flawed human nature.

“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 attained, for the sake of showing mankind the example of a life governed by other than the false and cruel principles, on which human society has all along been based” (19).

The Blithedale Romance entertains the idea of an experimental socialist society. Its attempt to uphold the ideals of Transcendentalism falters due to the egotism and selfish pursuits of the people involved in the community. In the passage above, Miles Coverdale describes their noble purpose; however, this proves to be sustained merely on hopes rather than action. One idea the Transcendentalist Movement upholds is that the essential nature of humans is good. Humans should be guided by feelings, which naturally turn toward goodness rather than by rigorous logic and rationality. This innate innocence is only corrupted by society. In Blithedale, however, each person portrays themselves deceitfully, and their community falls to shambles as their secret motives begin to shine through. Although they begin with a benevolent purpose, Hawthorne illustrates the flawed human nature, thus making this utopian society impossible in the story.

In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Nature he writes, “Standing on the bare ground, —my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space, —all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball. I am nothing. I see all. The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or parcel of God” (996). In The Blithedale Romance, no one truly interacted with Nature to have a spiritual experience of being “one-eyed and pure-hearted.” Aside from the necessary duties in the natural world that were required for their survival, there was little to no real attempt to achieve this experience. I believe that Hawthorn mourns and satirizes this idyllic life in The Blithedale Romance, which ultimately led to a tragic end.