The Blithedale Romance Summary

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Zenobia Character Analysis
The Blithedale Romance is a romantic narrative by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It has a romantic setting on Brook Farm, where Hawthorne used to live. One of the film's major characters in Zenobia, who is portrayed as someone who is very beautiful, determined, domineering, and theatrical. Zenobia is the step-sister of Priscilla and can be seen as a lover to Hollingsworth. She is a founding and valuable member of Blithedale and acts as an unofficial leader of the group. Through the story, we see her strong passion for gender equality through writing and activism. Her past remains a secret to many; it is rumored that she was married. Coverdale, another important character in the story, uncovers her mysterious relationship with other people such as Westervelt, Priscilla, and Moodie. From the story, we see Zenobia as the most complex character in The Blithedale Romance. The aim of the essay is to undertake a character analysis of Zenobia. We will try to uncover how she changes during the course of the novel and how she reflects certain gender or feminist themes.
Zenobia Representation in the Story
The character of Zenobia is portrayed through the memory of Ethan as well as the actions through the main story. Moreover, some of the characters within the story reveal important information that helps the audience understand who Zenobia is. One of the characters who assist in revealing Zenobia is Wharton. Wharton describes her as someone who has a gaunt, wrinkled, and sallow-faced appearance. Another key feature of her appearance is that she had false teeth and also used crimping pins to keep her hair in place. The presentation of Zenobia in this way shows us how she loved artificial things. Clearly, Zenobia was someone who was fascinated with outward beauty and appearance. Zenobia also suffered from asthma and was always sick throughout her life. With regard to the way she spoke, Zenobia was a plaintive and whiny drawl. The way she spoke also relates to how she related to other people. As we see through the story, Zenobia was ruling over Ethan.
The representation of Zenobia is not well-rounded compared to Ethan, her husband. However, we can see that the negative elements of her personality arise as the story progresses. In the initial happenings, Zenobia can be seen as a victim of Ethan's schemes to commit adultery. However, things become different when Ethan becomes a victim under the hands of Zenobia. He is captured and feels like a prisoner in the marriage with Zenobia. In addition, when Wharton describes the character, we can see that Zenobia appears to be less feminine and attractive. When she speaks, she is always complaining and acts in a manner that makes her actions to be more vindicative.
Another thing that we see about her personality is that she utilizes her sickness to manipulate things to fulfill her own purposes. However, we can see that she is an individual who is talented and passionate about caring for sick people. This is demonstrated when she is offering services to Ethan and Mattie. She is an individual who has a mysterious and alien appearance and what can be described as an "evil energy." Through the story, we can see that she is someone who keeps things to herself. She also does not speak much unless she is criticizing someone or requesting something she needs. Before Mattie arrives, there is much silence experienced within the Frome household. One thing that caused this is because Zenobia and Ethan never had realistic conversations as husband and wife.
As an observant person, she never passes anything that happens to her. She never forgets, and it appears that she uses these experiences to manipulate others in order to attain her own ends. Another important aspect is how she exercises control over Ethan. Ethan fears that she may be knowing his thoughts because of her ability to remember and observe things keenly. As presented in the story, Zenobia is powerful to the extent that Mattie and Ethan feel uncomfortable whenever she is mentioned. Even when Zenobia is in Bettsbridge, Mattie can never use her rocking chair comfortably. This means that she had a negative reputation in the way she related to Mattie and Ethan. Some of the negative traits of Zenobia are whining and pride. She seems to be excited when she sees Ethan and Mattie suffering.
Zenobia and Feminism
When we consider the character of Zenobia, we can establish a relationship with the ideologies of ...