The Characters from The Maypole of Merry Mount

Jun 30, 2011
Melissa Howard

Author Nathaniel Hawthorne - Public Domain

A look at the short list of characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, The Maypole of Merry Mount.

There are not very many characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, The Maypole of Merry Mount, however the characters that he names are very important when one tries to understand the purpose of Hawthorne’s story.

Edgar and Edith

Edgar and Edith are the bride and groom whose marriage is to be celebrated during the Maypole festival. Edith is given the title The Queen of May. She is introspective and worries that this event could be the high point of her life. Edgar is given the title The Lord of May. Edgar is sensitive to his bride’s mood and is concerned about her. When they are threatened with punishment for their activities at the Maypole, both members of the young couple attempt to protect their counterpart. Their faithfulness to each other wins Endicott’s approval and results in leniency rather than punishment.

Endicott

Endicott is the zealous and strict leader of the Puritans in Hawthorne’s story. He leads the Puritans against the revelers and cuts down the Maypole with his sword. He is touched by the loyalty and faithfulness of Edith and Edgar and shows mercy to them. The character of Endicott is based on the historical figure of John Endicott. He was very strict and the mercy he shows in Hawthorne’s story seems at odds with the description of him given in the history books.

Peter Palfrey

Peter Palfrey is the only character in the entire story whose first and last name is given. He is the standard bearer for the Puritans. Hawthorne took his name from a historical personage of the same name.

English Priest

The character of the English Priest is a man who seems to represent conflicting or contradictory interests. He is dressed in the robes of a Anglican clergyman but is also adorned with the vegetative ornamentation of those participating in the May Day celebration. Hawthorne indicates that the priest represents John Blackstone a rebel Anglican priest who first settled in New England but later moved to Rhode Island after confrontations with the Puritans.

Merry Mount Revelers

A Captain Wollaston started the Merry Mount settlement under the name of Mount Wollaston in 1625. He started the settlement when he realized that he could not stand the Puritans in Plymouth Massachusetts where he first settled. The settlers of Merry Mount were free-spirited people intent on living a life of pleasure. As a result, they indulged in pagan festivals such as the Maypole celebration.

Puritans

Puritans disagreed with the religious practices in their homeland, England. Because they wished to worship in a simple and less ostentatious way and desired strict religious discipline in their followers, they left England and established a new colony in Massachusetts where they could practice their faith as they saw fit and promote and protect it in their communities. Because of their strict obedience and discipline, the self-indulgence and free-spirited lifestyle of those in Merry Mount was insulting and intolerable.