The Blithedale Romance
Blithedale Romance, The,romance by Hawthorne, published in 1852. Blithedale was suggested by Brook Farm, and the character Zenobia by Margaret Fuller, while Miles Coverdale is a fictional self-portrait.
Coverdale visits Blithedale Farm, near Boston, a socialized community for the betterment of mankind. He meets Silas Forster, a farmer, and his wife; Zenobia, a passionate and queenly woman; Hollingsworth, a former blacksmith, who brings his sledgehammer method to bear upon the evils of society but lacks the spark of spiritual light; and Priscilla, a delicate girl said to be a city seamstress. Zenobia and Priscilla both fall in love with Hollingsworth, who, however, loves mankind in the aggregate too fiercely to be gentle to individ-uals. Returning to the city, Coverdale meets the people of the community in a different atmosphere. Zenobia is again a wealthy woman of fashion, and actually Priscilla's half-sister, although this remains unknown....
[The entire page is 230 words long]
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