Priscilla and Coverdale

The last part of The Blithedale Romance seems particularly perplexing in light of the narrator’s continued displays of detachment and lack of an active interest in the characters outside of the perspective of a detached observer. If he did love Priscilla, it does seem hard to find compelling evidence of this within the text. He describes the women warmly for the most part, but from the very beginning he praises Zenobia more than he does Priscilla, who is often described as being of a nervous character or almost childlike in her energetic demeanor.

Obviously we are left out of some of the narrator’s impressions at this point in time, but it stills seems odd that his affection does not come through in any obvious manner throughout the text. He even admits he is not very actively engaged in his friendship with her, and rarely do we see conversations take place between the two. In a physical sense he doesn’t display any more attraction to her than he does to Zenobia, and in fact is critical at times of her frail body. He only admits her attractiveness when she is wearing certain pieces of clothing that are particularly flattering, and even then the praise is not extensive. He displays far more interest in Zenobia’s curious appearance, often focusing in on details like the flower she customarily wears. Also worthy of note is the absence of courtship attempts by Coverdale throughout the novel. This may be a side effect of an attempt to turn himself into an objective narrator of the events that took place at Blithedale by the exclusion of events of personal significance, but it is a notable omission if he did in fact love her.

In short, the statement made at the end about this clarifying some things does not appear to be true based on my reading of the book. I don’t find substantial indications of an emotional or physical attraction to Priscilla. If I had any sense he was romantically interested in either of the two women, I would have assumed it was Zenobia. From the very beginning they align themselves philosophically where Priscilla is disinterested. For an obviously introspective and reflective character, it is odd that he became interested in someone who is so immature and childlike.