The Maypole Of Merry Mount

The short story represents an allegory for the fallibility of Man. Throughout the story, Hawthorne examines how the inherent sins of humanity negatively breed adverse consequences. The author alludes to various references throughout the story in order to assert this point; in fact, the entire story can be seen as a reference for the Christian mythos of humanity’s fall from grace. Just as the Judeo-Christian religion believes that Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden of Eden, so too are the Merry Mounters removed from the sanctuary, their community destroyed. However, because Hawthorne argues that all human beings are inherently flawed, the Merry Mount community—while resembling the paradise of Eden—is not without its own flaws. Most of the happiness that seems to arise out of the community is what the author refers to as “counterfeit” (Paragraph 4), indicating that the Merry Mounters’ emotional experiences are not real. Therefore, their happiness is not real, either. Hawthorne repeatedly uses sarcasm in order to demonstrate the false nature of the community, juxtaposing the real happiness of love with the false nature of the Merry Mount community.

However, Hawthorne does not only suggest that the Merry Mounters are culpable for their flaws. Rather, he also indicates that the Puritans, although allegedly more spiritual and rigid in their piety than the Merry Mounters, nonetheless exhibit the flaws of humanity as well. Hawthorne shows the similarities in human nature between the two use by discussing the Puritans and the Merry Mounters as opposite sides of the same coin. As a group, the Puritans are incredibly violent: Endicott even assaults the Maypole, the embodiment of Nature, which Hawthorne, as a Romantic author, views as the ultimate indication of evil. Similarly, Hawthorne suggests that the Puritans themselves are hypocrites in terms of their spirituality, as the violent fervor with which they force their religion upon others goes completely against the Christian virtue of mercy. Neither the Puritans nor the Merry Mounters are without their flaws. In fact, the only characters who Hawthorne deems good are Edith and Edgar, as this couple represents the palliative power of love which Hawthorne argues exists as mankind’s only method to counteract its inherent fallibility.