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Definition of Tone
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical, and so on. For instance... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical... read full definition
Chapter 6: Coverdale’s Sick-chamber
Explanation and Analysis:
The tone of The Blithedale Romance is ironical and uncertain. Miles Coverdale initially portrays himself as an ideal, truth-telling narrator. However, his narration becomes increasingly fragmented as the story goes on. Later in the story, he constantly questions his own storytelling abilities and admits that he is less than perfect at relaying the tale of Blithedale. He also makes (admittedly dubious) intuitions about other characters:
One subject, about which—very impertinently, moreover—I perplexed myself with a great many conjectures, was, whether Zenobia had ever been married. The idea, it must be understood, was unauthorized by any circumstance or suggestion that had made its way to my ears. So young as I beheld her, and the freshest and rosiest woman of a thousand, there was certainly no need of imputing to her a destiny already accomplished[...]
Here Coverdale obsesses over whether Zenobia was previously married. He has little interest in engaging with her romantically—he loves Priscilla—but he feels drawn toward Zenobia's mysterious past. He admits that his conjecture is "unauthorized by any circumstance or suggestion," which means he has no evidence for it. So the tone here becomes uncertain, yet fascinated.
This moment finds resonance in another key example of Coverdale's ironic declarations: he claims to be a "poor and dim figure in [his] own narrative." This is not entirely true. In fact, Coverdale occupies a significant portion of the story—not only through his narration but also his participation in Blithedale. But his ironic tone conveys his doubts about the Blithedale project, as well as his anxieties about his own writing abilities. More generally, the way this narrator tells the story also reveals the author's disapproval of socialist utopian projects like Blithedale.
Related Themes:
