The Blithedale Romance

From his bed, Coverdale hears the horn calling the community to work but is unable to rise. Ill and homesick, Coverdale is attended by Hollingsworth, who provides “more than brotherly attendance” and arouses feelings of deep friendship in Coverdale (41). Zenobia also comes to visit Coverdale in his illness, bringing him gruel. Her presence distracts Coverdale, and he wonders about her life before coming to Blithedale and if she ever married.

During his illness, Coverdale learns that Priscilla “recently escaped from some particular peril” (49) and needs the community’s shelter. The ambiguity of the correspondence regarding the girl, however, keeps her from becoming a full member of Blithedale despite her hard work and blossoming health. She visits Coverdale in his sickroom and gives him a nightcap. While recovering, Coverdale reads extensively, focusing on the works of Charles Fourier, one of the main proponents of utopian socialism. While sharing Fourier’s ideas with Hollingsworth, Coverdale realizes that his new friend vehemently opposes Fourier’s theories. Believing that Hollingsworth is mad and focused solely on his plan to rehabilitate criminals, Coverdale becomes convinced that Hollingsworth nursed him only “for the ulterior purpose of making [Coverdale] a proselyte to his views” (57).