Predicate Nominative

predicate nominative: a second type of subject complement-a noun, group of nouns, or noun clause that renames the subject. It, like the predicate adjective follows a linking verb and is located in the predicate of the sentence. For example, in the sentence, "Abe Lincoln was a man of integrity," the predicate nominative is "man of integrity," as it renames Abe Lincoln

"Little Phoebe was one of those persons who possess, as their exclusive patrimony, the gift of practical arrangement. It is a kind of natural magic that enables these favored ones to bring out the hidden capabilities of things around them..."
                                                                   -The House of the Seven Gables
                                                                         by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Phoebe is here renamed a "favored [one]," in regards to her ability to bring out the best in her surroundings. This phrase reinforces the tone of the story, as a romantic one, and provides characterization and foreshadowing. Phoebe is characterized as a bright person, able to make her surroundings brighter. The phrase also hints at the possibility of an improved life for Hepzibah, Clifford, and, in a sense, the house itself. Phoebe, the "favored one" has the ability to drastically improve the lives of others, and is, therefore, cast early on as the heroine of the story.