Appearance
Excerpt
Excerpt from The House of the Seven Gables, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Hepzibah now noticed that Clifford had on a cloak,—a garment of long
ago,—in which he had constantly muffled himself during these days of
easterly storm. He beckoned with his hand, and intimated, so far as she
could comprehend him, his purpose that they should go together from the
house. There are chaotic, blind, or drunken moments, in the lives of
persons who lack real force of character,—moments of test, in which
courage would most assert itself,—but where these individuals, if left
to themselves, stagger aimlessly along, or follow implicitly whatever
guidance may befall them, even if it be a child’s. No matter how
preposterous or insane, a purpose is a Godsend to them. Hepzibah had
reached this point. Unaccustomed to action or responsibility,—full of
horror at what she had seen, and afraid to inquire, or almost to
imagine, how it had come to pass,—affrighted at the fatality which
seemed to pursue her brother,—stupefied by the dim, thick, stifling
atmosphere of dread which filled the house as with a death-smell, and
obliterated all definiteness of thought,—she yielded without a
question, and on the instant, to the will which Clifford expressed. For
herself, she was like a person in a dream, when the will always sleeps.
Clifford, ordinarily so destitute of this faculty, had found it in the
tension of the crisis.
“Why do you delay so?” cried he sharply. “Put on your cloak and hood,
or whatever it pleases you to wear! No matter what; you cannot look
beautiful nor brilliant, my poor Hepzibah! Take your purse, with money
in it, and come along!”
Hepzibah obeyed these instructions, as if nothing else were to be done
or thought of. She began to wonder, it is true, why she did not wake
up, and at what still more intolerable pitch of dizzy trouble her
spirit would struggle out of the maze, and make her conscious that
nothing of all this had actually happened. Of course it was not real;
no such black, easterly day as this had yet begun to be; Judge Pyncheon
had not talked with, her. Clifford had not laughed, pointed, beckoned
her away with him; but she had merely been afflicted—as lonely sleepers
often are—with a great deal of unreasonable misery, in a morning dream!
Explanation
Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from The House of the Seven Gables
Context of the Passage
This excerpt comes from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables (1851), a Gothic novel exploring themes of heredity, guilt, decay, and the psychological burdens of the past. The story centers on the Pyncheon family, cursed by the sins of their Puritan ancestor, Colonel Pyncheon, who wrongfully accused Matthew Maule of witchcraft to seize his land. The "house" itself is a symbol of the family’s moral and physical decay, haunted by generational suffering.
At this point in the novel, Hepzibah Pyncheon, an aging, impoverished spinster, lives in the house with her brother, Clifford, who has just been released from prison after a 30-year sentence for a murder he may not have committed (a crime possibly orchestrated by their cousin, Judge Jaffrey Pyncheon). The excerpt follows a tense confrontation between Hepzibah, Clifford, and the Judge, after which Clifford—usually passive and childlike—suddenly asserts himself, urging Hepzibah to flee the house with him.
Themes in the Passage
Psychological Paralysis vs. Sudden Agency
- Hepzibah is portrayed as weak-willed and passive, a victim of her family’s cursed legacy. She is "unaccustomed to action or responsibility," trapped in a dreamlike stupor where she cannot distinguish reality from nightmare.
- Clifford, though typically fragile and dependent, experiences a moment of uncharacteristic resolve—a "tension of the crisis" that temporarily grants him agency. This inversion suggests that extreme circumstances can force even the weakest individuals into action.
The Illusion of Reality vs. Nightmare
- Hepzibah’s disorientation ("she had merely been afflicted… with a great deal of unreasonable misery, in a morning dream") reflects the Gothic uncertainty between reality and hallucination. The house itself is a psychological prison, where the past bleeds into the present.
- The "death-smell" and "stifling atmosphere of dread" symbolize the inescapable weight of inheritance—the Pyncheons are suffocating under their ancestors’ sins.
The Burden of the Past
- Clifford’s outdated cloak (a "garment of long ago") symbolizes his entrapment in the past. His imprisonment has left him frozen in time, unable to adapt to the present.
- The easterly storm (a recurring motif in the novel) represents misfortune and divine judgment, reinforcing the idea that the Pyncheons are cursed by fate.
Power Dynamics and Submission
- Hepzibah’s instant obedience to Clifford ("she yielded without a question") highlights her lack of autonomy. Hawthorne critiques how social expectations of women (especially unmarried, aging women) render them powerless.
- Clifford’s sharp commands ("Why do you delay so?") contrast with his usual childlike demeanor, showing how desperation can distort personality.
Literary Devices & Stylistic Analysis
Gothic Imagery & Atmosphere
- "Dim, thick, stifling atmosphere of dread" → Creates a claustrophobic, nightmarish tone.
- "Death-smell" → Suggests moral decay and the house as a tomb.
- "Chaotic, blind, or drunken moments" → Evokes disorientation, a hallmark of Gothic fiction.
Psychological Realism
- Hawthorne delves into Hepzibah’s fractured consciousness, blending dream logic with reality. Her hope that this is "merely a morning dream" reflects denial as a coping mechanism.
- Clifford’s sudden assertiveness is unnatural, emphasizing how trauma can warp behavior.
Symbolism
- The Cloak → Represents Clifford’s past imprisonment and his failure to move forward.
- The Easterly Storm → Symbolizes divine wrath and the Pyncheons’ inescapable doom.
- The House → A living entity, suffocating its inhabitants with guilt and history.
Irony & Dark Humor
- Clifford’s cruel remark—"you cannot look beautiful nor brilliant, my poor Hepzibah!"—is painfully honest, underscoring her social invisibility as an aging, poor woman.
- The absurdity of their flight (two fragile, ill-prepared people escaping) is tragically comic, reinforcing their helplessness.
Stream of Consciousness
- Hepzibah’s internal monologue ("she began to wonder… why she did not wake up") mimics real-time confusion, immersing the reader in her psychological unraveling.
Significance of the Passage
Clifford’s Temporary Strength as a Turning Point
- This moment is pivotal—Clifford, usually a broken man, takes control, suggesting that even the most oppressed can rebel when pushed to the brink.
- However, his fragility (and the unreality of the scene) foreshadows that this escape may be doomed.
The Collapse of Hepzibah’s Reality
- Her inability to distinguish dream from reality reflects the novel’s central question: Is the Pyncheon curse real, or is it a psychological prison?
- Hawthorne suggests that guilt and fear can distort perception, making the characters their own jailers.
Critique of Determinism vs. Free Will
- The passage explores whether the Pyncheons are victims of fate (the house’s curse) or architects of their own ruin.
- Hepzibah’s passivity and Clifford’s sudden, irrational purpose suggest that human agency is fragile, easily overwhelmed by external forces.
Gothic Feminism
- Hepzibah’s powerlessness critiques 19th-century gender roles. As a woman with no social standing, she is easily manipulated by both Clifford and the Judge.
- Her economic dependence (Clifford tells her to "take your purse") highlights how women’s survival often hinged on male relatives.
Conclusion: Why This Passage Matters
This excerpt is a microcosm of the novel’s central tensions:
- The past vs. the present (Clifford’s cloak, the house’s curse).
- Illusion vs. reality (Hepzibah’s dreamlike state).
- Weakness vs. sudden, desperate strength (Clifford’s uncharacteristic leadership).
- The inescapability of guilt (the "death-smell" of the house).
Hawthorne uses psychological depth, Gothic imagery, and dark irony to show how inherited sin and social oppression can warp the human mind. The passage leaves the reader uneasy, questioning whether the characters’ actions are rational or delusional—a hallmark of Hawthorne’s exploration of moral ambiguity.
Ultimately, this moment foreshadows the novel’s tragic resolution, where escape from the past proves impossible, and the house’s curse consumes its last heirs.