Freed from the Father’s Sins
A Summary of Chapters 15-21 of The House of Seven Gables
Judge Pyncheon Attacks
After Phoebe leaves, it is as if the weather responds to the feelings of Hepzibah and Clifford. The weather is dreary and Clifford takes to his bed. Customers stop coming to the shop since Phoebe is not there to help them. Then Judge Pyncheon arrives demanding to see Clifford. He claims that Clifford knows of the missing deed and threatens to put Clifford into an insane asylum if he doesn’t produce the deed. He sends Hepzibah to fetch Clifford and sits in the same chair that the Colonel sat in when he died.
Hepzibah procrastinates on her errand and when she finally arrives at Clifford’s room, she finds that he is not there. She goes to the judge to ask for his assistance in finding Clifford but he doesn’t respond. Then Clifford appears and says that they are now free and Hepzibah realizes that the Judge is dead. The two flee the scene.
The Freedom of Two Recluses
The two take a train ride. For a brief moment, Clifford is free of the past and lectures the other passengers regarding the benefits of progress and the future. As they exit the train, Clifford’s energy leaves and Hepzibah is left to decide what they ought to do.
While the two are on their flight, Judge Pyncheon sits. The narrator gives us the intended itinerary for the judge’s day and exclaims at how the time passes while the judge doesn’t move. That night, at midnight, a phantom procession of Pyncheons parade pass the judge. Among them, the judge’s own son who was supposedly over seas. The narrator suggests that Hepzibah and Clifford will receive the judge’s accumulated wealth.
The next day there is a frenzy of activity as people ring the shop bell and find that there is no response. A vendor stops to provide Hepzibah supplies and there is still no answer. Neighbors and passers by speculate as to the situation. Phoebe returns and finds that she cannot enter the house. Ned tries to warn Phoebe that something bad has happened but will not approach closely enough for her to speak to him.
Phoebe Returns and Holgrave Professes His Love
Phoebe begins trying the doors of the house. Suddenly a door opens and Phoebe steps inside. Holgrave tells her of the Judge’s death and is concerned that while the death was clearly a fit of apoplexy that because of their disappearance Hepzibah and Clifford will be implicated. He then professes his love to Phoebe and she professes her love in return. Just then, the two elderly siblings return.
The Past Explained and the Future Entered
After it is ruled that the Judge’s death is natural, people begin to reveal the less savory details about his life. Among the rumors that emerge is that he was rummaging through his Uncle’s drawers the night he died. When his Uncle found him, he had a fit of apoplexy and fell striking his head. When Jaffrey realized his Uncle was dead, he destroyed the most recent will, which gave Clifford the estate in favor of an older one that bequeathed it to him. He then leaves. He did not intend for Clifford to be accused of murder but doesn’t defend him either, writing of the incident as a youthful folly.
Shortly after the Judge’s death, news arrives that his son had died of cholera and so Hepzibah, Clifford, and Phoebe receive the Pyncheon fortune. As the four (including Holgrave) prepare to leave, they discuss the situation and look at the Colonel’s portrait. Holgrave taps a hidden spring and the portrait falls off the wall revealing a hidden recess with the now useless deed. Then Holgrave reveals that he is actually the descendent of Matthew Maule.
The four leave to live at the Judge’s estate after inviting Uncle Venner to come with them. Uncle Venner agrees and says that after he settles his business he will follow. Hepzibah sees Ned Higgins watching them go and tosses him a sack of money. The last thing that is heard is the sound of Alice Pyncheon’s harpsichord as she ascends to heaven.
More About The House of Seven Gables
Book Review of The House of Seven Gables
Summary of the Prelude and First Chapters
Phoebe's Affect on Clifford - Chapters 5-11
Holgrave and Phoebe's Relationship - Chapters 12-14
