ABSTRACT
In the context of Pierce’s campaign for the 1852 presidency, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s comments aim to defend his friend’s endorsement of the Compromise of 1850, which included the notorious Fugitive Slave Law. Hawthorne’s definition of “romance” is central to an understanding of how his texts speak both to some of the underlying theoretical concerns of modern criticism and to the affective reactions of newer readers of his writing. Miles Coverdale itches for the inside information the pair’s conversation will likely provide, eager to hear the dialogue that will confirm his suppositions about his friends. Blithedale’s closing chapter underscores both the limitations to securing stable knowledge of the social world and the likelihood that the desire for such knowledge is a fundamental aspect of human nature itself. Critical frustration with Coverdale might helpfully signal an implicit requirement that readers acknowledge their own social convictions and their social limitations.
