The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the story of Miles Coverdale, a young bachelor who has made a minor name for himself as a poet, and who has decided to join a commune or Community that will live a simple agrarian life for the betterment of the world. Coverdale while attracted to this idea, also has his skeptical doubts. He goes to Blithedale during a freakish April snowstorm and once there he meets the three other characters that come to have a great influence on him: Zenobia, a beautiful, headstrong, great-hearted, proud and rather erratic woman. Hollingsworth, also kindhearted but with a single minded crusading cause that nothing will get in the way of, and Priscilla, a mysterious waif who adores Zenobia and Hollingsworth.
I don't know how satisfactory I found this novel. Hawthorne writes in his usual perceptive, elegant, ironic and wordy manner. Miles somehow reminded me of my son Sean, in that he was always of two minds and able to wittily skewer anyone's ideals or thoughts simply because he sees the world in a slightly melancholy, off-center way, with great insight. No one really takes to Coverdale at Blithedale. He feels left out often, because both girls obviously adore Hollingsworth. Miles too, initially finds a deep friendship with Hollingsworth and wants to be friends, but Hollingsworth turns everything into his philanthropic passion, to reform criminals. And his friends must be equally passionate or they can not be his friend. Tension builds and Miles decides he needs a break from Blithedale so he goes back to Boston, but there is an odd twist of fate and Miles finds himself getting more and more invested in finding out all there is to discover about some mysteries that surround Zenobia, Priscilla and another man. Mystery after mystery is uncovered and finally all the tense emotions bubble to a head with tragic consequences.
The thing I didn't find satisfactory is the the thing revealed at the very end. The whole time in the novel I kept thinking how Coverdale and Zenobia really should get together. They both thought outside the box so to speak and didn't really care what others thought. But in the end maybe Miles Coverdale was more like Priscilla, who didn't have any real purpose except by doing for others.
I thought this was a very interesting read. I had no idea what it was about before I began it, so I was really absorbed by the unfolding plot. One thing I love about Hawthorne is how homey he is in describing life in the early 1800s, it is surprisingly modern in outlook and yet quaint in all the details at the same time.
Somehow, without me choosing it, all my reading lately has coalesced around ideas of community. This book was about some idealistic people who try to start something to model a new and better way, but their tangled relationships prove too much for them. I just finished The Giver which actually also called where they lived the Community. And in that book the powers that be countered all the messy problems of relationship and idealism by rendering everyone colorless and flat - safety and freedom from pain are the only important things. And I am reading Lord of the World as well which has the Communists taking over the world in the name of world peace. And also trying to rid people of their individuality and also using euthanasia as the way to keep society tidy.
Pretty thought-provoking stuff! For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
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