The Blithedale RomanceThe Blithedale Romance

A superb depiction of a utopian community that cannot survive the individual passions of its members. In language that is suggestive and often erotic, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells a tale of failed possibilities and mulitple personals betrayals as he explores the contrasts between what his characters espouse and what they actually experience in an "ideal" community. A theme of unrealized sexual possibilities serves as a counterpoint to the other failures at Blithedale: class and sex distinctions are not eradicted, and communal work on the farm proves personally unrewarding and economically disastrous."--Container.