How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
After such wrong as [Clifford] had suffered, there is no reparation. The pitiable mockery of it, which the world might have been ready enough to offer, coming so long after the agony had done its utmost work, would have been fit only to provoke bitterer laughter than poor Clifford was ever capable of. It is a truth (and it would be a very sad one but for the higher hopes which it suggests) that no great mistake, whether acted or endured, in our mortal sphere, is ever really set right. Time, the continual vicissitude of circumstances, and the invariable inopportunity of death, render it impossible. If, after long lapse of years, the right seems to be in our power, we find no niche to set it in. The better remedy is for the sufferer to pass on, and leave what he once thought his irreparable ruin far behind him. (21.9)
Society now recognizes that Clifford is innocent, but it's too little and too late. Clifford has already spent his best years in prison. There's no way to repair what's been done to him, although he does find himself in much better spirits and health after Judge Pyncheon's death. But what do you make of Hawthorne's conclusion that the best thing for Clifford to do is to "pass on" and leave his "irreparable ruin" behind him? How do you interpret the phrase "pass on"? Does it mean the only thing left for Clifford to do is to die? Or is it just a suggestion for him to move away? Can you imagine what you would do under similar circumstances?