The Role Of Hepzibah In The House Of Seven Gables

In the book The House of Seven Gables written by Nathaniel Hawthorne both Clifford and Hepzibah experienced significant life changes, however I think Hepzibah’s changes were more profound. There are many ways in which Hepzibah’s life changed in the progression of the book. Although she wasn’t locked up in prison as her brother Clifford was, she was imprisoned by the house and its history. At the end of the book she finally breaks free and starts a new life in the country away from the isolation of the House of Seven Gables.

The reader is introduced to Hepzibah as being a sixty year old spinster who appears as gray and gloomy as the House of Seven Gables. Hepzibah has lived alone in the House of the Seven Gables for thirty years, isolated

Hepzibah has had a limited amount of interaction in the world outside the house so this is a big step for her. The following excerpt from the book explains Hepzibah’s reaction to Clifford telling her they must leave: ” 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. ” (Hawthorne, chapter 16) Although she is overcome with fear and anxiety Hepzibah does leave the house with Clifford as she loves him and trusts his decision.

In conclusion, there were many ways in which Hepzibah experienced significant life changes. These changed came about by Hepzibah gaining the strength and confidence from those loved, mainly from Clifford and Phoebe. Hepzibah was able to stand up to Judge Pyncheon and finally break free of the house that imprisoned her for many