The paper is divided into two main sections. The first section informs about the historical background of the transcendental movement, its central ideas and its main followers. Further, basic information about Hawthorne’s attitude towards transcendentalism and his stay at Brook Farm is given. The second section, which covers three parts, focuses on Hawthorne’s The Blithedale Romance. The first part concentrates on Coverdale’s critical pessimism towards the social experiment. Here, the naiveté of the reform approach and the omnipresent theme of masquerading are in the center of consideration. The second part deals with the transcendental elevation of nature. In this context, the juxtaposition between urban and natural environments within the novel as well as the depiction of mesmerism and the expected benefits of farm work are discussed. The third part centers on the transcendental tenet of self-reliance, which is differentiated between the utopia of communal and individual self-reliance.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Transcendentalism and its historical background
2.1 Faith in human potential and main thinkers
2.2 Hawthorne’s relation to transcendentalism
2.3 The Brook Farm experiment
3 The Blithedale Romance – a subverted utopia
3.1 Coverdale’s pessimism and harbingers of failure
3.1.1 Egotists and the naiveté of dreamers
3.1.2 The leitmotif of masquerading
3.2 Nature as a catalyst to God
3.2.1 Divinity of nature in contrast to urban life
3.2.2 Farm work as a key to transcendental experience
3.2.3 Opportunities and risks of mesmerism
3.3 The doctrine of self-reliance
3.3.1 Communal autarky
3.3.2 Hollingsworth’s misguided principle self-reliance
4 Concluding thoughts
5 Bibliography
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper examines Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Blithedale Romance as a critical response to the 19th-century American Transcendentalist movement. It analyzes how Hawthorne, drawing on his own experiences at the experimental Brook Farm community, deconstructs Transcendental ideals such as the divinity of nature, the virtue of manual labor, and the doctrine of self-reliance through a cynical and ironic narrative lens.
- Historical intersection of Transcendentalism and the Brook Farm experiment.
- Critique of utopian idealism and the naiveté of social reformers.
- The symbolic function of masquerading and deception in utopian communities.
- Evaluation of "self-reliance" versus egotistic behavior and moral betrayal.
- Contrasting views on urban existence versus the natural environment.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1.2 The leitmotif of masquerading
After Coverdale’s arrival at the communitarians’ property, Zenobia’s exotic looks and especially the hot house flower decorating her hair evoke the impression that the whole project is just “an illusion, a masquerade, a pastoral, a counterfeit Arcadia, in which we grown-up men and women were making a play-day of the years that were given us to live in” (21). This masquerading theme runs from now on as a leitmotif though the nov-
el. Wright suggests that too many critics made a “fatal flaw” to ignore the connection between “its apparent polemical purpose an exploration of the brook farm experiment and its actual theatrical focus on masquerades.”41 The topic of masquerading has two aspects.
First, dishonest, egotistic characters, such as Hollingsworth and Zenobia, hide their real character behind a symbolic mask. Zenobia is depicted as an unusually independent woman, for example she wants the men at Blithedale to take over traditional female chores: “By and by, perhaps, when our individual adaptations begin to develop themselves, it may be that some of us who wear the petticoat will go afield, and leave the weaker brethren to take our places in the kitchen” (16). Figuratively, her independence is also shown by her rather manly hands: “Her hand, though very soft, was larger than most women would like to have, or than they could afford to have” (15). Yet, her feminist attitude does not keep her from ruining her sister’s May-queen masquerade since she sees a rival in her: “Among those fragrant blossoms, and conspicuously, too, had been stuck a weed of evil odor and ugly aspect, which, as soon as I detected it, destroyed the effect of all the rest” (59). Due to their common interest in female matters, Zenobia is often seen as a literary reincarnation of the transcendental feminist Margaret Fuller, whom Hawthorne both admired and avoided.42
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter outlines the connection between Hawthorne’s personal experience at Brook Farm and the fictional narrative of The Blithedale Romance, setting the framework for the subsequent analysis.
2 Transcendentalism and its historical background: This section details the core beliefs of the Transcendentalist movement, including the emphasis on individualism, human potential, and the influence of thinkers like Emerson and Thoreau.
3 The Blithedale Romance – a subverted utopia: This central chapter explores how the novel functions as an ironic critique of Transcendentalism, focusing on characters' pessimism, the failure of utopian labor, and the abuse of mesmeric power.
4 Concluding thoughts: This final chapter synthesizes the findings, arguing that Hawthorne uses the novel to reveal the dangers of excessive individualism and the divergence between Transcendental idealism and social reality.
5 Bibliography: This section lists the primary literary source and the various academic secondary sources used to support the analysis of Hawthorne's work and the Transcendental movement.
Keywords
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance, Transcendentalism, Brook Farm, Utopia, Self-reliance, Masquerading, Miles Coverdale, Hollingsworth, Zenobia, Mesmerism, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Romanticism, American Literature
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper provides a scholarly analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Blithedale Romance as a critique of 19th-century Transcendentalism and the actual Brook Farm communal experiment.
What are the central themes discussed in the text?
Key themes include the irony of utopian reform, the conflict between individual ego and communal goals, the symbolism of clothing and masquerade, and the philosophical interpretation of "self-reliance."
What is the research objective of the author?
The objective is to demonstrate how Hawthorne, through his narrator Coverdale, highlights the impracticality and moral dangers inherent in the Transcendentalists' idealistic view of society and nature.
Which methodology is employed in this research?
The paper utilizes a literary-historical approach, comparing the novel's fictional content with historical records of the Brook Farm experiment and philosophical essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.
What topics are covered in the main section of the book?
The main section analyzes Coverdale’s pessimism, the failure of agricultural labor as a spiritual practice, the dangers of mesmerism, and the misapplication of the doctrine of self-reliance by the character Hollingsworth.
What are the characteristic keywords of this study?
The study is characterized by terms such as Transcendentalism, Utopia, Egotism, Masquerading, Self-reliance, and Brook Farm.
How does the author interpret the name "Blithedale"?
The author interprets "Blithedale" as an ironic reference to Emerson's Nature and a symbolic allusion to its failure, contrasting it with the Puritan ideal of a "city upon a hill."
How does the novel portray the role of mesmerism?
The novel depicts mesmerism not as a tool for spiritual enlightenment, but as an instrument of control and exploitation used by the character Westervelt over the vulnerable Priscilla.
What is the conclusion regarding Hollingsworth’s character?
The paper concludes that Hollingsworth represents a destructive distortion of self-reliance, where his philanthropic "ego" masks a heartless desire for power, ultimately leading to the destruction of the community.
- Quote paper
- B.A. Saskia Guckenburg (Author), 2013, Nathaniel Hawthorne, the transcendental movement and The Blithedale Romance as a novelistic critique, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/265526
