Coverdale, the story’s narrator and protagonist, is a Boston poet who becomes one of the founding members of the utopian agrarian community of Blithedale. As intellectuals, he and the other founders believe that laboring in…
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Zenobia
A founding member of Blithedale, Zenobia is the group’s unofficial leader. She is beautiful, vibrant, independently wealthy, and a known writer and activist with a passion for women’s equality. While Zenobia’s past and identity are…
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Hollingsworth
A philanthropist obsessed with criminal reform, Hollingsworth is one of the founding members of Blithedale. He initially appears to be a friendly, devoted, and helpful man who works hard at Blithedale, encourages others, and cares…
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Priscilla / The Veiled Lady
Priscilla is Zenobia’s half-sister, Moodie’s daughter from his second marriage, the woman behind the Veiled Lady act, and a founding member of Blithedale. She is a quiet, deferential, and obedient person who—despite having…
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Professor Westervelt
Professor Westervelt is the enigmatic magician who controls the Veiled Lady. It’s also implied that he is Zenobia’s estranged husband whose cruelty made her flee their marriage. Both Westervelt’s physical appearance and his…
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"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
An enigmatic acquaintance of Coverdale’s in Boston, Moodie is Zenobia and Priscilla’s father. He is a peculiar old man who has a habit of never looking at anyone head on. He stays in…
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Silas Foster
Silas Foster, the farm manager at Blithedale, teaches Coverdale, Hollingsworth, Zenobia, and Priscilla about animal husbandry and farming throughout their time at Blithedale. Although Silas lives at Blithedale from the beginning, he…
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Theodore
Theodore is the primary character in the story that Zenobia tells about the Veiled Lady. In the story, Theodore makes a bet with his male friends that he can discover the true identity of…
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Mrs. Foster
Mrs. Foster is married to the farm manager Silas Foster. Like Silas, she lives at Blithedale from the beginning of the experiment to the end, but she is not a founding member of the…
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