The Dark Side of Nathaniel Hawthorne in The House of Seven Gables Essay

The Dark Side of Nathaniel Hawthorne in The House of Seven Gables In The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorneexhibits the fate of a family due to a curse by analyzingthe most disagreeable secrets of a mans soul (Great Lives1077). Hawthorne shows the decay of an aristocratic familydue to the sins of the past. He uses parable within hischaracters personalities and emotions to expose the truthof the human heart (biography). Hawthornes chosen location for this novel deliberatesgreatly on his life and specifically his childhood. Salemis the home of The House of the Seven Gables. Ironicallythis is the same town in which he was born in and lived inthrough adulthood. He was raise in this town, therefore hewas very aware of the dark side of its past. He was a partof this past through his ancestors. One of which was a hear in the infamous Salem witch trials. At this trialHawthornes uncle is cursed by a so-called witch with thewords, God will lend oneself you blood to dri nk (Magill 2736). This curse is much similar to Matthew Maules curse on thePyncheon family (Magill 2734). The solitude of hischaracters reflects his childhood as well. Growing up, his 2mother unbroken herself away from people which led him to becomea very solitary man for much of his life. As a young childHawthorne was lamed. During these years he became welllearned with the writings of Edmund Spenser, John Bunyan,and William Shakespear(CSLF 1570). From these men he hasgained technique and style. Having lived in Salem most of his life, Hawthorne isextremely influenced by Puritanism. His writings greatly reflect this. Hawthorne deals much with the sins of a manbeing pasted down for generations. This is very much aPuritan belief. Puritans are a very superstitious shell ofperson. Thus, this explains Hawthornes belief that acurse, such as Maules curse, can destroy a well-to-dofamily (Walker 1577). Hawthornes characters dealt withguilt forced on by their ancestor, much of which goe s backas far as the Puritans. He commonly plays guilt againstinnocence within one character, Hepzibah Pyncheon. Shefeels strongly that she must maintain the lifestyle andtradition of her ancestor Colonel Pyncheon. He shows hermany personalitie... ....Nathaniel Hawthorne. Encarta Encyclopedia. (1997)Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Critical Temper. Ed. MartinTucker. Vol. 4. A Library of Literary Criticism. Frederick Ungar Publishing, 1979, 509-514.Nathaniel Hawthorne. founding Literature Criticism. Ed.James P. Draper. Vol. 3. Detroit Gale Research Inc.,1992, 1592-1605.Nathaniel Hawthorne. Novels and Novelists A Guide to the World of Fiction. Ed. Martin Seymour-Smith. London Shuckburgh Reynolds Ltd., 1980, 154-155.Wagenknecht, Edward. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Cavalcade of the American Novel. New York Henry Holt and Company,1952, 90, 9, 20, 25, 38-57.Walker, Ronald G. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Critical Survey of Long Fiction. Vol. 4. Englewood Cliffs Salem Press, 1983, 1314-1328. Van Do ren, Carl. Nathaniel Hawthorne. The American Novel. Ed. Revised. Vol. 1789-1939. New York The MacmillianCompany, 1966, 58-83 135-137, 210, 213, 215.American Transcendentalism.PAL Nathaniel Hawthorne.