Michael Brooks
Miles Coverdale is the narrator and protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel 'The Blithedale Romance', published in 1852. The novel is based on Hawthorne's experience at Brook Farm, a short-lived cooperative community in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. Coverdale is a Boston poet and one of the founding members of the utopian agrarian community of Blithedale. While the novel has a complex form and content, there is no explicit mention of Coverdale's religious affiliation, and it is unclear if he is Catholic. However, some readers have interpreted the character as a stand-in for Hawthorne himself, and the author's own religious views may provide some insight into Coverdale's beliefs.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the novel | The Blithedale Romance |
| Author | Nathaniel Hawthorne |
| Year of publication | 1852 |
| Character | Miles Coverdale |
| Character profession | Poet |
| Character role | Narrator and protagonist |
| Character traits | Self-absorption, a tendency to inspect and probe the hearts and minds of other persons, an inability to sustain genuine commitments, stumbling humor, earnest if sometimes awkward sincerity, hopeful |
| Character's relationship with other characters | Friends with Zenobia, Hollingsworth, and Priscilla; later alienates all of them |
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What You'll Learn
Miles Coverdale is the narrator of the novel
Coverdale is a Boston poet who becomes one of the founding members of the utopian agrarian community of Blithedale. He is a fervent adherent to Blithedale's cause and begins the novel full of hope about the experiment. However, as the story progresses, his assumptions and motives begin to seem less pure. He misses the comforts of upper-class Boston and struggles to write poetry while labouring in nature. He also seems more interested in prying into the secrets of those around him than in the egalitarian utopia.
Coverdale's narrative is filled with allegory and symbolism. His dreams reveal his discovery and continued repression of his sexual desire for Zenobia, a charming woman he meets at Blithedale. He also has an interest in Priscilla, Zenobia's half-sister, and falls in love with her. However, he alienates both women by prying into their affairs.
Coverdale's character is flawed but appealing. He is self-absorbed, judgemental, and bitter, but he also possesses a stumbling humour and sincere earnestness. At the end of the novel, he leaves Blithedale and remains a bachelor, lamenting his lack of purpose but comfortable in his solitude.
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Coverdale is a poet and a bachelor
Miles Coverdale is the narrator and protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, 'The Blithedale Romance'. The story is told from Coverdale's viewpoint, and his narrative style is described as erratic and dreamlike, bringing a strange form of syntax to the novel. Coverdale is a poet and a bachelor, and he is also a fervent believer in the Blithedale cause. He is one of the founding members of the utopian agrarian community of Blithedale.
Coverdale is a complex character with both faults and appealing qualities. His faults include a paralyzing self-absorption, a tendency to inspect and probe the hearts and minds of other persons, and an inability to sustain genuine commitments. On the other hand, his appealing qualities include a stumbling sense of humour, an earnest if sometimes awkward sincerity, and a hopeful outlook, at least initially.
Coverdale is a poet from Boston who moves to the utopian community of Blithedale. He is approached by Moodie, a beggar who asks for a favour, but Moodie eventually decides to ask an older, more experienced man and departs. Coverdale leaves for Blithedale without his acquaintance Hollingsworth, and upon his arrival, he meets Zenobia, Hollingsworth, and Priscilla. He becomes friends with all three, but eventually alienates them due to his prying nature and refusal to join their causes.
Coverdale's narrative is filled with allegory and symbolism, and his dreams reveal his discovery and continued repression of his sexual desire for Zenobia. His narrative also includes veil and mask imagery that recurs throughout the novel. At the end of the novel, Coverdale leaves Blithedale and remains a bachelor, lamenting his lack of purpose but comfortable in his solitude. He confesses his love for Priscilla and reflects on the impact of Zenobia's death on his friends.
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He is a founding member of the Blithedale community
Miles Coverdale is the narrator and protagonist of The Blithedale Romance, a novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne published in 1852. The story is told from Coverdale's viewpoint, and the narrative style is described as erratic and dreamlike.
Coverdale is a founding member of the utopian agrarian community of Blithedale. He is a Boston poet who, along with other intellectuals, believes that labouring in nature will combat the evils of industrial society, such as prejudice and inequality, while stimulating their intellect and creativity. Coverdale is initially hopeful about the experiment, but as their assumptions and motives begin to seem less pure, he misses the comforts of upper-class Boston and realises that hard labour leaves him unable to write poetry.
Before moving to the communist community of Blithedale, Coverdale is approached by Moodie, a beggar who asks for a favour. Although Coverdale is willing, Moodie changes his mind and decides to ask an older, more experienced man. Coverdale travels to Blithedale without Moodie, where he meets Zenobia, Hollingsworth, and Priscilla. He becomes friends with them all, but eventually alienates them due to his prying into their affairs and his refusal to join Hollingsworth's reform cause.
Coverdale's narrative is filled with allegory and symbolism. He is described as having a paralyzing self-absorption, a tendency to inspect and probe the hearts and minds of other persons, and an inability to sustain genuine commitments. Despite this, he also possesses appealing qualities of stumbling humour and earnest, if sometimes awkward, sincerity.
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Coverdale's narrative style is erratic and dreamlike
Miles Coverdale is the narrator and protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, 'The Blithedale Romance'. The narrative style of the novel has been described as erratic and dreamlike, with a strange form of syntax that is more Coverdale's than Hawthorne's.
The novel is written in the first person from Coverdale's point of view. Coverdale's narrative is not entirely trustworthy, as it occasionally exaggerates and becomes dreamlike. It is filled with allegory and symbolism, and his dreams reveal his discovery and repression of his sexual desire for Zenobia. There is also imagery of the veil and mask that recurs in the novel, representing withdrawal and concealment.
Coverdale is a Boston poet and one of the founding members of the utopian agrarian community of Blithedale. He believes that labouring in nature will combat the evils of industrial society, such as prejudice and inequality, while stimulating his intellect and creativity. However, as the novel progresses, his motives seem less pure. He misses the comforts of upper-class Boston and finds that hard labour makes him unable to write poetry. He also seems less interested in the egalitarian utopia than in prying into the secrets of those around him, particularly his closest friends, Hollingsworth, Zenobia, and Priscilla.
Coverdale is a professed supporter of women's equality, but he also views Zenobia's feminism as a symptom of romantic disillusionment. He is typically mild-mannered, though often strange and illogical. He is consistently curious about his surroundings, leading to his voyeurism and unsupported speculations about his fellow residents. Although he is enchanted by Zenobia, he confesses at the end of the story that he is truly in love with Priscilla. However, critics have identified a strongly homoerotic relationship between Coverdale and Hollingsworth.
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He is attracted to Zenobia and falls in love with Priscilla
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1852 novel, 'The Blithedale Romance', Miles Coverdale is the narrator and protagonist. He is a Boston poet who becomes one of the founding members of the utopian agrarian community of Blithedale. Coverdale is intrigued by human nature and loves to observe people, particularly his closest friends, Hollingsworth, Zenobia, and Priscilla, who have mysterious pasts.
Coverdale is attracted to Zenobia, a beautiful and wealthy woman who enchants him with her exotic flower and air of mystery. However, he falls in love with Priscilla, a frail and initially timid girl who blossoms into a key player as she marries Hollingsworth and becomes his emotional anchor. Coverdale never reveals his feelings to Priscilla, and his unexpressed love for her motivates his obsession with the group.
Zenobia and Priscilla are half-sisters, and both are admired by Hollingsworth, who eventually falls in love with Priscilla. This causes Zenobia great despair, and she drowns herself. Coverdale is one of the three men to find her body, and he accepts her death with relative ease. Years later, Coverdale has become listless, and he realises the weight of Zenobia's death has ruined him, just as it has ruined Hollingsworth.
The novel is written in the first person from Coverdale's perspective, and his narrative style is erratic and dreamlike, reflecting the stream-of-consciousness nature of the story. Coverdale's dreams reveal his repressed sexual desire for Zenobia, and his obsession with his friends' mysterious pasts and connections to one another.
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Frequently asked questions
No evidence is found in the sources to suggest that Miles Coverdale is Catholic.
'The Blithedale Romance' is a novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne published in 1852.
Miles Coverdale is the narrator and protagonist of 'The Blithedale Romance'. He is a bachelor-poet who becomes one of the founding members of the utopian community of Blithedale.
Miles Coverdale is the first-person narrator of 'The Blithedale Romance', and the only novel by Hawthorne to be written in this style. This gives the novel a degree of complexity and depth, as the reader must explore the motives and moods of the characters while also appraising the point of view of Coverdale.
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