Progress and Providence in the House of the Seven Gables - Research Paper Example

? The house of seven Gables was published in the year 1851, in which Nathaniel Hawthorne aimed to paint a vivid picture of life and the impact of past on present. His aim was to show how life, a reality, becomes romance when past lingers in presents and haunts for the lifetime. It is a perfect blend of pragmatism with fantasy, which makes it more interesting for a reader to finish it till the end. The change in beliefs through the span of time; initially subjected as curse but later on identified as hereditary phenomena (Levy,p.148). Hawthorne claimed his piece of work as a romance and not as a novel but as the story flows into rhythm; one can observe the perfect blend of romance with its integration of novel in it. His efforts were to merge the romantic assumptions into a romantic reality. The popular belief set by American authors in their plays was, destiny lies in ones power, but Hawthorne showed the harsh realities in a fusion of characters tied through family ties. However, Hawthorne has written it in a gothic style to keep the thrill active for the readers. (Thomas, p.196) Pyncheon and Maule family shared a history together; thus Hawthorne interconnects and shows how wrong doings of a family continues to show its affects on the lives of decendants. (Hawthorne, p. 11). Life is not only about happiness, peace and love but it’s also about injustice, unfairness and crime. Thus the real trying situations bore by men and women make them real romantics. The effects of wealth and glory do not stay forever and they subside with the passage of time. Hawthorne has depicted it mainly through using house as a symbol, a sign for all to notice the obvious changes occur with the passage of time. The cruse related to the house makes it even more repellent along with the past it already holds. The death of Matthew Maule and his curse for Colonel Pyncheon lingered not only on the people but on the house itself. The decaying and fading charm of the famous house shows how beauty and success never stays in for a long time (Hawthorne, p.13). Hawthorne has narrated a story of witchcraft trials and its long lasting impacts; in 1692 at Massachusett; when the puritans hanged people involved in magic of any kind. The monetary differences which Colonel Pyncheon and Matthew Maule had, shows how wealth can outmaneuver any kind of legal rights. Curse acted as a symbol of remembrance for the descendants of Pyncheon family, the one thing they all had to live with till the end including the house itself. The downfall of Pyncheon family directly associated with the house shows the dull, gloomy and grim appearance of its residents also. As William said the house had a face the way Hawthorne has sketched it and made it alive .The way author has visualized the house and the people associated with it, reveals the artistic qualities of him.(Williams, p.223) One basic attraction for Colonel Pyncheon in the property of Matthew Maule was, the fresh spring of water which Hawthorne has shown as a living character itself, which has a sense of loyalty. The spring soon becomes polluted as soon as the Pyncheon builds his house. Maule’s Well has been symbolized as the existing memory of Maule’s presence in the house. Although it all becomes quite realistic in the end when the facts were presented by Hawthorne as logic for all the ill happenings in the house, for example the heart attack and the secret compartment for the legal papers of the state, but it initially it was meant to show the impacts of superstition. The way Matthew Maule’s death occurred due to a doubtful blame. The reminder Maule’s well gave to Clifford, is a dark one; though its beauty remained a fact for a while, but its association with man who was responsible for the curse on the family makes it terrifying after a while. (Hawthorne, p ) .Even though in the end, Maule’s well seems to portray the good will for Phoebe and Holgrave love. Where Holgrave is depicted as water of Maule’s well, as he was a direct descendant of his family and Phoebe depicted as flowers of Alice’s Posies a direct descendant of Pyncheon family. Their union showed as none of the curse matters when love blooms. Hawthorne has shown world as a live symbol of God’s presence through the happenings in the characters’ life. He has portrayed that, justice system of God exists, when one violates the rights of the other, he has to pay the penalty, but the pattern is undefined and time is boundless for it (Thomas, p.198). Hawthorne has shown flaw and injustice in the legislature authority. He has shown how Matthew Maule and young Clifford suffered for the crimes they never did. The dominance of wealth and power which influences the justice system of America, disguise people like Colonel Pyncheon and Judge Pyncheon of their crimes from the world (Thomas, p.200). The imagery used by Hawthorne has awed few of the critiques, when Judge Pyncheon is shown as a living replica of Colonel Pyncheon. Thus a portrait and its living image both seemed to possess same traits and fate (Williams, p.228). Garden displays a contended corner in the whole house, where past does not seem to dominate the relieved feelings of Clifford, Hepzibah, Phoebe and Holgrave. Garden was withholding the curse termed as rank weeds; which grew and grew with the time. The flaunting beauty of Alice posies flowers display the love which grow even in odd circumstances. Hawthorne has weaved the qualities of his characters with their appearance. He has painted Colonel Pyncheon as a strong willed person, who holds a strong position in society therefore, egoism is apparent on his face. Clifford is shown as a physically and emotionally weak person with a slothful appearance, who can do nothing or would choose to do nothing to change his circumstances, he mainly depends on time and circumstances to sort out problems for him. On the other hand, Hepizbah has an appearance of a person who lives on pride rather than food. Her aristocratic pride made her poor and she happens to live in the past rather than present. Hawthorne has pointed out here, whether for one self or for others, pride of cast and ethnicity is a cause of disaster (Griffith, p.188). Hawthorne has symbolized moral teaching examples outside of the house of seven gables, through Jaffrey the judge and Phoebe, who depict two different streams of qualities, born from the same blood. Judge Jaffrey is a symbolism of sin and a picture of decaying corpse, the language one would use to show how a sinful human being would look, if his sins are visible to all. Though the nasty past and ugly interior of his personality he likes light and sunshine around him in a more materialistic way. The appearance of Phoebe is associated with innocence, glee and joviality for all. Her personality is a bit unaffected by the past of the family and the curse but this is shown only because her innocence never lets her see the ugly and dark past of all. (Griffith, p.200). Holgrave is portrayed as a man who can take control of his inner desolation at any time. He has been shown as a strong young man who wants to take control of his love life but eventually falls for the girl of the enemy family (Gatta ,p.40). Holgrave is not a man who forgets his past neither he is capable of forgetting the sin which was committed by Colonel Pyncheon. He reminds and Phoebe to feel the full intensity of it. Last but not the least the house of seven gables, portrays the impact of fate, wealth, revenge and pride on people and how they behave when life takes an unexpected turn. Bibliography: Top of Form Gatta, John. "Progress and Providence in the House of the Seven Gables." American Literature. 50.1 (1978): 37-48. Print. Bottom of Form Top of Form Griffith, Clark. "Substance and Shadow: Language and Meaning in "the House of the Seven Gables"." Modern Philology. 51.3 (1954): 187-195. Print. Bottom of Form Top of Form Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The House of the Seven Gables. Inglaterra: Pearson Education, 2008. Print. Levy, Leo B. "Picturesque Style in the House of the Seven Gables." New England Quarterly. 39.2 (1966): 147-160. Print.Bottom of Form Thomas, Brook. "The House of the Seven Gables: Reading the Romance of America." Publications of the Modern Language Association of America. 97.2 (1982): 195-211. Print. Top of Form Williams, Susan S. ""the Aspiring Purpose of an Ambitious Demagogue": Portraiture and the House of the Seven Gables." Nineteenth-century Literature. 49.2 (1994). Print. Bottom of Form Read More