The Female Circulationsin the House of the Seven Gables

Abstract：Although many critics devalue the novels conservative ending， it does offer some solution to class conflict in terms of sexual politics. Through analyzing the three women in the novel and their respective modes of exchange， the marriage ending as well as its plot， characters， setting and image patterns gains new coherence. The marriage ending represents a redistribution of wealth and power instead of a radical reversal which brings tragedy.

Key words：female circulation ending

1. Introduction

The fairy-tale ending of The House of the Seven Gables invites endless debates and criticism. The objections of the weak plot and inconsistent ending of the novel can be documented with the quotations from Henry Jamess literary criticism book Hawthorne that the book is a “magnificent fragment” with “a sort of expansive quality which never wholly fructifies” （163）， which has been echoed by many later critics.

Newton Arvin， criticizes that there is a “sort of woodenness” in Hawthornes narrative and he considers the conclusion as “far too little organic.” （192） Mark Van Doren， agrees with Arvin by describing the ending as “feeble” while praising the “pictorial quality” of the romance， but he thinks the pictures will never be poems （173）. These critics agree that The House of the Seven Garbles lacks a center so that it is better in its parts than as a whole.

The critics think the ending improper mainly for two reasons. The resolution is contrived because there are not sufficient preparations in the early chapters for the change and develop of the latter. On the other hand， by bestowing the Judges ill-gotten wealth on the surviving characters， Hawthorne obviously overlooked his own warnings about the evils of inheritance.

There are some critics attempting to defend for Hawthorne ending. Michael T. Gilmore thinks that the optimistic ending is not to cater to the readers taste but telling the truth. Susan Van Zanten Gallagher analyzes the novel in the domestic view， reaching the conclusion that womens ability that showed in Phoebe to nurture human relationships should be valued.

Everett remarked in his review of Tocquevilles Democracy in America that the “transmitted political equality demands a healthy circulation of property” without “violence， plunder， invasion of the right of property” and “all is gradual， salutary， and life-giving” （186）. Hawthornes fable of class conflict echoes with this peaceful economic circulation： with the marriage of Holgrave and Phoebe， the Pyncheons are not forced to give up their wealth， but to share it with the Maules. Like Everetts remark， Hawthornes ending calls for a gradual redistribution of the property and the healthy circulation of economy relies mainly on the healthy circulation of women. The French anthropologist Lévi-Strauss thinks that marriages are a special form of gift exchange， in which kinship between men is established （148）. Gayle Rubin further develops the alliance theory and puts forward the term “traffic in women”. Rubin argues that women serve as the main conduits through which social relations are formed， then a democracy depends upon the free and equal exchange of these goods （157-210）. To borrow Lévi-Strauss and Rubins ideas， “the exchanges of women” is used to analyze Hawthornes social alternatives and resolution.

2. Three Modes of Female Exchanges

In the House， through the three female characters Hepzibah， Alice and Phoebe， Hawthorne displays three different modes of exchanges. Hepzibah， the “perfect picture of prohibition” （127）， fails to enter into the marriage market as a woman. An emblem of the Pyncheon family pride， Hepzibah dwells “in strict seclusion； taking no part in the business of life” （31）. From beginning to the end， Hepzibah remains the private property of the Pyncheon family.

Hepzibahs virginity is a symbol of the seclusion and refusal of the Phyncheon family to the worldly transactions which they think will sully their reputation and privilege. The detailed descriptions of the darkness of The Phyncheon house in the early part of the novel are evident of the passiveness of Hepzibah. As Susan Van Zanten Gallagher argues， Hawthorns house works in “an ironic fashion” against the lovely and sweet house image “in the cult of domesticity” （Gallagher，3-6）.

The descriptions the house naturally give rise to the appearance of the hearth image. Instead of gathering around the warm hearth， the Phyncheons possess neither sunshine nor household fire before Phoebes arrival. When Phoebe leaves to visit the country， Hepzibah cannot keep a fire burning in the parlor， and Clifford first wraps himself in his old cloak and then withdraws to his bed.

Hawthorne uses the house as a personified way that like Hepzibahs virginal body the house refuses the admittance of others and cuts off all social circles. By refusing to exchange their women and wealth to the market， the old Phyncheons undermine the healthy circulation of property and distribution of political power.

Hepzibah symbolizes the familys incestuous mode in which she refuses to enter into marriage market. Dwelling alone for so many years in the house， Hepzihabs passion is not for a lover but for her brother， and the only attachment “her heart feeds upon” is her brother （59）. However， her love for Clifford is not out of sexual attraction but symbolizes an unwillingness to enter marriage market. All her love and passion for her brother signifies the withdrawal from the worldly transaction.

Even when Hepzibah opened her cent-shop， no real exchange process has been reached. Stepping out of the old house， Hepzibah still fails to circulate in the marketplace. Her hesitation returns inside the shop and she nervously sets about rearranging the goods in the window. Still she hangs back from “the public eye” （39）， as if， writes Hawthorne， she expected to come before the community “like a disembodied divinity” （40）.

When Hepzibah stands in the shop， it would seem that her incestuous seclusion has ended. However， even though the passageway between the house and the shop may now be open， Hepzibah continues to retreat from any real exchange. Once in the shop， she operates in terms of a noblesse oblige instead of the reciprocity of a market economy. Three times， first with Holgrave， then with Ned Higgins， and finally with an impoverished woman who wants to buy flour， she refuses to take money in exchange for her goods. Later， she draws on a pair of silk gloves before she counts the “sordid accumulation of copper-coin” so as not to contaminate herself （81）. Hepzibahs lack of both the skill and the temperament to prosper as a saleswoman make her endure “all her painful traffic” （67）.

In contrast to Hepzibah and Clifford， Jaffrey Phyncheon represents a soaring productive capitalist order with massive accumulation of wealth. Clifford who represents the old order of aristocracy gradually retreats from this uncontrollable world， while Jaffrey forcefully enters into the house. In order to pursuit a society built on orderly exchange， the two orders should be emerged. In the text， the reconciliation is figured by sexual unions： rape and marriage. One is violent and sudden which leads to tragedy， the other is lawful and gradual that gives hope.

The death of one Phyncheon girl Alice is the tragic outcome of the unregulated exchange between the Phyncheon and the Maule. Alice is like a commodity between her father and Maule when they negotiate an accommodation of their interest. Maule， in order to revenge， grasps Alice by force because she is the best thing of Phyncheon. As Uncle Venner observes from Alices blooming posies， “something within the house was consummated” （286）. However， the way this consummation occurs is crucial. By robbing Phyncheons daughter， Maule has nothing different from the old greedy Phyncheon. The exchange of commodity is different from the exchange of gift， as Lewis Hyde remarks， the “cardinal difference between gift and commodity exchange” is that “a gift establishes a feeling-bond between two people” while the sale of a commodity does not.

It is through Phoebe who allows for a lawful union between the Phyncheon and the Maule which offers some solutions for the class conflict without violence. “As nice a little saleswoman as housewife，” Phoebe is the perfect Victorian domestic woman. Phoebe herself is from a mixed-class marriage which carries both aristocratic and plebian characteristics. She is a “virgin” but does not go into the incestuous mode like Hepzibah. By rejecting the reclusive mode of Hepzibah， Phoebe is active in both interacting with others and entering marriage market. Moreover， Holgraves giving up of Mathew Maules mode of rape also frees Phoebe out of the violent tragedy.

Compared with Hepzibah， Phoebe is a perfect domestic heroine. She is active， strong， loving and efficient especially when it comes to housework. Phoebes ability to elicit hidden capabilities extends her domestic virtues from interior decorating to social interactions， as she brings out what is best in Hepzibah， Clifford， and Holgrave. Hepzibah and Clifford become more active and less self-centered， and Holgrave unloads the hatred and revenge by declining to memerizing Phoebe and assisting Clifford. The ending then does not represent a return to the Phyncheon values. The newly formed and transformed family leaves the uncomfortable city house for a comfortable country home. In this sexual framework， Hawthornes gradualist politics make perfect sense： alliance allows for a compromise between the stasis of incest and the violation of free exchange. Therefore， there is a movement from a closed space to a partially opened circle. It is not fully open because the story ends with an alliance.

In addition， Holgraves final statement about houses needs careful attention， for it is one of the most troubling aspects of the conclusion. Many critics argue that Holgrave finally becomes another Phyncheon and begins to worship the past blindly. Previously， he claimed that the house should be rebuilt every twenty years， but now he is lamenting the house is wood and not stone. However， Holgrave might like to conserve the exterior of the house， though his idea is different from the dogmas of old Phyncheon that he is willing to see the interior changed by generations according to tastes. In this sense， Holgraves new attitude is more conservative than early and embraces the domestic values.

3. Conclusion

Hawthornes ending calls for a gradual redistribution of the property and the healthy circulation of economy relies mainly on the healthy circulation of women. With the marriage of Holgrave and Phoebe， the Pyncheons are not forced to give up their wealth， but to share it with the Maules. The marriage represents a redistribution of wealth and power instead of a radical reversal which brings tragedy like what happens among their ancestors.

【Work Cited】

[1] Everett， Edward. “De Tocquevilles Democracy in America.” North American Review 43 （July 1836）， p. 186.

[2] James， Henry. Hawthorne. New York： Macmillan， 1879.

[3] Levi Strauss， Claude. The Elementary Structures of Kinship. Boston： Beacon Press， 1969.

[4] Rubin， Gayle. “The Traffic in Women： Notes on the ‘Political Economy of Sex .” Toward an Anthropology of Women， （New York： Monthly Review Press， 1975）， pp. 157-210.

[5] T. Gilmore， Michael. “The Artist and the Marketplace in the House of the Seven Gables.” ELH，Vol. 48， No. 1 （Spring， 1981）， pp. 172-189.

[6] Van Zanten， Susan “A Domestic Reading of The House of The Seven Gables.” Studies in the Novel，Vol. 21， No. 1 （spring 1989）， pp. 1-13.

【作者簡介】

张怡（1991—），女，福建南平人，厦门大学外文学院英语语言文学专业2014级硕士研究生，主要研究方向：英美文学。