The Blithedale RomanceOne of Nathaniel HawthorneÕs great romances, The Blithedale Romance draws upon the authorÕs experiences at Brook Farm, the short-lived utopian community where Hawthorne spent much of 1841. Blithedale (ÒHappy ValleyÓ), another would-be modern Arcadia, is the stage for HawthorneÕs grimly comic tragedy (Henry James famously called the novel Òthe lightest, the brightest, the liveliestÓ of HawthorneÕs Òunhumorous fictionsÓ). In his introduction, Robert S. Levine considers biographical and historical contexts and offers a fresh appreciation of the novelÕs ironic first-person narrator. The John Harvard Library edition reproduces the authoritative text of The Blithedale Romance in The Centenary Edition of the Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne. |
Contents
Preface | 1 |
Chapter I Old Moodie | 5 |
Chapter II Blithedale | 9 |
Chapter III A Knot of Dreamers | 14 |
Chapter IV The SupperTable | 23 |
Chapter V Until Bedtime | 32 |
Chapter VI Coverdales SickChamber | 39 |
Chapter VII The Convalescent | 49 |
Chapter XVI LeaveTakings | 137 |
Chapter XVII The Hotel | 145 |
Chapter XVIII The BoardingHouse | 153 |
Chapter XIX Zenobias DrawingRoom | 160 |
Chapter XX They Vanish | 168 |
Chapter XXI An Old Acquaintance | 174 |
Chapter XXII Fauntleroy | 182 |
Chapter XXIII A VillageHall | 194 |
Chapter VIII A Modern Arcadia | 58 |
Chapter IX Hollingsworth Zenobia Priscilla | 69 |
Chapter X A Visitor from Town | 81 |
Chapter XI The WoodPath | 89 |
Chapter XII Coverdales Hermitage | 98 |
Chapter XIII Zenobias Legend | 106 |
Chapter XIV Eliots Pulpit | 117 |
Chapter XV A Crisis | 128 |
Chapter XXIV The Masqueraders | 204 |
Chapter XXV The Three Together | 213 |
Chapter XXVI Zenobia and Coverdale | 222 |
Chapter XXVII Midnight | 229 |
Chapter XXVIII BlithedalePasture | 238 |
Chapter XXIX Miles Coverdales Confession | 245 |
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Common terms and phrases
affection answered appeared asked beautiful begin better Blithedale breath Brook Farm character close Coverdale dark door drawing dream eyes face fancy feel felt figure Foster girl give half hand happy Hawthorne head heart hold Hollingsworth hope human idea imagine interest keep kind laugh least leave less light live look matter means mind Moodie mortal nature never night novel observed once ourselves passed passion past perhaps person poor position possible present pretty Priscilla probably Publishes question reform replied rest seemed seen sense side Silas smile soon soul spirit story strange suppose sympathy tell thing thought took tree true truth turn Veiled Veiled Lady voice whole window wish woman women wonder wood worth young Zenobia