The House Of Seven Gables Gender Roles

became his nurse. Her presence in the home altered Hepzibah and Clifford’s internal and external state (Confliction View of Women in Hawthorne).
Throughout The House of Seven Gables, Hawthorne suggest Phoebe to be the perfect women. She is beautiful, hard working, confident and “the example of feminine grace and availability combined where ladies did not exist”(Hawthorne). Basically, she was a diligent woman who did not worry if she was fitting the standard role other women were forced to fill. Now, though she did not care for forced society roles, she was a not a women who did the opposite of what she was told. Phoebe had a conservative heart and was quick to obey. She went to church every Sunday, and viewed it necessary to uphold the law. While she shared qualities with Alice and Hepzibah such as: having a kind heart, being a dedicated care taker, nurturing, she clearly was also quite different. Different from Alice, Phoebe did her best to make everyone feel appreciated and valued (Confliction View of Women in Hawthorne). Phoebe’s good character is out in the open, unlike …show more content…
Each women, in her own way, revokes the traditional gender role set in place. Hepzibah lives alone for many years,and opens up her own shop. Alice was confident in her own way. Phoebe had not the slightest care of how others viewed her. Each woman chose to leave the social and gender standard and create their own path. However, in each character she displays her good and bad. Hephzibah endured in her depression and eventually made it through with the help of Phoebe. On the other hand, both Alice and Phoebe were hypnotized and lost control of her body. Hawthorne’s purpose of writing each female role the way that he did, was so he could prove that though this time period on women was demanding, one can make her own set of rules to follow if she simply

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