The Maypole Of Merry Mount

The story begins with the collection of Merry Mounters celebrating a wedding between Edith and Edgar on Midsummer Eve. The group decorates the Maypole with flowers “so fresh and dewy that they must have grown by magic on that happy pine tree” (Paragraph 3). The people all hold hands around the Maypole, dressed in animal headdresses like wolves and stags, except for one person who is clothed entirely in a bear suit. A few other people have on human masks that distort their features, and one person is dressed as a Native American. Everyone seems very happy, except a group of Puritans who watch the group from the outside, believing them to be worshippers of the devil. The bride and groom are in the middle of the circle, and Edgar holds a gold staff. Behind them “stood the figure of an English priest, canonically dressed, yet decked with flowers, in heathen fashion” (Paragraph 6). The priest presents the couple and bids everyone rejoice by singing a wedding song. Everyone yells happily, and music plays. Edgar looks at his Edith and notices that she is worried. She expresses concern that this will be the happiest point in their lives and that their friends’ happiness is a façade.