Following his encounter with Hollingsworth, Coverdale decides to leave Blithedale for a time. Not only has his friendship with Hollingsworth soured, but he’s also on worse terms with Priscilla and Zenobia. Dissatisfied with the community and feeling the need to contemplate Blithedale from a distance, Coverdale dons his city clothes and says goodbye to his acquaintances. Zenobia, who feels “this phase of our life is finished” (141), tells Coverdale that she once believed he could be her confidant but now finds him too young and inexperienced. Priscilla expresses no doubts about Blithedale and senses no changes in the community. Coverdale passes Hollingsworth without a word and stops a final time to observe the pigs, who seem blissfully unaware that they will soon be slaughtered.

Coverdale returns to Boston and stays at a hotel. Feeling like he’s in another world, Coverdale initially spends his days reading and smoking cigars in his room. Although loathe to enter the busy life of the city, he begins to spend time at his window, watching the boardinghouse across from his hotel. He observes a father greeting his children, a cat hunting birds, housemaids cleaning, and a young man brushing his hair.