The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay

The Dark Side of Judge Pyncheon in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Novel, The House of the Seven Gables

Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of America's most renowned authors, demonstrates his extraordinary talents in two of his most famed novels, The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. To compare these two books seems bizarre, as their plots are distinctly different. Though the books are quite seemingly different, the central themes and Hawthorne's style are closely related (Carey, p. 62). American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne is most famous for his books THE SCARLET LETTER and THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES, which are closely related in theme, the use of symbolism, characterization, and style.

about the fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that began in the mid-spring of

Holling lives in a house that his dad desighned which he calls the perfect house. The story also takes place at school whick he described it as full and with alot of halls. Holling also lives right in between the temple and church, but since he is presbyterian, he doesnt go to the temple or church.

The agonized expressions on the faces of her two sisters; the terror of their children, who were

member to her family. That tragedy struck in her life. She decided to step back from the Lady

She lets the cleanliness of her once perfectly kept house go to pot. She no longer cares about reality or morals and becomes lost to the raw desires of her primal nature.

her selfish and evil ways, causes the destruction of many people in the town of

American Literature reflects life, and the struggles that we face during our existence. The great authors of our time incorporate life’s problems into their literature directly and indirectly. The stories themselves bluntly tell us a story, however, an author also uses symbols to relay to us his message in a more subtle manner. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book The House of Seven Gable’s symbolism is eloquently used to enhance the story being told, by giving us a deeper insight into the author’s intentions in writing the story.

The House of The Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne chronicles the generations of a Puritan family and the curse which haunts their fates. Although the Pyncheons are a respected family in their small Massachusetts town, their past is riddled with secrets, mysterious deaths, and the curse of a dying man. Few in the family ever believed in the curse, giving the generational disasters of the family the name of coincidental misfortunes, the simple results of human action. And, while the author attempts to explain away these coincidences with logic and science, he also conveys mysterious hints as to the supernatural phenomena existing within the house of the seven gables. Because of the secrecy surrounding the story, we, as readers, are

Because inevitability of time and death seems to be the recurring theme, the most likely significance behind the number of apartments would be the seven stages of life. The first apartment is said to be placed most eastwardly and is blue in décor, which could signify the rising of the sun, the beginning of life, and the color of day. And the seventh, and most westerly apartment, is black with red accents and represents the end of life, the setting of the sun, and death. Poe did not intend a specific meaning for the number seven, just for the reader to be aware of the passing of time and the idea that the prince was trying to recreate a perfect world complete with "…all the appliances of pleasure…Without was the Red Death." (238). The Prince's recreation of the world is ironic because it is modeled after the one the Prince and his followers are trying to escape. The seven perfect rooms foreshadow the evitable downfall of perfection. The number seven appears six times in the text which may lead to some significance behind that number as well.

The slow degeneration of her mind is a consequence of her blatant disregard for both her own humanity and ethics. A glutton by the end of the play, she realizes her aggressive actions and manipulativeness towards her husband and those close is her own undoing.

Lauren contemplated buying a white peasant blouse that she had tried on. She looked at herself in the dressing room mirror. The blouse was light so she knew she wouldn't get hot in it. She also wore light blue, high waisted, short shorts that showed off her tanned legs that seemed to go on forever. At the end of these long legs were her new light blue Converses. She just couldn't just not wear them. Her dark blonde hair was left naturally wavy, with wisps flying around here and there.

This change is very much evident in ‘The House of the Seven Gables’. The dark, decaying, claustrophobic mansion - ‘conceived in the grotesqueness of a Gothic fantasy’, ‘the scene of events more full of human interest, perhaps, than those of a gray, feudal castle’ - at once establishes itself as the central symbol of the novel and imparts an unmistakably Gothic flavour to the narrative. The image of the compass is invoked in relation with the house in the very first sentence of the story - it is as if Hawthorne’s language, too, is carefully calibrated to reinforce the idea of the house as the centre, the essence of the romance, and the one constant presence in the lives of the principal characters. Confusing in its size, with ‘foot worn passageway(s)’, ‘crazy doors’ and a ‘creaking staircase’, the house serves as a pole star for the reader, helping her to navigate her way through the narrative, as early all events - present and past - of the narrative take place within the house, or with the house as the backdrop. Phoebe arrives at the house, and leaves, only to come back for good. Holgrave, the daguerreotypist, having led a nomadic life, finds refuge underneath the seven gables. Hepzibah and Clifford flee in haste, and return, weak and weary, drawn

"How could she tell the family that she didn't belong with them, that she was destined for something larger, that she believed she was supposed to be eccentric and powerful and all alone in the world?" (pg. 14-15)