The House of Seven Gables

The House of Seven Gables

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

About this author:

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a 19th century American novelist and short story writer. He is seen as a key figure in the development of American literature for his tales of the nation's colonial history.

The book:

This book is a romantic novel from the Gothic writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne. The book has many themes. It revolves around a family that once was rich but has lost their wealth.They blame a curse that was put on them by the original owner of the property who was put to death for being a witch.

Symbols

* The House of Seven Gables:

The house of seven gables, is a symbol of the declining Pyncheon fortune and of future misfortune. the house symbolizes the Pyncheon family, once grand it now old , tired and dilapidated, this parallel the pyncheon family's decline in society.

* Phoebe tending to the roses is a symbol of how she brought life back into the house and good fortune.

*Maule's Well:

symbolizes the persistence of Matthew Maule's memory in the Pyncheon family. No matter how much they try to make the House of the Seven Gables their own, Matthew Maule is always bubbling up in the garden. After Judge Pyncheon dies in the same chair that Colonel Pyncheon passed away in so many years before, Maule's Well "[overflows] its stone border, and [makes] a pool of formidable breadth in that corner of the garden" (19.58). Perhaps Maule's Well is overflowing in celebration because Judge Pyncheon, like Colonel Pyncheon before him, has been given "blood to drink" (1.4).

*The Looking-Glass:

This is a passing detail in the first chapter, but we find it interesting nonetheless. The story goes that there used to be a mirror in the House of the Seven Gables that showed all the shapes of the Pyncheon family. But this mirror didn't just show the Pyncheons as they appeared in real life; it also showed "the departed Pyncheons [...] doing over again some deed of sin, or in the crisis of life's bitterest sorrow" (1.27). This device of the magic mirror that shows the truth is one Hawthorne uses in his short story "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment." As this mirror, Maule's Well, and the daguerreotype of Judge Pyncheon all show, Hawthorne loves supernatural ways of piercing through appearances to the hidden heart of a person. It's his favorite symbolic device. Maybe because this is what he thinks his fiction is doing?

*The old Pyncheon-elm: which stands over the house, is a symbol of resurrection from the darkness and decay. In Chapter nineteen, Alice's Posies, the Pyncheon elm is suddenly filled with the morning sun in fact, one branch of the elm has been transmuted to bright gold. The elm is particularly special at the end of the novel because it was left unharmed after the storm, the rest of the tree is in perfect verdure, a symbol of life not of death. The tree has come to symbolize nature and nature's resurrection, and in a sense this resurrection of nature provides a strong image of hope. Masterpieces of American Literature suggests As the house and its inhabitants have decayed, the elm tree has grown almost as though it were nourished by the decay of the Pyncheon family... The elm has grown with each season, but the inhabitants of the house have become stunted. (Magill 221-222).

*The Portrait of Colonel Pyncheon:

Of all the symbols in The House of the Seven Gables, none is more prominent than the portrait of the Colonel, who watches generation after generation of Pyncheons fall prey to the same ambitions that brought him down. Judge Pyncheon strongly resembles the portrait, our first indication that he too may be corrupt. Clifford recoils at the sight of the portrait, which may be read as evidence of his more honest, upstanding character.

By the end of the novel, we discover that the long-lost secret to the Pyncheon family fortune has been lying in the wall behind Colonel Pyncheon's portrait all along. It was left there in revenge by Thomas Maule, Matthew Maule's son. If Colonel Pyncheon hadn't insisted that no one could ever move his portrait, maybe the deed would have been found in time to be worth something. But his pride has shot him in the foot.

Dark Imagery:

Hawthorne uses dark imagery throughout his novel to express a sense of decay, but he also uses light imagery to inject hope. Nathaniel Hawthorne in The House of the Seven Gables describes Phoebe as an illuminating speck of light transforming the darkness of the house like the light of dawn (92). This description of Phoebe, using light imagery, expresses that she is an innocent woman with an inner spirit to help break the Pyncheon's curse. Clark Giffith records in Hawthorne's Imagery: The Proper Light and Shadow in the Major Romances that Phoebe is rather too obviously a little ray of sunshine... (37). When Phoebe enters the house from the sunny daylight, and is almost blinded by the density of shadows lurking in the passages of the old house, the contrast between Phoebe's lighted presence against the dark gloomy house can be seen.

Conclusion!

The house of seven gables is a romance mixed with mysterious, the Pyncheon family has lived in that large house for over two hundred years. with that length of time many secrets have been locked away.it's up with solving the mysterious death and break the curse.

Introduction

*The Chickens:

The Pyncheon chickens are a scraggly bunch, a clear symbol of the waning fortunes of the family that breeds them. Once the size of turkeys, the chickens have shrunk to regular size and now look weak. Their perseverance remains admirable, however. Like the garden and the fortunes of Clifford and Hepzibah, the chickens are also on the mend. Clifford’s declaration that the chickens shall be freed from their coop indicates the importance of freedom and release. The chicken seems like an odd bird for Hawthorne to have selected to represent the Pyncheon family, and his choice introduces a satirical touch to the novel. In using the chickens to symbolize the proud, aristocratic Pyncheons, Hawthorne has in effect denigrated them to a gaggle of constantly fighting, squawking birds.

PLAN:

Introduction:

Brief introduction of the writer

Brief introduction of the book

1) Symbolism:

*The house of seven gables

*Maule's Well

*The Looking-Glass

*The old Pyncheon-elm

*The Portrait of Colonel Pyncheon

*The Chickens

2) Dark imagery :

Conclusion