The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Book Report/Review Example

WHY LIVING COMMUNITIES LIKE BROOK FARM AND BLITHEDALE FAIL 'The Blithedale Romance' is a third major romance fiction by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The plot of the story revolved around a communal farm called Blithedale which eventually gets destroyed by vested interests of some of its members comprising of a character called Hollingsworth who is a monomaniacal philanthropist and a confirmed misogynist whose sole intention is to use the farm for reforming criminals; Zenobia - another interesting character of exotic origin who also happens to be a passionate feminist and perceives Hollingworth's misogyny as irresitable; Priscilla on the other hand is a young seamstress from the city lastly Mr. Miles Coverdale who is the narrator of the story and also a poet, dandy and voyeuristic by nature. The story is interplay of these four major characters whereby an intense friendship develops among them and the plot takes a major turn with the apparent suicide of one of the major characters - Zenobia who dies a tragic death by drowning. The female characters - Zenobia and Priscilla, portrayed by Hawthorne in the Blithedale Romance, differ greatly in their representations especially their character sketch with regard to depiction of womanhood. Zenobia's character is portrayed as that of an independent woman who eventually loses control and falls in love with Hollingsworth while Priscilla remains submissive to his desires. This also gives an interesting insight on how the male characters, Hollingsworth and Coverdale perceive women. Zenobia's eventual suicide in the plot is described by Hawthorne as her failure to live up to the image of an ideal of a true woman which condemns her to unhappiness. Hawthorne describes the event of her suicide as: "Everything had failed her- prosperity, in the world's sense, for her opulence was gone the heart's prosperity, in love" (Hawthorne, 239). The basic idea of such a community originated from Alcott's previous experiences of his stay in an utopian community where he lived for some time with his family and his followers in perfect harmony with transcendental ethics. During his stay in England, Alcott met up with several men most notably Charles Lane, who fuelled his interest in experimenting with communal living. The community living was based on an idea of shared values that caught the fancy of various transcendentalists as well as social reformers in general. The purpose of establishing a community at Fruitland as described by Louisa May Alcott, was to create a social community that supported instinctive selfhood comprising of a free society natural men and women, who regarded nature as an emblem of the free human spirit. Every person in Blithedale had an agenda that they want to accomplish while they were there and find it difficult to leave behind their old lives in order to create a harmonious environment in the community that they live in. Hollingsworth, for instance, needs people to help him convert the convicts and help them live a respectable life by using the farm as a place suitable for his intended objective, Coverdale on the other hand, aspires to be a better writer and Zenobia - with her intensely feminist views intends to prove to people on the farm that women are equal to men. These incidents further confirm the fact that people will always have an agenda. Zenobia although described as a staunch believer in feminism who practices and propagates the ideals happens to contradict her values as she falls under the persuasion of Hollingsworth. During the early nineteenth century, the cult of true womanhood assumed immense significance and the ideals were largely dominated by those beliefs which are evident from the description of Zenobia's character in the play. Priscilla on the other hand is described as an epitome of true womanhood. Hollingworth's description of a True woman is evident from these words: "She is the most admirable handiwork of God, in her true place and character. Her place is at a man's side '. All the separate action of woman is, and ever has been, and always shall be, false, foolish, vain, and destructive of her own best and holiest qualities, void of every good effect, and productive of intolerable mischief. ' The heart of true womanhood knows where its own sphere is, and never seeks to stray beyond it!" (Hawthorne, 122). The story reveals and affirms the belief that people cannot escape their past. They bring their pasts with them: for instance, Zenobia who still puts on shows with Westervelt and uses Priscilla as the Veiled Lady, Coverdale is still a struggling writer who wishes to be back in his bachelor pad, and Hollingworth is still a philanthropist who wants to convert people and help them. Their pasts don't allow them to move forward in the community and work with one another. Hollingsworth is described as a stern and dreadful man and "not altogether human" while Priscilla is one who signifies true womanhood with a childlike innocence described aptly as "baby face" who is charming and beautiful, often regarded as an object of fascination by men. These characters find it difficult to leave their dreadful pasts behind and carry them forward with them which further makes it all the more difficult to lead normal lives. The new community begins to mirror the old society that all the members wished to escape and the new living community becomes the place that they all wish to escape from. Coverdale takes a weekend away at a hotel, Zenobia takes Priscilla away to do the Veiled Lady Shows and Hollingsworth ends up leaving to see the shows. The hard labor that everyone was so excited to be a part of in the beginning, but slowly people got sick of doing it and wished to go back home where hard labor was unnecessary. They all want to escape the new society because it became too much like the old one. This perception is further voiced by Albert Brisbane in his book Social Destiny of Man or association or reorganization of industry, whereby he describes the significance of establishing an attractive industry as being one of the most important and inevitable aspect of creating a society devoid of any social evils. He further describes the capacity of such a society to ward off evils and replace the current poverty and anxiety by riches and contentment. The community described in the book is loosely based on the Brook Farm, where the three central characters of the story decide to break through the traditional norms of the society and move away to a new utopian community called Blithedale. Here as the story unfolds, one can observe the gruesome tale of relationships gone awry with the unnatural death of one of the characters Zenobia, who apparently commits suicide by drowning herself. It tells the tale of friendship and love torn apart by overpowering self desires and private ambitions. The opening of the novel presents a hopeful narration that leads us to believe that the utopian farming community at Blithedale, offers the possibility of a new kind of communitarian life which gives mankind in general, an opportunity to lead a life of purpose and commitment. However the ensuing drama that enfolds in the later half of the novel, and the various occurrences in the lives of the central characters distorts and deviates their once achievable purpose, that of living a harmonious and peaceful life. Hollingsworth dream of helping the reformation of convicts becomes, as described by Hawthrone "philanthropic passion" dwarfs his noble mission and converts him into a stone hearted, overzealous and cold man who ruins the lives of those who were once close to him. According to Brisbane, "Industry is the first remedy to be applied to Social evils '. And relieve the mass from those harassing cares and physical wants, which deaden the intellect, and smother or pervert all the higher sympathies and feelings". (Brisbane, 1840) According to the author, transition which exist in both passion and character as well as nature are significant drivers of change which is an inevitable part that creates and promotes social harmony. He believes that a large majority of transitions are ugly, painful and undesirable as observed in Hawthorne's novel through the journey of its various characters. He further propagates the idea that whenever the natural course of law of existence of sensitive beings is violated, pain ensues. This could be seen in the light of Zenobia's apparent suicide by drowning. Her death isn't natural and hence is painful. References: Brisbane, A. (1840) Social Destiny of Man or Association and Reorganization of Industry, Philadelphia, Pp. vii , 231. Hawthorne, N. (1993). The Blithedale Romance, viewed: 19th Oct, 2008 from: http://www.scribd.com/doc/892889/The-Blithedale-Romance-by-Nathaniel-Hawthorne Read More