Excerpts are from the story "Old Esther Dudley"
(from Twice Told Tales, Volume 2, 1851) (courtesy of Eric Eldred)
This excerpt provides details of
Esther's appearance and her relationship to the Province House.
In this passage, Hawthorne outlines
Esther's guardianship of the abandoned structure."
This excerpt contains the charge made to Esther Dudley by Sir William Howe, commanding her to guard and preserve the
Province House
This excerpt also describes her as "representative of a decayed past," similar to Hepzibah Pyncheon from The House of the
Seven Gables.
As does House of the Seven Gables, Province House contains a mirror that seems to link together past and present.
Though she tends to be distant from adults, Esther Dudley enjoys the company of children, as this excerpt reveals. She
also becomes a means for
them to learn about the past.
Living by herself in the old Province House, Esther takes on ghostly qualities.
Having waited for years for the return of the royal governor, Esther Dudley prepares to greet the man she mistakes for
him. In this excerpt
Hawthorne presents her feeling of triumph and fulfillment that turns to failure; Hawthorne also shows the republican John Hancock paying her
respect.
