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Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Theme Exploration 1: The House of the Seven Gables



     Ever have an ancient story or tradition passed down through family? People might even treat you differently because of your family name or legacy. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The House of the Seven Gables, the reader is introduced to one family with a cursed name, recounting every previous generation as far back as the first ancestor. This novel not only revolves around family and superstitious tradition but also the most practical and mature way of facing it. People are going to have their superstitious stories about a certain group or family, but the reality is that there's nothing really to do about it. Once someone's long gone, there's nothing that someone can do to change that. The main theme behind this novel is that people can slander a person's name, but there's nothing that person can do but accept and deal with it.
     To recap, the story centers around the Pyncheons, a family cursed in the beginning by a revenge-seeking wizard. Since then, only superstitious gossip has surrounded the House and all Pyncheon descendants. Each of the descendants currently living in Hawthorne's work represent the effects of what this superstition can do to a person. Hepzibah hasn't left the House in years and has fallen into a gloomy, emotional decay, just as the House itself has physically. She, like the House, has been wrecked by superstitious gossip and time's effect on it. Phoebe, the youngest descendant, is extremely upbeat and revitalizing, as she was isolated from the House and its gossip for all of her life prior to the novel's events. Clifford, the liberated convict, is much like Phoebe in terms of innocence. However, he grew up with the same superstitious influence, molding his rough exterior and damaged intelligence. Judge Pyncehon represents the positive outcome of gossip. He used his famous name to build a reputation instead of rot with the House. He escaped from the rumors, which the House itself appears to represent, as it only crumbles with time. The strongest evidence connecting the theme to these symbols would be the daguerreotypist's intellectual comment, "we must be dead ourselves before we can begin before we can begin to have proper influence which will then be . . . the world of another generation, which we have no shadow of a right to interfere" (Hawthorne 188). The daguerreotypist, an omniscient resident in the House, presents his realistic, unique viewpoint. Sometimes it takes an outside, non-biased source to discover the truth of the matter.
     Hawthorne's novel is a perfect example of how to maturely handle superstition and gossip. Pay no attention, for it doesn't matter and will only do harm.

Word Count: 400 (minus passage citation)


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