I found these middle chapters to be a mixture of questions and details.
That Judge Pyncheon is up to no good is becoming more and more obvious. His Jekyll & Hyde persona is re-enforced. Is the implication that he is Colonel Pyncheon reincarnated? He seems to be like him so much not only in looks but in character, and both are Machiavellian in character. The judge seems too centered on Clifford, that I cannot help but wonder why. It's not cousinly concern, and I'm worried about Clifford. Even Phoebe can sense something and backs away from him, much like you'd back away from a rattlesnake.
Phoebe's positive influence on Hepzibah and on Clifford, particularly, becomes more noticeable. Clifford's descent into childhood is sad, and the Sunday afternoon get-togethers seem to be a bright spot for all who attend. His reactions to the organ grinder's monkey, attending church, and to the parade are conflicting. He sees the ugliness of the monkey - what it represents as the ugliness of men's souls. His attempts to attend church and join the parade seem symbolic of his re-joining the human race. But he stops himself from entering church, deeming himself less than human, less than good, and less than worthy. He's stopped from joining the parade due to the fact that he wanted to jump out the window to do so. Yet, the implication is that his joining the parade would have been good for him.
A change in Phoebe is also occurring - she's maturing and is not longer the same naive young girl. She is seeing the world around her and pondering it. She is leaving girlhood behind her and is approaching life differently. The sadness of her companions and the house are affecting her some, and she no longer sees the world through "rose-colored" glasses. She is, necessarily, growing up.
We also learn about Holgrave, although a lot is still unknown. He's younger than I had thought (about 22) and has a very varied background. He's had little formal schooling and yet has been a teacher, a salesman, an official, a writer, and a daguerreotypist. He's also practiced dentistry and is familiar with mesmerism. He also has an unexplained and unnatural interest in Clifford. Even Phoebe wonders about it. As she says to Holgrave in Chapter 14, "And let me tell you frankly, Mr. Holgrave, I am sometimes puzzled to know whether you wish them well or ill." Honestly, I feel as Phoebe does. But Holgrave is also suspicious of the Judge and his attitude toward Clifford, as he tells Phoebe.
The details of the story of Alice Pyncheon are very unnerving. I was glad to see that Matthew Maule felt the guilt and responsibility of what he had done to Alice and being the means which lead to her death. The fact that Holgrave and Maule have the same power is a little unsettling. Perhaps it is, as the narrator implies, integrity and esteem of individuality that keep Holgrave from leading Phoebe down the same path that Matthew led Alice. Or perhaps it is knowing that he couldn't live with the guilt that Matthew seems to have experienced that keeps him from binding Phoebe to him. It does make me wonder what happened to Matthew after Alice's death. We can now ascribe two Pyncheon deaths to the Maule family over land.
In Chapter 13, we also learn why earlier Hepzibah told Clifford that she couldn't take down the Colonel's portrait. Family legend states that if the portrait is removed, the house would immediately collapse.
I also like how Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players" from As You Like it comes into the story. In Chapter 14, Phoebe accuses Holgrave of having this sentiment. "You talk as if this old house were a theater; and you seem to look at Hepzibah's and Clifford's misfortunes, and those of generations before them,as a tragedy, ... to be played exclusively for your amusement...The play costs the performers too much and the audience is too coldhearted." He then proceeds with his suspicions of the Judge and continues...."I cannot help fancying that Destiny is arranging its fifth act for a catastrophe."
Liz ♥ ♥
Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. ~ Francis Bacon
There's probably a Twilight Zone episode somewhere that's a take on this.
