# Old Moodie — The Blithedale Romance character guide

> Old Moodie in The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** this Mr. Moodie, Mr. Moodie, Moodie, old Moodie

**First appearance:** 0002-i-old-moodie

## Snapshot

A shabby, shy old man with a patch over one eye who accosts Coverdale in the street, carrying a hidden past he can only hint at.

## Who they are

Moodie stops Coverdale the night before his departure for Blithedale, revealing just enough of himself from under a gate to be recognized as an acquaintance. He is a man of errands and obscure connections, his mode of getting bread thrusting him into the world's hubbub despite his retiring nature. His quiet approach plants the first thread of the mystery that will draw Priscilla and the others into the story's web.

## Relationships

### [Zenobia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se/characters/zenobia)

_family_

Old Moodie is Zenobia's father, though he conceals his identity and watches her from a distance due to his shame and poverty.

### [Priscilla](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se/characters/priscilla)

_family_

Old Moodie is Priscilla's father, and he feels a protective guilt toward her, ultimately revealing her inheritance.

### [Miles Coverdale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se/characters/miles_coverdale)

_social_

Coverdale encounters Old Moodie as a mysterious figure whose fragmented stories reveal the backstory of the other characters.

### [Miles Coverdale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se/characters/miles_coverdale)

_social_

Coverdale encounters Old Moodie as a mysterious figure whose fragmented stories reveal the backstory of the other characters.

### [Zenobia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se/characters/zenobia)

_family_

Old Moodie is Zenobia's father, though he conceals his identity and watches her from a distance due to his shame and poverty.

### [Priscilla](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se/characters/priscilla)

_family_

Old Moodie is Priscilla's father, and he feels a protective guilt toward her, ultimately revealing her inheritance.

### [Zenobia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se/characters/zenobia)

_family_

Old Moodie is Zenobia's father, though he conceals his identity and watches her from a distance due to his shame and poverty.

### [Priscilla](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se/characters/priscilla)

_family_

Old Moodie is Priscilla's father, and he feels a protective guilt toward her, ultimately revealing her inheritance.

## In the story

### [Old Moodie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se/chapters/i-old-moodie)

Shy, elderly man who stops Coverdale on the street to inquire about Blithedale and Zenobia.

### [A Visitor from Town](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se/chapters/x-a-visitor-from-town)

Mysterious visitor from town, inquires about Priscilla and Zenobia, displays furtive and hesitant behavior.

### [An Old Acquaintance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se/chapters/xxi-an-old-acquaintance)

The old acquaintance Coverdale meets in a saloon; he reveals glimpses of his past over wine.

### [Fauntleroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se/chapters/xxii-fauntleroy)

Revealed to be the former Fauntleroy, a ruined man of wealth living in squalor after a crime and disgrace.

### [Blithedale Pasture](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se/chapters/xxviii-blithedale-pasture)

Walks nearest the dead in deep mourning, his face mostly concealed, with Priscilla leaning on his arm.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se/characters/old_moodie
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blithedale_romance_se/characters