Paradise regained and arcadia lost : a
comparative study of Hawthorne's The house of the seven gables and The blithedale romance
著者（英） kazuhiko Morishita journal or
publication title
Core
number 18
page range 31‑47
year 1989‑03‑20
URL http://doi.org/10.14988/pa.2017.0000016437
P a r a d i s e R e g a i n e d a n d A r c a d i a L o s t : A C o m p a r a t i v e S t u d y o f H a w t h o r n e ' s
The House 0 / t h e S e v e n G a b l e s a n d
The B l i t h e d a l e Romance
Kazuhiko M o r i s h i t a
This study is d白ignedto discuss major and minor themes common to Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables and The Blithedale Ro‑ mance. The major th巴mecommon to the two romances is praise of human beings' innocence. Hawthorne seems to explain that one needs to be inno‑ cent if one wants to live a happy life filled with familiar love." The minor theme in common is that the two romances can be r巴adalso as historical allegory. As R. W. B目 Lewissays， in America most writers and poets be‑ tween 1820 and 1850 were making efforts to define the American charac‑ ter and the life worth living."l The general concept of the American char‑
品cter，according to David W目 Noble，was that the United States， unlike the European nations， has a covenant that makes Americans a chosen peo‑ ple who have escaped from the terror of historical change to live in time‑ less harmony with nature.，，2 In The House of the Seven Gables， Hawthorne praises the people who get rid of the old and rigid Puritanism which they inherited from 17th Century and finally return to innocence again. They are to be referred to as the N ew" American Adam，s The Blithedale Romance
shows people who try to build an Arc昌dia，according to their belief in the social ide昌sof transcendentalism， which is a paradigm of 19th Century optimism. We may well say that Hawthorne is giving a caution to his con‑ temporary Americans not to make the same mistakes as the people in Blithedale.
The House of the Seven Gables follows the effects of an original sin， which includes expulsion from Eden and the visiting of the fathersうsinupon th巴
children. The Pyncheons， an old New England family， are cursed. This curse is not broken until the patt巳rnof repeating the same sin is ended. It is really the middle of 19th Century， some 160 y巴arsafter the primary sin was committed， that th巴sadpattern of this inheritance is expiated.
The special sin of Colonel Pyncheon， who go巴sthrough the Fall， is covetousness， one of the Seven Deadly Sins. He is an American Adam， who came to New England， as to a new Canaan. He disgrac巴shimself by accusing an innocent farmer， Matthew Maule， of being a witch and by causing him to be hanged. This fall of his， which implies that he is an Eternal Adam instead of an American Adam， is seen as the original sin of the Pyncheons. We see mainly three aspects which are inherited by the Pyncheons噌 Firstisもhecovetousness which made the Pyncheons more and more materialistic. It is shown as the bad dream of poss巴ssmg a princedom in the land which does not clearly belong to them. The second
birthright" is their inherited SusplClOn of guilt. The Pyncheons cannot but have a suspicion of themselves about whether they have not re‑ committed the same crime as that which their ancestor committed， know‑
ing what they are doing is wrong. The third and the last is the curse which Matthew Maule pronounced when he w旦sabout to be hanged.4
Matthew Maule was， of course， an ordinary man， but it is not hard to
imagine that the curse of a person who is going to be killed unjustly wiU work its evil. His curse that God will give him blood to drink!，5 ， seems to oppress the successiv巴Pyncheons.From the Colonel to the contemporary J udge Pyncheon， many Pyncheons diεsudd巴nlyof unusual causes. The House is gripp巴d by a power， mystical or metaphysical. This is to be understood from the symbolic influence， upon the f品mily，of the portr丘itof Colonel Pyncheon， which is hung on the wall of the House. This portrait is th巴silentmaster of the House， and the narrator says that
This picture， it must be understood， was suppos巳dto be so in‑ timately connected with the fate of the house， and so magically built into its walls， that， if once it should be removed， that v巳ry instant， the whole edifice would come thundering down， in a h回 p of dusty rain. All through the foregoing conv巴rsationbetween Mr Pyncheon and the c呂rpenter，the portrait had been frowning， clench‑ ing its fist， and giving many such proofs ofεxcessive discompo‑ sure， but without attracting the notice of either of the two collo‑ quists. And finally， at Matthew Maule's呂udacioussuggestion of a transfer of the seven‑gabled structure， the ghostly portrait is averred to have lost all patience， and to have shown itself on the point of descending bodily from its frame6
Moreover， in most generations of the Pyncheon family， there is at least one child who very much resembles the Colonel in ch品 目cter.The Colonel lives" then， not only in the portrait， but also in this character of his offspring. Hawthorne says about this: his character， indeed， might be traced all the way down， as distinctly as if the Colonel himself， a little di luted， had been gifted with a sort of int日rmittentimmortality on earth.，7 ，
The present case is Judge Pyncheon. We can see the equiv呂lenceof these two Pyncheons. Hepzibah realizes this very well. She m品kes丑comment
about it as fol1ows:
This is the very man!" murmured she to herself. Let Jaffrey Pyncheon smi1e as he will， there is that 100k beneath! Put on him a scullcap， and a band， and a b1ack cloak， and a Bib1e in one hand and a sword in the other一then1et J affrey smi1e as he might
‑nobody wou1d doubt that it was the old Pyncheon come again! He has proved himself the very man to bui1d up a new house! Perhaps， too， to draw down a new curse!，，8
We see the chronicle of the Pyncheons is made up of the repetitions of the sin committed by the ancestors before. They are at 1ast allowed to escape from the curse when the Judge dies‑Chapter 20. This chapter is entitled The F10wer of Eden." We know of course that Phoebe is the flower目Thetwo old families 1earn to live together through the marriage of Ho1grave and Phoebe. The story thus strong1y implies that The House of the Seven Gables is depicting not on1y the long exi1e of human beings' from Eden， but a1so the r巴gainingof the garden by the 10vers in 19th Century America.
Just as the Pyncheons inherit what their ancestors had， the Mau1es seem to inherit powers of witchcraft" as their birthright. The Mau1es have ways to frighten the Pyncheons at any age.
They were half‑believed to inherit mysterious attributes; the fami‑ 1y eye was said to possess strange power. Among other good‑for‑ nothing properties and privi1eges， one was especially assigned them， of exercising an influence over peop1e's dreams. The Pyn‑
cheons， if all stories were true， haughti1y as they bore themse1ves in the noonday streets of their native town， were no better than bond‑servants to these plebeian Maules， on entering the topsytur‑ vy commonwealth of sleep.9
As a living example， we are informed of the witchcraft that young Mat‑
thew Maule exercised on the beautiful maiden Alice Pyncheon. Holgrave， the living Maule， also is able to practise mesmerism， a power inherited as a birthright. However， when he finds a chanc巴 inwhich he can take re崎 venge upon the Pyncheons as a Maule， he gives up the chance. Moreover， he confesses his love for Phoebe and they get married! Here， to interpret this action， which is strange for a M且ule，1 will take up a passage that in‑ troduces his career. The author says
Left early to his own guidance， he had begun to be self‑ dependent while yet a boy; and it was a condition aptly suited to his natural force of wil .lThough now but twenty‑two y巴arsold， (lacking some months， which are yεars， in such a life，) hεhad already been， first， a country‑schoolmaster; next， a salesman in呂 country‑store; and， either at the sam色timeor且fterwards，the polit‑ ical‑editor of a country‑newspaper. He had subsequ巴ntlytraveled New England and the middle states as a pedler， in the employ‑ ment of a Connecticut manufactory of Cologne water and other essences. In an episodical way， he had studied and practised den司 tistry， and with very flattering success， especially in many of the factory‑towns along our inland司streams.As a supernumerary offi‑ cial， of some kind or other， aboard a pack巴t‑ship，he had visited Europe， and found means， before his return， to see Italy， and part of France and Germany. At a later period， he had spent some months in a community of Fourierists. Stin more recently， he had been a public lecturer on Mesmerism， for which science (as he assured Phoebe， and， indeed， satisfactorily proved by putting Chanticleer， who happened to be scratching， near by， to sleep) he had very remarkable endowments.10
Why the twenty‑two‑year‑old Holgrave has such a variety of careers is
that Holgrave is a self‑made man， who lives with the contemporary so‑ called Frontier Spirit which allows one to move from one place to another. We may say that Holgrave probably is expiated from his anc巴stral inheritance by committing himself to his contemporary America， which glV巴sone countless opportunities to succeed as丘businessman.He is not a Puritan， or a witch any more， but a N ew England Yankee!l1 Therefore this romance can be read as a historica1 allegory which praises the birth of the New" American Adam who gets rid of the old， too‑rigid Puritanism and acquires the new paradigm of 19th C巴ntury.1t is because they have got rid of the mysterious beliefs of the Puritanism that they cou1d regain the para‑ dise 10st!
However， it is a matter of doubt whether Holgrave cou1d have obtained the paradigm without he1p from others. Holgrave himself admits that to confirm that he is fully appreciating th巴 trueselves of the peop1e around him， he needs intuitive sympathy， 1ike a young girl's， to solve i，1t.，2 He also says A mere observer， like myself， (who never have any intuitions， and am， at best， only subtile and acute，) is pretty certain to go astray."，13 1n other words， he is realizing that he needs warm， fami1y affections if he wants to 1ead a better life. Here it is significant to see that the catalyst which he1ps Holgrave to get rid of the evi1 inheritance is none other than Phoebe
1n Chapter 20， Holgrave begins to tell Phoebe of the death of Judge Pyncheon， and what follows is this:
Y ou are strong!" persisted Ho1grave. Y ou must be both strong and wise; for 1 am all astray， and need your counsel. It may be， you can suggest the one Iight thing to dO!"14
37 Holgrave is impressed that Phoebe is endowed with a self‑balancing pow‑
er. The reason why Holgrave thinks his way of life is wicked is that he does not think he is endowed with that talent. He thus admires Phoebe greatly. However， Phoebe is not a specially talented lady， but a mere young country girl of seventeen， whose mother was born with no nobility (
巴venthough she is really a Pyncheon). In other words， Phoebe is really an ordinary girl， and this ordinarin巴ssis the source of her sense of balanc‑ ing! Hepzibah laments that there are no Pyncheon traits in Phoebe， but this is to express admiration of h巴rinnocence. If we define Phoebe's func‑ tion in The House of the Seven Gables， it will be thus: her pureness in mind gets the others' soiled minds back to the right" course of life
Meanwhile， in what condition can human beings live most happily? Probably， in a life filled with warm family affections. This is what Phoebe gives to the people around her. As mentioned above， Holgrave comes to fall in love with her，品ndHepzibah and Clifford， who have been cut off from ordinary life， gradually come back to the life of ordinary people Here， 1巴tus note Phoebe's good influence upon Clifford. Clifford， who has just be巴nreleased from thirty years of unreasonable imprisonment， strug‑ gles to return to an ordinary life. Phoebe helps him to attain it. She cre‑ ates a kind of home around Clifford， and this is what Clifford is most in need of. Phoebe was
not an actual fact for him， but the interpretation of all that he h呂d lacked on earth， brought warmly home to his conception; so that this mere symbol or lifelike picture had almost the comfort of reality.15
Phoebe， who is an ordinary country girl， is the very symbol of home for
those who are remote from the ordinary life they want. Hawthorne states this fact:
Holding her hand， you felt something; a tender something; a sub‑ stance， and a warm one; and so long as you should feel its grasp， soft as it was， you might be certain that your place was good in the whole sympathetic chain of human nature16
So far we have seen that the reason the Pyncheons and the Maules could get rid of their sad inheritance is the optimistic Yankeeism of Hol‑ grave， and the presence of Phoebe， as a catalyst. Their family affection has made the kind of home in which the cursed people can live in har‑ mony目 Wemay well say that this is the major theme of this romance. As the minor theme， we have the acclaim of the birth of the new paradigm of 19th Century America. Actually we have a passage in Chapter 20， in which Hawthorne describes their state of love thus:
They wer巴consciousof nothing sad nor old. They transfigured the earth， and made it Ed巴nagain， and themselves the two first dwellers in it. The dead man， so close behind them， was forgot‑ ten. At such a cnS1S， there is no Death; for Immortality is re‑ vealed anew， and embraces everything in its hallowed atmo‑ sphere17
It seems as if Hawthorne were celebrating th巴deathof the old Puritanism But Hawthorne always takes the middle‑
。
ιthe‑road.That he is not aimingat knocking down Puritanism totally will be made clear in the fol1owing discussion on The Blithedale Romance.18
It is very interesting to see that The Blithedale Romance was published af‑ ter one year's interval from The House 01 the Seven Gables. Hawthorne says
39 in the Preface to The Blithedale Romance that his purpose of writing this ro‑ mance is neither to acclaim the nobility of the experimental Brook Farm nor to criticize the defects of the Farm， but only to establish a theatre，"
in other words， to create a fiction.19 But when we hit upon the facts that this romance was written so shortly after The House of the Seven Gables; that the major theme is common between the two; and that the minor themι which we discussed as historical allegory， is continued to The Blithedale Romance， it is not hard to believe that Hawthorn巴isproviding this work呂S
a critique of the ideal future of America， which the N ew" American Adam tries to build in the New" Ed巴n.Coverdale， the narrator， recollects their purpose in building Blithedale as follows
It was our purpose ‑ a generous one， certainly， and absurd， no doubt， in full proportion with its generosity‑to give up whatever we had heretofore旦ttained，for the sake of showing mankind the example of a life governed by other than the false and cruel prin‑ ciples， on which human society has al1 along been based.
And， first of a ，1lwe had divorced ourselves from Pride， and were striving to supply its place with familiar love [Italics mine].20 In other words， the mission of Blith巴daleis to realize the recovering of the corruption of society. We understand their ardor， but their vision for Blithedale is not quite sufficient. Coverdale， scarcely having introduced the lofty mission of Blithedale， shows he still has pride in his mind. The following recollection of the conversation with his fellow people shows this to us:
Which man among you，" quoth he [Silas Foster]，is the best judge of swine? Some of us must go to the next Brighton fair， and buy half田a‑dozenpigs!"
Pigs! Good heavens， had we come out from among the swinish multitude， for this?21
1t is clear that future failure is inevitable even at the time they have just gathered at Blithedale. Blithedale cannot divorce itself from the sin of pride， nor bring familiar love." We see the fact that the possibility is totally extinguished from the passage quot巴dbelow， in which Coverdale， just back from his short retirement in the town， finds three of his fellow workers in the woods. He misses Hol1ingsworth's words rejecting Zeno‑ bia's love， but he hears much of their conversation ~nd thus makes a com‑
ment
. 1 saw in Hollingsworth al1 that an artist could desire for the grim portrait of a Puritan magistrate， holding inquest of life and death in a case of witchcraft;一inZenobia， the sorceress herself， not aged， wrinkled， and decrepit， but fair enough to t巴mptSatan with a force reciprocal to his own;一一and，in Priscil1a， the pale victim， whose soul and body had been wasted by her spells.22
Needless to say， Hollingsworth is mistaking his selfishness as a statement of a lofty moral justice.
As Hawthorne entitles one of the chapters A Modern Arcadia，" refer‑ ences to and imagery of an Arcadia prevail all through the book. But iron‑ ically， The Blithedale Romance is a record of the people who， although pro‑ vided with good material conditions， fail to establish a true Arcadia. (The story's starting in early， still cold spring， with implications of hope， and ending in fall， with imp1ications of death， are really symbolic.) Their dream of making a warm family‑like community does not come true simply because of the fact that they are not capable of loving their neighbors;
pride， the very thing that they want to expel from themselves， still rules their minds. Now let us discuss the problems of the chief ch旦racters.
First， we consider Hollingsworth. He is introduced as a philanthropist who wishes to save criminals' minds， but we see soon enough that he is a very selfish person who does not hesitate to spoil others' lives in order to accomplish his own aims. Zenobia criticizes Hollingsworth very strongly， and this is really effective. She says to Hollingsworth:
It is all self!" answered Zenobia， with still intens巴rbitterness Nothingεlse; nothing but self， self， self! The fiend， 1 doubt not， has made his choicest mirth of you， these seven years past， and especially in the mad summer which we h品vespent together. 1 see it now! 1 am awake， disenchanted， disenthralled! Self， self， self! You have embodied yourself in a project. You are a better masquerader than the witches and gipsies yonder; for your dis‑ gUlS巴 isa self‑deception. See whither it has brought youl First， you aimed a death‑blow， and a treacherous one， at this scheme of a purer and higher liお， which so many noble spirits had wrought out. Then， because Coverdale could not be quite your slave， you threw him ruthlessly away. And you took me， too， into your plan，
ぉ longas there was hope of my being available， and now fling m巴asideagain， a broken tool But， foremost， and blackest of your sins， you stifled down your inmost consciousness!一一youdid a deadly wrong to your own heart! ‑ you were ready to sacrifice this girl， whom， if God ev巴rvisibly showed a purpose， He put into your charge， and through whom He was striving to redeem you!必3
We recognize that Hollingsworth' s sin is the same as that of Ethan Brand， in that h巴mistakeshis selfishness for the practice of goodn白S
N ext， let us discuss th巴women.Just as Hepzibah and Phoebe represent
experience and innocence， Hawthorne， in The Blithedale Romance too， pro‑ vides his women with similar roles. Zenobia's grand and proud attitude comes from her past rich life， and the flower she wears in her hair is the symbol of her artificiality. That she symbolizes experience is later proved when the real purpose of her joining Blithedale‑to escape from the break‑ up of her love affair with Westervelt‑is revealed. She is guilty of throw‑ ing her half‑sister to Westervelt so that she may obtain the love of Hol‑ lingsworth all by hersel. fShe is also a selfish person. And this episode shows that she is also a symbol of body" or sex." She drowns herself hoping that she may die beautifully after her failure in the affair with Hol‑ lingsworth. The following comment made by Coverdale on the character of Zenobia is really to the point. He reports目
Being the woman that she was， could Zenobia have foreseen all these ugly circumstances of death， how ill it would become her， the altogether unseemly aspect which she must put on， and， espe‑ cially， old Silas Foster's efforts to improve th巴matter，she would no more have committed the dreadful act， than have exhibited herself to a public assembly in a badly‑fitting garment!24
On the other hand， Priscilla is typical of the good Puritan who is hon‑ est， diligent， and thrifty. She is presented with the images of frailty， such as snow. On first reading， she may not seem to play an important role in the book. She is always only following Zenobia's and Hollingsworth's words. But it is significant to notice that she is the only person that sym‑ bolizes something spiritual" in th日book.Although she is always a victim of the selfishness of Hollingsworth， Zenobia， and the demonic Westervelt， she never criticizes or attacks others' thoughts and behavior. The fact that Priscilla， who seems to have the frailest personality， shows the stoutest
character is revealed by Coverdale's clever observation. The next quota‑ tion is taken from the passage in which Coverdale visits Hollingsworth and Priscilla after a few years' interva. lDuring that time， they were mar‑ ried to each other. Coverdale reports:
As they approached me， 1 observed in Hollingsworth's face a de‑ pressed and melancholy 100k， that seemed habitual; the powerful‑ 1y bui1t man showed a self‑distrustfu1 weakness， and a childlike， or chi1dish， tendency to press close， and closer still， to the side of the slender woman whose arm was within his. In Priscilla's man‑
ner， there was a protective and watchful quality， as if she felt her‑ self the guardian of her companion . . . .25
Priscilla is the only person who r巴tainssoundness of heart， and ke巳psher own pureness of mind unti1 the end
Priscilla and Zenobia are both daught巴rsof Old Moodie26 (In Zenobia's case， she is always taken to be as a daughter of rich Fauntleroy.) Zenobia was raised in luxuary， remote from the ordinary daily life of ordinary peo‑ p1e. Priscilla was， on the other hand， raised by the poor Moodie， and therefore was brought up quite simply， as an ordinary chi1d in New Eng‑
land would be. Here what Hawthorne claims seems clear. He is suggesting， just as with Phoebe in The House of the Seven Gables， that to be ordinary and innocent are the best attributes for achieving happy 'familiar love."
However， Hawthorne is not so straightforward as to overestimate the power of innocence. 1t is true that Priscilla and Hollingsworth， though obtaining a home in which they can try to share familiar love，" are not fi1led with the true warm feelings of 10ve. This is to be understood as due to the fact that Priscilla， unlike Phoebe， is not an innocent redeemer who works as a cata1yst to help others to attain family affection. Even the in‑
Paradise Regained and Arcadia Lost
nocence of Priscilla cannot mend the pessimism deeply rooted in Hollings‑ worth's mind. Innocence is not the only factor needed to attain a happy life. Here we see that Hawthorne is in a dilemma. In fact， none of the chief characters in The Blithedale Romance could bear the fami1iar love" which they were after. But nevertheless Hawthorne keeps affirming that we need to live in harmony with the neighbors and with nature if we want to lead a life filled with innocent， warm， and familiar" affections. Coverdale， dur‑ ing his short retirement from Blithedale to a hotel in town， witnesses a family next door. This comment on the family symbolically shows his own yearning for a happy family.
At a window of the next story below， two children， prettily dressed， were looking ou .tBy and by， a middle‑aged gentleman came softly behind them， kissed the little girl， and playfully pull‑ ed the little boy's ear. It was a papa， no doubt， just come in from his counting‑room or office; and anon appeared mamma， stealing as softly behind papa， as he had stolen behind the children， and laying her hand on his shoulder to surprise him. Then followed a kiss between papa and mamma， but a noiseless one; for the chil‑ dren did not turn their heads
1 bless God for these good folks!" thought 1 to myself. 1 have not seen a prettier bit of nature， in all my summer in the country， than they have shown me her巴 in a rather stylish boarding‑ house .."27
It is necessary to remember that The Blithedale Romance no more attacks the social ideals of transcendentalism totally than The House of the Seven Gables attacks Puritanism totally. The discovery we make by this compar‑ ative study is that Hawthorne is in a dilemma when it comes to the Am日r‑ ican character and America's national identity. As L巴WlS m丘intains，
Hawthorne locates himself somewhere between Edwards and Emerson， fre‑ quently moving on this scale of thought.Z8 Also we can see that Hawthorne puts great value on the presence of family affection as the key to achieve individual happiness in life. Now， we should conclude that Hawthorne， in The House of the SeveηGables and The Blithedale Romance， claims that what‑ ever character the United States may have， each individual who belongs to the country should be liberated， innocent， and forward‑thrusting; in short， an American Adam.
Not邑呂
1. R. W. B. Lewis， The American Adam: Innocence， Trage，め"and Tradition in the Nineteenth Century (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press， 1955)， p. 3 2. David W. Noble. The Eternal Adam and the New World Garden: The Central
Myth in the American Novel Since 1830 (N ew York: George Brazillier， 1968)， p
lX
3. R. W. B. Lewis does not regard them as the N ew" American Adam. He says that the title the American Adam" was made popular in Whitman's Leaves
0 1
Grass， in which the American Adam is lib巴rated，innocent， solitary， forw呂rd‑ thrusting." (Cf. R. W. B. Lewis， op. cit.， p. 28.)
However，呂sDavid W. Noble says， the American Adam was the theological creation of the English thinkers of 1600 who supposed that it was possible to flee from the sinfulness of Old England to the innocence of New England. Therefore， 1 regard the early Puritans as the American Adam (or else， the Original American Adam)， and the Americans who went through the great re. form movement of the 1830s‑who， once again， proclaimed that they could be a saving remnant‑as the New" American Adam. (Cf. David W. Noble， op. cit.， p.25.)
4. Cf. Daniel G. Hoffman， Form and Fable in American Fiction (New York: Ox‑ ford University Press， 1961)， pp. 190ー191
5. Nathaniel Hawthorne， The House
0 1
the Seven Gables， in Norton Critical Edi‑ tion， ed. Seymour L. Gross (New York: W. W. Norton & Company 1967)， p. 8 6. Ibid.， pp. 197‑1987. 1.仇d，p. 19. 8. Ibid， p. 59 9. lbid.， p. 26 10. Ibid.， p. 176
11. Cf. Daniel G. Hoffman， op. cit.， p. 198 12. The House of the Seven Gables， p. 179. 13. lbid， p. 179
14. Ibid.， pp. 301‑302 15. Ibμ~， p. 142 16. Ib札 p.141. 17. Ibid.， p. 307
18. As Professor Lewis believes， it is not surprising that transcendentalism was Puritanism upside down. (Cf. R. W. B. Lewis， op.αt.， p. 23.)
19. Nathaniel Hawthorne， The Blithedale Romance， in Norton Critical Edition， eds. Seymour Gross and Rosalie Murphy (New York: W. W. Norton & Com‑
pany， 1978)， p. 1 20. Ibid， p. 19. 21. Ib仏 pp.19‑20.
22. lbid， p. 197 23. Ibid.， pp. 201‑202 24. Ib以，p. 218. 25. Ib払 p.223
26. In what w呂yMoodie functions in the book is a matter of question. He first appears in Chapter 1 when he stops Coverdale， who is soon going to join Blithedale， to ask a favor of him. Yet he somehow changes his mind and does not ask the thing which he has had in mind. He does not appear again until the middle of the book， and when he does， his identity and his function are still unknown to the readers. As D昌nielG. Hoffman points out， we are left rather irritated about Hawthorne's casual treatment of Moodie. (C .fDaniel G. Hoff‑ man，ψ. cit.， pp. 205‑206.)
The fact that he is the father of the two women in B1ithedale， Zenobia and Priscil1a， is later revealed. Zenobia was born when Moodie (who was called Fauntleroy at the time) was living a quite aristocratic life， being a slave to European materialism. Zenobia， herself too， has grown up following these per‑ sonal traits of him， in that she wants to look beautiful， wearing flowers grown
artificially in a hot house. On the other hand， Priscilla was born品fterFaunt‑ leroy had lost all of his fortune， and was raised quite simply and ordinarily She has grown up to be a girl of innocence in spirit. She is also an American Adam (or， we may say， an American Eve). Thus Moodie (or Fauntleroy) has got two daughters， on巴ofwhom symbolically represents something European， the other something American. However， Moodie himself never changes. He tells Coverdale， in Chapter 22， that h巴isstill ambitious of being again at the height of his prosperity. He changes his app巴arance，but he never changes his own basic identity!
It is important to know that Moodie does not go through an initiation even though he experiences the ordeal of moving from prosperity to poverty. In both The House 01 the Seven Gables and The Blithedale Romance， there are many images and implications of de呂thand rebirth" to be found. Clifford and Hepzi bah， and Coverdale in bed too， for example， go through initiations with their own minds' struggles (though they may have helps from others too). In Moodie's case， how巴ver，his change in appearance (though w巴areleft unin formed of the real cause of his fall) does not come from any struggle in his own mind. He changes his appearance just because he has to! Here we see Hawthorne's sharp criticism on human beings: one can never change his or her own identity unless one really desires to improve one's own character
27. The Blithedale Romance， p. 140 28. Cf. R. W. B. Lewis， ~ψ cit. ， p. 113
