coverdale’s meeting with Moodie, which provides the information that Coverdale lacks about Zenobia and Priscilla, occurs in a saloon tastefully decorated but showing a distorted view of the world. Coverdale notes that while drinking in the saloon, “this cold and barren world will look warmer, kindlier [and] mellower,” revealing the unreal and imaginative atmosphere he assigns to the entire episode (175). Even Moodie appears like an apparition, materializing seemingly out of thin air and causing Coverdale to fear his sudden disappearance. Moodie’s life story, similarly, resembles a fairytale—and is enhanced by Coverdale’s retelling, which he admits is penned with “romantic and legendary license” (181).

Moodie’s story itself is the stuff of legend, with his original given name, Fauntleroy (font means flaw and le roi means king), suggesting his position as a lost and ultimately flawed father and king. Moodie’s past as a wealthy princely figure of splendor also highlights his ability, like that of his daughters, to enact a part. As a shadowy and insignificant pauper in the present, Moodie hides his true nature, just as one daughter takes on an assumed name and another performs as the Veiled Lady. Moodie’s tale furthermore underscores his relationship with his daughters, which is distorted through his absence and presence. Zenobia, who grows to womanhood without a father or mother, is an amalgamation of the good and evil in her parents. Despite her “warm and generous nature,” Zenobia is nonetheless flawed, and her unwise choices in her youth hindered her personal growth. Priscilla, whom Moodie admits to loving more than her sister and tries to protect, exhibits physical and mental signs of neglect and becomes prey to a powerful and unscrupulous magician. Thus, Moodie’s genetic makeup and his life decisions powerfully impact his daughters, and their character traits highlight his own mixture of greed, remorse, and pride.

Priscilla’s escape from Westervelt’s control reveals Coverdale’s inability to act on behalf of his friends. Although aware of Priscilla’s enslavement to Westervelt and concerned on her behalf, Coverdale can only watch as Hollingsworth saves Priscilla from Westervelt. This failure to rescue his friend highlights Coverdale’s continuing role as merely an observer of the lives of others, revealing Hollingsworth, the man of action, as the antithesis of Coverdale. Coverdale’s passivity here stands in stark opposition to Hollingsworth’s energy and liveliness.

Upon Coverdale’s return to Blithedale, he encounters a masque, which echoes the earlier May Day festivities at the farm. In both instances, Coverdale functions as an outsider, not involved in the entertainment but merely watching the theatrical displays. In this second instance of Blithedale festivities, though, the feeling of unease and unreality permeates the narrative, foreshadowing the tragic events to transpire. Coverdale notes the eerie lack of people when first entering the town, and he later hears laughter and then sees “a concourse of strange figures beneath the overshadowing branches” (209). Coverdale’s confusion is further heightened by the mixture of costumes and “Satanic music,” which “became a kind of entanglement that went nigh to turn one’s brain” (210). Coverdale’s attempt to flee the group of revelers shows his continuing preference to remain merely a spectator and passive viewer of the world.

Hawthorne uses these allusions to the English masque tradition to show not only Coverdale’s role as observer but also how the Blithedale community members are themselves performing. This novel is often interpreted as a negative critique of Brook Farm and other contemporary socialist utopian projects, and Hawthorne’s treatment of the group as disordered revelers enacting childlike costume parties emphasizes the playacting involved in their endeavors. Just like actors, the group attempts to perform roles as agriculturists, dressing up in common clothing and trying to cook simple meals and gruel. However, these roles are temporary, and by the time Hawthorne penned The Blithedale Romance, the Brook Farm project had failed, and those pretending to be farmers had long returned to their societal positions among the elite.