Characters of the Transcendentalist Utopia

Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Man the Reformer" (1841) proposes transcendentalist ideals in hopes of transforming a "common and mean" existence into an improved society founded upon the principals of education and labor for the betterment of all.  Many of Emerson's ideas created the basis for Brook Farm, the Utopian community Hawthorne writes about in The Blithedale Romance (1852).   A cross examination of these texts reveals both Hawthorne's skepticism and support for the foundations of the transcendentalist Utopia.  This essay identifies and examines the characters discussed in Emerson's essay and the manner in which Hawthorne's approaches these character types in Blithedale.  The characters include: Coverdale "The artist", Hollingsworth "The reformer," Silas Foster "The laborer," Zenobia "The selfish one" and Priscilla "The provided for."