Document Type
Freshman Seminar Essay
Publication Date
1984
Excerpt
In his essay "A Place Called Community," Parker Palmer describes a false community as being "idolatrous." He claims that a false community "takes some finite attribute like race, creed, political ideology, or even manners, and elevates it to ultimacy" and, additionally, "worships that which should be viewed critically" (17). An example of this type of "false community" is portrayed in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Blithedale Romance. At a superficial glance the Blithedale Community appears to be a place where people live and work together in harmony, striving to better society and to achieve unselfish goals. When one probes deeper into the core of Blithedale, however, one realizes that the cooperative community which was first observed is actually one of selfishness, falseness, and particularly idolatry. This "idolatrous" theme is portrayed in The Blithedale Romance in the way the characters behave towards Zenobia, a beautiful, wealthy, high-spirited woman who, at first, appears to bring the community together with her amiability and warmth. However, the "idol worship" of Zenobia by the other community members, and even by Zenobia herself, causes false relationships to form and contributes to the community's eventual misfortune.
Recommended Citation
Sundquist, Lori, "Zenobia: An Idol in the False Community of Blithedale (1984)" (1984). The Valpo Core Reader. 536.
http://scholar.valpo.edu/core_reader/536