House of the Seven Gables
"[The] sympathy or magnetism among human beings is more subtle and universalthan we think; it exists, indeed, among different classes of organized life, and vibratesfrom one to another" (Hawthorne 178). Loosely based on the events of Hawthorne's ownlife, The House of the Seven Gables attempts to show the suffering of descendants forcedto repent for the sins of their "father", while they are unknowingly renewing the curse bynurturing the ancestral greed that has passed through the generations (O' Connor 6) . Thus the various themes of the novel reflect the central idea of continued sin through thegreed and guilt of a declining family. Each generation struggles to escape the sins of the past, only to be thrustforcefully back to face the offenses of their forefathers. The House of the Seven Gablesis a tale of loneliness and greed caused by the sin of preceding generations. The openingof the novel is set in puritan times during the Salem witch hunts. The villainous ColonelPyncheon wrongly accused the innocent Matthew Maule of witchcraft so that the Mauleland would fall into the Pyncheon family's hands. Upon his death, Maule "addressed[Colonel Pyncheon] from the scaffold,
Jaffrey even subjected his own kindred to the harsh hell of prison and destitution just forthe inheritance of an elderly uncle. When she enters the house, she literally brightens it uplike a "ray of sunshine". Anoverbearing, terrifying, and guilty "father" is matched against innocent but emotionallywithered "children". Deprived of "sunlight", they need a catalyst ofwarmth and love to help them back into the daylight of humanity. The Explicator, Winter 1998, Vol. The Sins of the Fathers: Hawthorne's Psychological Themes. He greedily partakes of anything he finds attractive, andopenly shuns everything else. Holgrave uses his talent with the daguerreotype to expose the truth. Her joy and cheer shine through the houseand the hearts of its occupants, bringing to them both much need light. And unlikeHepzibah, Clifford does not seem to regret his inexperience with adult love. However, Jaffrey is not the main character to which these incest feelingsare projected. The remains of the family consist of a decrepitspinster named Hepzibah, now the caretaker of the house of the seven gables; her insanebrother Clifford, who was just recently released from prison; their devilish cousin JudgeJaffrey, a man fixated upon his own greed; and their distant cousin Phoebe, the sunnycountry girl that will be their redemption. This need leaves little room for the consideration of the othercharacters and their feelings.
Common topics in this essay:
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Acceptance Essays
