The somewhat sluggish atmosphere of the far inland valley did not
suit his sea-braced temperament; and so, instead of renting Mrs.
Kemble's country place, as he had thought of doing, he decided to leave
Berkshire with the birds; but not to go southward. Moving to West
Newton, near Boston, he remained there for the winter, writing
"Blithedale," which was put forth in 1852.
The special characteristic of "The Blithedale Romance" seems to me to be
its appearance of unlabored ease, and a consequent breeziness of effect
distinguishing its atmosphere from that of any of the other romances.
The style is admirably finished, and yet there is no part of the book
that gives the same impression of almost unnecessary polish which
occasionally intervenes between one's admiration and the "Seven Gables."
On this score, "Blithedale" is certainly the most consummate of the four
completed romances. And as Hawthorne has nowhere given us more robust
and splendid characterization than that of Zenobia and Hollingsworth,
the work also takes high rank on this ground. The shadows, which seemed
partly dispersed in the "Seven Gables," gather again in this succeeding
story; but, on the other hand, it is not so jarringly terrible as "The
Scarlet Letter." From this it is saved partly by the sylvan surrounding
and the pleasant changes of scene. In comparing it with the other works,
I find that it lets itself be best defined as a mean between extremes;
so that it ought to have the credit of being the most evenly attempered
of all.
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