The final chapter is Chapter 21: The Departure Hawthorne makes as if the death of Judge Pyncheon creates only a mild sensation around town, but it does prompt rumors about the man’s ugly past. The death of old Jaffrey Pyncheon thirty or forty years before was dismissed by doctors as an accident, but circumstances made it seem suspicious, and the suspicion fell on Clifford. However, it turns out that, in his youth, the Judge was a wild and hot-tempered man, and it is implied that one night, as he rummaged through his uncle’s papers, the younger Jaffrey Pyncheon was surprised by the older Jaffrey Pyncheon, who died instantly from shock. The actual cause of his death Hawthorne tells us, was apoplexy, (a stroke) the same bloody brain hemorrhage that killed Colonel Pyncheon. Rather than being dismayed by the sight, young Jaffrey continued rifling through his uncle’s drawers and destroyed a will that left the property to Clifford. Aware that his uncle’s death might arouse suspicion, young Jaffrey -Pyncheon arranged the evidence to point toward Clifford, and though he may not have intended for his cousin to be accused of murder, young Jaffrey kept quiet when Clifford was put on trial. Despite the cruelty of this behavior, the Judge managed to convince himself he was blameless and tucked the whole incident away as a -youthful indiscretion. The Judge would be saddened could he know the circumstances that followed his death. Unbeknownst to him, his son has died of cholera in Europe, and his inheritance now goes to Clifford, who decides to move to the Judge’s lavish estate with Hepzibah, Phoebe, and, Hawthorne sarcastically notes, that sworn enemy of wealth, Holgrave. Phoebe teases Holgrave when he remarks with regret that the new house is built of impermanent wood rather than permanent stone, and he acknowledges with a sad sort of smile that he is rapidly becoming a conservative. He finds his new views “especially unpardonable in this dwelling of so much hereditary misfortune,” standing beneath the stern gaze of the portrait of Colonel Pyncheon, who “rendered himself so long the Evil Destiny of his race.” Clifford remarks that the portrait has always made him think of great wealth, and Holgrave responds by pushing a hidden spring that knocks the portrait to the floor, revealing an ancient parchment entitling the Pyncheons to the giant tract of land in Maine. Hepzibah remarks that Clifford must have found the parchment and, dreamer that he was, told stories about it. The more literal-minded Judge must have confused the parchment with the missing records of the older Jaffrey Pyncheon, and it was this that he was seeking when he came to confront Clifford. Hawthorne waits until the last chapter to tell us that Holgrave knows about the spring because he is a Maule, and that the parchment was hidden by the older Matthew Maule’s son when he built the house. The kindly old neighbor gentleman whom every called Uncle Venner, jokes that now the claim is not worth a single share in his farm, but Phoebe protests that Uncle Venner need no longer go to his farm, as there is an empty cottage on their property that would be perfect for him. Everyone agrees that Uncle Venner’s optimistic philosophy would be welcome, and he marvels at this, as he was once considered a simpleton. Uncle Venner proposes to join them in a few days, and as the rest of the company get into their carriage, Hepzibah gives money to little Ned Higgins, her first and most loyal customer. The two workmen comment that the world works in mysterious ways, and as Uncle Venner walks past the house of the seven gables, he thinks he hears the strains of Alice Pyncheon’s harpsichord. At end Hawthorne imagines that after Alice plays that last note her spirit acends into Heaven.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 16:14:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015