"Cliff Notes - House of Seven Gables" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

explained at last. A hidden spring releases the frame and
reveals a hiding place where the now useless deed to the
territory in Maine has been for two hundred years. Hepzibah,
Clifford, Phoebe, and Holgrave decide to leave the house of the
seven gables and live in the country estate they inherited from
Jaffrey.

It seems like a happy ending. The two families and the two
classes are reconciled. A Pyncheon and a Maule have learned to
love each other, and as the feuding families unite and abandon
the gabled house, the curse is lifted. But look again. Are
Phoebe and Holgrave really starting a new life? They inherit
the Pyncheon wealth and go to live in yet another Pyncheon
house. Are they destined to repeat the curse that has been the
family's downfall for generations?

Let's look at the tale a little more closely. Then you can
make your own judgments.

The important thing to consider when studying the characters
in The House of the Seven Gables is the way Hawthorne develops
them in relation to each other. Each character is defined
through contrasts with others as Hawthorne develops his themes.
Hepzibah and Jaffrey are compared, for example, in Hawthorne's
conception of appearance vs. reality. Clifford and Holgrave
are contrasted in the theme of isolation.

This technique stresses the psychological aspects of the
characters. Because no character is defined in absolute terms,
you are invited to make up your own mind about each one. This
kind of ambiguity puts Hawthorne close to modern fiction writers
in sensibility.

Here is a sketch of each of the main characters. Before you
make up your mind, though, review the many possibilities
Hawthorne offers in the text for the interpretation of each
character.

^^^^^^^^^^
THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES: CLIFFORD

Clifford is not much more than the ghost of a man.
Everything about him is shadowy. His steps are muffled. His
speech is a vague murmur. His eyes are clouded. His memory is
dim.

There is nothing to him but his love of beauty, a pure
sensibility. But his is a frail sensibility. Clifford is the
"porcelain vase, with already a crack in it" that was thrown
against the "granite column" that is Jaffrey. But what is this