Hawthorne's Self-Criticism

My research deals with how Hawthorne relates to his narrator, Coverdale, in The Blithedale Romance. In my research, I have looked at many sources on Hawthorne’s life and experiences (particularly at Brook Farm) as well as sources on how Coverdale is portrayed in the novel.

I have found several interesting personality links between Hawthorne and Coverdale. First-hand accounts of Hawthorne describe him as shy, quiet, self-absorbed, antisocial, and isolated. This is exactly as Coverdale is portrayed in The Blithedale Romance, suggesting Hawthorne either purposely or accidentally based Coverdale on himself, which would help explain why he chose Coverdale as his first-person narrator.

In addition, Edward Wagenknecht, author of Nathaniel Hawthorne: Man and Writer, points out that Hawthorne once said, “I have not lived, but only dreamed of living” (77). Hawthorne’s statement mirrors Coverdale’s lack of action throughout the novel; Coverdale constantly alludes to his feeling “that it appears all like a dream that we were ever there” (Hawthorne 165).

However, Wagenknecht provides an explanation for the resemblance between Hawthorne’s personality and Coverdale's that does not suggest Hawthorne based Coverdale on himself. He implies that Hawthorne often created lonely characters like Coverdale to warn against seclusion from society, despite his own isolation. Thus, Coverdale may not represent Hawthorne; he may merely represent the kind of loneliness of which Hawthorne disapproves. Also, it seems Coverdale and Hawthorne do not possess identical personalities, for Hawthorne was not as egotistical as Coverdale and did not pry into others’ lives like Coverdale.

Frederick Crews, in his book The Sins of the Fathers: Hawthorne's Psychological Themes, asserts The Blithedale Romance is a self-cleansing tool for Hawthorne with which he can wash himself of his past. Crews says, “Half understanding and wholly disapproving of the nature of Coverdale’s artistic purposes, Hawthorne was able to rise … to … self-criticism” (212). Thus, Crews holds a similar opinion as Wagenknecht, who believes Hawthorne uses Coverdale to warn against seclusion and obsession with others’ lives, but Crews takes this one step further by suggesting Hawthorne also reprimands himself for being like Coverdale.

Many of the sources I found suggested Hawthorne’s focus was Coverdale and that Blithedale and its inhabitants were merely Coverdale’s focus. They point out how much of the novel is devoted to Coverdale’s thoughts and self-aware narration. I agree with their opinions to a certain extent, but I think Hawthorne is more linked to Coverdale than these critics propose. Because Hawthorne and Coverdale have similar personalities and shared experiences, it seems Coverdale is just a more extreme version of Hawthorne. Hawthorne is almost directly writing in the first-person, perhaps unintentionally, for Coverdale is the kind of person Hawthorne worries he is like.

I am still developing my opinion on the relation between narrator and author, but I see a strong connection, a connection that maybe Hawthorne himself was not entirely aware of.