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The House of the Seven Gables

by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mary Oliver (Introduction)

3.36 of 5 stars 3.36 · rating details · 14,510 ratings · 902 reviews

First published in 1851, The House of the Seven Gables is one of Hawthorne's defining works, a vivid depiction of American life and values replete with brilliantly etched characters. The tale of a cursed house with a "mysterious and terrible past" and the generations linked to it, Hawthorne's chronicle of the Maule and Pyncheon families over two centuries reveals, in Mary...more

Paperback, 336 pages

Published January 9th 2001 by Modern Library (first published 1851)

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May 08, 2012 Henry Avila rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Pyncheon family had a long and useful reign.The founder Col.Pyncheon, was a stout puritan and soldier.Who helped wipe out the evil threat of the witches, in the Salem trials of 1692.For his reward, he happened to take over the property of old Matthew Maule ( a good place for the Colonel's new mansion), for his noble efforts .The Wizard Maule ,met his just end, at Gallows Hill. The House of the Seven Gables was one of the best edifices in colonial Massachusetts. But more than 150 years later...more

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Feb 22, 2011 Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A clueless group here in goodreads.com made this this its book of the month read under the "Horror" genre when there is no horror in it. The author called it, instead, a "Romance" but there is no romance in it, either, except a brief declaration of love for each other of two protagonists towards the end with all its unmistakable phoniness ("How can you love a simple girl like me?" Duh, all men profess to love simple girls!).

This is actually a sex book written under the atmosphere of sexual repre...more

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Jan 14, 2008 Jason Pettus rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(My full review of this book is much larger than GoodReads' word-count limitations. Find the entire essay at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com].)

The CCLaP 100: In which I read 100 supposed "classics" for the first time, then write reports on whether or not I think they deserve the label

Book #2: House of the Seven Gables, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The story in a nutshell:
Like any good horror story, the spooky House of the Seven Gables actually tells two stories at onc...more (My full review of this book is much larger than GoodReads' word-count limitations. Find the entire essay at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com].)

The CCLaP 100: In which I read 100 supposed "classics" for the first time, then write reports on whether or not I think they deserve the label

Book #2: House of the Seven Gables, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The story in a nutshell:
Like any good horror story, the spooky House of the Seven Gables actually tells two stories at once: it is simultaneously the historic tale of the cursed Pyncheon family, concurrent owners of a reputedly haunted house in Salem, Massachusetts for over two centuries now, as well as the specific tale of the most recent generation of this family, dealing with the same curse that has haunted all the Pyncheons since Puritan times. It seems that the original owner of the seven-gabled house, old Colonel Pyncheon, ended up getting a man named Maule killed as a witch in order to weasel out of the construction costs of the house itself, even deliberately knowing that the man was innocent; Maule, it seems, as a result issued an infamous curse on the Pyncheon family as he died, one that has haunted any member in those two centuries who's had anything to do with the house in question. In the meanwhile, though, another persistent rumor has been that the Pyncheon family actually owns a whole lot more land in Salem than the simple Seven Gables estate, and that if they could simply find the 200-year-old evidence then they could get the state government to retroactively reimburse them and make them rich, rich, stinkin' filthy rich; and in that respect, House of the Seven Gables is as much a morality tale as it is a horror or haunted-house one, in that any Pyncheon over the decades who takes an interest in finding this old evidence just ends up obsessed with the subject to their ultimate ruin, as surely as the supposed magical curse that also exists, along the tormented ghosts of all those cursed Pyncheons who still supposedly reside within the house's walls.

Like I said, as a result the book ends up telling two stories at once, with the majority of it dedicated to the current Pyncheon family at the time of the story itself (mid-1800s): bitter spinster Hepzibah, for example, who has ended up having to open a cent-store on the first floor (basically the Victorian equivalent of a convenience store) in order to make ends meet; her elderly brother Clifford, a broken sad-sack who has just gotten out of jail after spending 30 years there for a crime he didn't commit; Judge Jaffrey, a haughty and hard old man who is thinking of running for governor, and who has become convinced that Clifford knows where the hidden Pyncheon real-estate evidence is; and the sweet-as-sunshine Young Phoebe, a rural cousin who is visiting that summer in order to help out this terminally dour family, and who is like a freakin' little rainbow compared to the rest of the family's endless thunderstorms. Combine with a lot of melodrama, a series of events that are semi-supernatural in nature, and a liberal sprinkling of backstory about the doomed Pyncheons of yore, and you have yourself one very Victorian novel indeed.

The argument for it being a classic:...(less)

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Aug 17, 2009 Kim rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cultured, meh-at-you

OHMYFREAKIN'GAWD.

Why the hell did I pick this up again? Life's too short, you say? You have 200+ other books on your 'to read' shelf and this was sucking your will to read? Give it up! You're right... all of it... and my answer is... my excuse being... because I'm freakin' stubborn. Its Hawthorne . I mean how much more New Englandy can you get? I couldn't just--- give up... I'd be betraying my countryman...

Whatever.

For a few years, in my younger days, I worked down the street from the House o...more

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Jul 30, 2007 Shawn rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: few

This book dares you to read it. I hadn't thought about putting it up here, because, in fact, I have never finished it. I have the distinction of having had the book assigned to me no less than three times in various college courses, and never once read the whole thing.

The problem is I do not care about a single character in this novel. A rich family is cursed because they screwed over a poor family? Great. Where's the conflict? I hate rich people, and didn't want to see them redeemed.

The Daguer...more

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Dec 04, 2008 Alan Fay rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: nobody

This is the worst book ever written in the English language that is somehow celebrated against far superior novels from the same era, somehow earning him enough respect to have his crusty face emblazoned onto the Library of Congress.

If the story were to take place in modern day Atlanta, it would be about some inbred, old money steel magnolia losing her shit up in Buckhead, and dragging her family down with her while she squanders what little remains of their inheritance on palm readers and telem...more This is the worst book ever written in the English language that is somehow celebrated against far superior novels from the same era, somehow earning him enough respect to have his crusty face emblazoned onto the Library of Congress.

If the story were to take place in modern day Atlanta, it would be about some inbred, old money steel magnolia losing her shit up in Buckhead, and dragging her family down with her while she squanders what little remains of their inheritance on palm readers and telemarketers. Throw in the distant trailer-trash relative from Woodstock, a bum selling Cutco knives, the Gulf War Syndrome addled veteran brother, and Wayne Mason. Besides waiting for people to stop talking and describing things, the rest of the plot centers around walking around the house and hearing the characters complain about their lack of money and prestige.

You take that story, rewind it about 175 years, add some baroque embellishment to every sentence you write, using the exclamation mark liberally, and you've got THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES!

I always imagine Nathaniel Hawthorne as being the trust-fund baby of his time. Having bored himself on sherry and biscuits ("How exhausting"), decides to forgo taking care of his plants, and "retire to his study" to pen a novel for us. He's like the writer of today who leaves his meditation room, hops in his Mercedes-Benz to the nearest Applebee's and scrawls another "Zen and business" book on a cocktail napkin, turning 50 pages of bullshit into 198 in 14 point San Serif font that every pink bubble-faced middle manager is going to have on their office shelf by the end of the week. Nathaniel Hawthorne was that guy, in his day.

Why does he get praise for this crap? I think saying that "there are dark psychological themes throughout" is a nice way of saying "having read this, I couldn't decide if I should use the hose to pipe carbon monoxide into my house or to hang myself - oh bother, there's another page." The only interpretation I have is that his contemporaries just wanted to be nice to him and gentleman-like, encouraging him every now and then but for the most part trying to ignore him in the hopes he'd find a different hobby to harp about. Fast-forward and everyone's like "Damn, he must be good!" and for lack of imagination or god-forbid, actually reading the damn book to see if it's any good, it's going to appear on every high school student's summer reading list until the end of times.(less)

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Mar 19, 2013 Rusty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic

This is the story of the Pyncheon family that is slowly becoming extinct. We meet Hepzibah Pyncheon, poor and old, who lives alone in the family mansion, a house build with seven gables. Without resources, she opens a penny shop to earn money to live. Other notable characters include her brother Clifford imprisoned because of the acts of Jaffrey Pyncheon, a wealthy judge who lives in his own country manor and is determined to find an ancient deed to other Pyncheon property.

When the penny shop s...more This is the story of the Pyncheon family that is slowly becoming extinct. We meet Hepzibah Pyncheon, poor and old, who lives alone in the family mansion, a house build with seven gables. Without resources, she opens a penny shop to earn money to live. Other notable characters include her brother Clifford imprisoned because of the acts of Jaffrey Pyncheon, a wealthy judge who lives in his own country manor and is determined to find an ancient deed to other Pyncheon property.

When the penny shop seems to be failing young Phoebe Pyncheon appears. She is a lovely, vivacious, and enthusiastic young woman who lives in the country and has come to visit her cousins. She enjoys running the penny store, brightens the gloomy atmosphere in the house, and when Clifford returns from his prison, entertains him with all her charms. In addition, she meets Holgrave, a young boarder in the house, and romance blooms.

The tale is often referred to as a romance but I felt that it was more a story about the Pyncheon family and the curse it endured. Hawthorne sets the stage by giving us an overview of how the original Pyncheon obtained the property and built the house. His actions provoked a curse from the original land owner that is to last throughout the family's existence.

Yes, there are ghosts and strange happenings in the house. And, we are exposed to the lives of former residents of the house. However, life improves for the current residents when another tragedy strikes the Pyncheon family, particularly the judge. Hepzibah and Clifford temporarily evacuate their ancestral home. All comes to a climax as the author weaves the tale into an ending that is unexpected but makes the reader smile. Many like to look at the symbolism used to represent aspects of the human condition. I'm not certain the author chose to approach the novel in this manner. Nevertheless, I liked this read even though I found Hawthorne's writing sometimes difficult for me to continue but I'm glad I did. Good one.(less)

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Sep 05, 2012 matt rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: america-f-k-yeah, fictions-of-the-big-it

Just started it, picked it up at random after hauling literally hundreds of my books across town in a furious move.

I like it; it's less lugubrious than I thought it would be at first perusal and I'm getting warmer to the omniscient, wise, skeptical perspective Hawthorne is using here. I think it's pretty much his standard choice of narrative perspective. Come to think of it I haven't read anything he's written from a first person perspective at all...interesting...

Anyway I am interested in this...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Joan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I couldn't decide whether to give this a 3 or a 4 star rating but decided on a 4 because this novel made me work hard to read it and I improved my vocabulary by reading it. Howthorne really is a better writer than some of the contemporary writers who are getting 5 star ratings. The book is listed as a romance, but truly, there was really no romance in it at all. Two of the characters confess their love in the end.... but romantic it was not.

The story is about the worn out 7 gabled Pyncheon mansi...more

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Oct 17, 2012 April rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Read it for Book Club and I love that we are doing the classics! Such a different style of writing from today. I have mixed feelings about the amount of detail, at times it is delicious- I LOVE the detail of the little boy who stops by regularly to purchase gingerbread. My favorite quotation involving the reversal of Jonah and the Whale when the boy devours a whale-shaped cookie. Delightful! On the other hand, the ending chapters describing every thing that the Judge was missing by "resting" in...more

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Apr 12, 2012 William rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 19-ce, fiction, us

This narrative, published in 1850, starts with a preface by Hawthone explaining his concept of the Romance, which is to be distinguished from the Novel because it provides the writer with greater latitude to takes risks. The Novel is somehow more straightforward, more conservative, less flexible as a vehicle for experimentation.

The first chapter gives us the backstory in a kind of lump sum. Most contemporary novelists probably write such a backstory but often cut it, since, lacking action and ch...more This narrative, published in 1850, starts with a preface by Hawthone explaining his concept of the Romance, which is to be distinguished from the Novel because it provides the writer with greater latitude to takes risks. The Novel is somehow more straightforward, more conservative, less flexible as a vehicle for experimentation.

The first chapter gives us the backstory in a kind of lump sum. Most contemporary novelists probably write such a backstory but often cut it, since, lacking action and character, it can seem too schematic and impersonal. Hawthorne's backstory is perhaps no exception. But, it has the virtue of being 160 years old, and that, combined with its antiquated vocabulary, deftly wielded, combines to hook the reader. The backstory spills all the beans of this fantastic narrative, including the heinous crime, the resulting curse, the astonishing event at the housewarming--and the collective guilt that is said to course through each suceeding generation of the Pyncheon family.

When we reach the action of the present day, it's a particularly low moment in the Pyncheon family's fortunes. Hepzibah, the permanently scowling seemingly sole survivor of the line, is forced to open what was at the time known as a "cent shop" in a corner of the grand though decaying house. There's nerve-wracking suspense here. Hawthorne seems to wring it from every word. His mode of storytelling is simultaneously achingly and beautifully slow. There's one scene, for example, in which he lingers over a simple breakfast. Each item seems lovingly revealed; there's a sumptuousness to the language that seems to belie the meal's simplicity. The gaze throughout smacks of the voyeuristic; as if the dead, who are no longer permitted such pleasures, were narrating.

The narrative is marked by a number of oppositions in terms of imagery: gloom and sunshine, animal and spiritual, age and youth, ugliness and beauty, exhaustion and vitality. Clifford embodies many of these. He is put forth as the spoiled and decadent figure and symbol of the family's fortunes. He is obviously homosexual, something Hawthorne, working in the era he did, could only vaguely touch upon. Yet in the end he is mindful enough to turns this cliché on its head. For Clifford, it turns out, is not the "symbol" of the decaying family, but an individual, just one, from whose shoulders at the end of the book all unfair connotation seems justly lifted.

Clifford has an artist's sensibility without the artistry. He is a dilettante. The Daguerrotypist, who lives beneath one of the House's gables, is referred to as "the artist." The contrast is intentional. The fellow with the so-called artistic sensibilities is not an artist at all, but one who makes his living from a simple mechanical process. Clifford, by contrast, lives for beauty. It infuses his every happy moment. Without it he is corpse-like, almost inert.(less)

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Jul 26, 2011 Q rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Having read Scarlet Letter in Jr High -I was surprised how much I enjoyed House of the Seven Gables. He called it a romance vs a novel; for a romance has a moral. Here the moral was the actions of past generations effect the current generation.

This book is a great historical novel - of changing times in New England. The Puritanical ways are changing to new thought. the impact of the Salem Witch trials - having cast a web of strife for many - is now coming back to center. Greed and arrogance of...more

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Nov 24, 2008 Clif Hostetler rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novel

The House of the Seven Gables begins with a preface by the author that identifies the work as a romance, not a novel. That may be the author's preference, but I think most romance fans will be disappointed if they read this book. The book is a classic by a famous American author, so it deserves to be read. Once you finish the book and look over the complete plot, you can see how romantic love has healed a 200-year family curse. Therefore, in that regard it is a romance. However, the experience o...more The House of the Seven Gables begins with a preface by the author that identifies the work as a romance, not a novel. That may be the author's preference, but I think most romance fans will be disappointed if they read this book. The book is a classic by a famous American author, so it deserves to be read. Once you finish the book and look over the complete plot, you can see how romantic love has healed a 200-year family curse. Therefore, in that regard it is a romance. However, the experience of reading the book is more like wondering through a dreary haunted labyrinth. I did not find it enjoyable to read.

I suppose the book can be considered a parable with a message aimed at the stiff necked 19th Century New England descendants of the Puritans. They are a people who behave in proper ways, but have an ancestral history of executing their neighbors on trumped up charges of witchcraft. They are haunted by a secret guilt of association because of the actions of their ancestors. The story told by this book is about the Pyncheon family that parallels this New England story at large.

The book's narrative comes as close as possible to being a ghost story while still remaining within the world of realism. I can imagine that a reader who believes in ghosts can come away from this story with the impression that it is indeed about ghosts. Likewise, another reader who doesn't believe in ghosts will say the story is about people who suspect that there may be ghosts in their lives who are intent on mischief. Either way Nathaniel Hawthorne skillfully weaves a family story filled with angst.

One feature of the book that surprised me was the role of Mesmerism (today we call it hypnotism). As described in this book it appears to be occult magic. Likewise, a lot of the melancholia described in this book would today be called clinical depression. Thank goodness for the character of Phoebe in the story. Her young sunny disposition is a breath of fresh air into an otherwise dreary environment. She’s a reminder of the eternal possibility of renewal brought by young people to human society.

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Nov 22, 2008 Liz M rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ccbc-read, 0_own, 1001

I wish I had been able to read this more slowly & with time to savor and reflect. Brilliantly written story, full of digressions and nature-inspired metaphors, touching on ideas of hereditary personality traits, whether a single evil act outweighs many good ones, and public opinion versus self-knowledge. I especially loved the character descriptions:

Colonel Pyncheon: "Endowed with common sense, as massive and hard as blocks of granite, fastened together by stern rigidity of purpose, as with...more

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Feb 17, 2008 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Andrea by: the house itself

Shelves: classics

I did it, DTA!!! And I can almost feel the handsome Mr. Hawthorne smiling down on me as I type. :-)
After touring the house in July 2007, I felt the least I could do was to read the book that made the house famous. While I'm not generally a fan of 19th century American literature (give me Dickens any day!), I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would. By the 3rd chapter, Hawthorne's language had drawn me into the story, but it was his occasional flights of slyly sarcastic humor tha...more

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Feb 22, 2011 Kyrie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

Well, Hawthorne himself tried to call it a romance, which apparently meant something different back then. The blurb on the back cover implies it's about a haunted house. Neither is accurate in my opinion and while I'm dubbing it "horror", it isn't even that. It's a long plodding story about the Pyncheon family who stole a piece of the Maule family's land and built this monstrosity of a house on it. The original owner dies a bloody death, and everyone seems to feel the Maule family put a curse on...more

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Jan 05, 2008 Skylar Burris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

This mysterious novel about a cursed family and its mansion is one of Hawthorne's few works with a happy ending. Perhaps Hawthorne, when he wrote it, had come to some degree of peace with the curse that was rumored to have been placed upon his own family. The novel is interesting, and it contains some profound insights. It boasts one of Hawthorne's "reformer" characters, Holgrave. Hawthorne did not seem to have much faith in reform and reformers, but Holgrave is a more sympathetic character than...more

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Mar 27, 2008 Joe rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-that-suck

I'm so glad you're dead, Nathaniel Hawthorne.

So this is a classic horror novel in which nothing at all happens for a few hundred pages except the description of some house, an old hag selling oatmeal, and some guy who may or may not have hypnotized the other chick who's boarding there. There might be something scary but I was too busy falling asleep to notice. If Hawthorne were alive, he'd be a zombie, which I'd totally be okay with because then he could get shot in the head by zombie experts. T...more

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Nov 29, 2008 Christie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I finished this story, I found it hard to care about it. It is my least favorite of Hawthorne's books. The characters were mostly unlikable, the plodding plot fattened up with many pages of useless description that added nothing. It was a relief to be done with it, an achievement that can only be attributed to my stubborn refusal to stop reading once engaged, no matter how annoying the material. :o) It does feel irreverent to be trashing Nathaniel Hawthorne. But time would be better spent r...more

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Oct 19, 2007 Vanessa Baish rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

How can you not love a ghost story? Even better, a ghost story that unravels to reveal how superstition can obscure truth (in this case, science.) I have read Hawthorne before and should not have been suprised, but I was, regardless, surprised by Hawthorne's sharp criticism of superstition. Hawthorne's language (quaint) belies the modernity of his resolution.

He also has an obvious fondness for quirky characters, which is sweet.

You do have to push youy way past a certain point in reading this, bu...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Gale rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Dwelling of Hereditary Misfortune”

Hawthorne’s 2nd novel stands as sturdily as a milestone in 19th century American literature, as when the title edifice was first constructed --a finely crafted blend of Gothic horror, mystery, and a good old-fashioned ghost story. Deliberately alternating the pacing (long paragraphs with virtually no action with sudden shocking revelations or developments), the author weaves a literary tapestry of chiaroscuro and sound effects, all of which heighten the reade...more “Dwelling of Hereditary Misfortune”

Hawthorne’s 2nd novel stands as sturdily as a milestone in 19th century American literature, as when the title edifice was first constructed --a finely crafted blend of Gothic horror, mystery, and a good old-fashioned ghost story. Deliberately alternating the pacing (long paragraphs with virtually no action with sudden shocking revelations or developments), the author weaves a literary tapestry of chiaroscuro and sound effects, all of which heighten the readers’ senses and subtly stimulate the imagination. How much can we decipher on our own by reading between the lines, and how far will we surpass the author’s intentions with our overzealous conclusions as we are inevitably drawn in and down a spiral of suspense?

New England superstition and small town suspicious prove a
fertile backdrop for the turbulent events which will be played out in the moldering mansion built by puritanical Colonel Pyncheon many generations previously. Built on a foundation of blood and witch craft. Constructed on land which was fraudulently and criminally obtained despite the refusal of the real owner, “wizard” Maule, the impressive edifice was stained the very day of its warming festivities, which precipitated rumors of a family curse. Three irascible Pyncheon men were destined to meet inexplicable deaths under the famed gables. But was it clearly murder? Therein lies the mystery, but if it was not foul play, then does one assume it was Nature herself which chose to make retribution and serve Justice in her own mysterious way?

Spinster Hepzibah—near sighted, beturbaned and known for her scowl—shamefully opens a cent shop on the premises, as she is faced by penury to sully the family’s once genteel reputation. The arrival of two newcomers—relatives—changes her dismal routine, though the old maid
Is easily agitated and naturally depressed by the grim past. When Phoebe, young, bloomy country cousin comes for an extended visit, she brings the first true sunshine into the gloomy interior; she offers invaluable help both in the kitchen and in the shop. Then Clifford, a childlike old man, frail in both body and mind, seeks shelter under his sister’s maternal wing. This pitiful creature--a shadow of his former self--has been broken by years of confinement and false conviction of a heinous family crime. After thirty years of institutionalized care, this man is more ghost than substance.

The Pyncheon siblings tremble before the stern and commanding presence of their cousin, Judge Jaffrey Pyncehon, whose public face and
public reputation belie a selfish, sinister interior. How can the three simple residents of Seven Gables withstand his terrible will and as he seek to dominate their lives? An extraneous factor among these four--who views events in the mansion as if enjoying some lugubrious theatre--proves a young daguerrottypist with pretensions as a social reformer named Holgrave. Which side of family strife will win the support of this odd boarder who rents one of the gables?

Hawthorne’s townsfolk comment on events in the great house and provide tidbits of information, much as Hardy’ country locals contrast with the passions and tragedies of the main characters. What will be required to end the family curse of drinking its own blood? Will the Colonel’s impoverished descendents be restored to their former grandeur and gentility? Will Holgrave sell out to sudden comfort? A true Classic, admired on both sides of the Atlantic, House of Seven Gables is steeped in New England tradition, and still captivates modern readers.

(October 31, 2012. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)

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Mar 21, 2013 Lisa N rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Loosely based on events from Hawthorne’s ancestors’ lives. Hawthorne shows that “the wrong-doing of one generation lives into the successive ones.”

There is a brief introduction--Colonel Pyncheon accused Matthew Maule of witchcraft to gain possession of his land. From the scaffold, Maule puts a curse on the Pyncheon family. Pyncheon tears down Maule’s log-built hut and erects a spacious seven-gabled family mansion.

The story begins nearly 200 years later, with the few remaining descendants of Col...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Sadaf rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really have mixed feelings about this book. The plot is strictly all right, and the pace is slightly slow. The book builds up well initially, and the narration is good, if exaggerated at certain places.
The story is of a house that is build on controversial land, because it was forcibly taken away from a magician living on the premises, and they say the curse never left the land.
At present, the only descendants of the original owner of the house(who died under mysterious circumstances on the...more

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Jan 27, 2013 James rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"I want you always to be within five minutes saunter of my chair. You are the only philosopher I ever knew of whose wisdom has not a drop of bitter essence at the bottom!" Clifford to Uncle Venner, who looks happily on the prospect of his retirement to a workhouse.

I came to this book as a fan of Nathaniel Hawthorne and was terribly disappointed. On the other hand, it is a very interesting book if read as an example of the extreme sentimentalism of a particular strain of American literature and t...more "I want you always to be within five minutes saunter of my chair. You are the only philosopher I ever knew of whose wisdom has not a drop of bitter essence at the bottom!" Clifford to Uncle Venner, who looks happily on the prospect of his retirement to a workhouse.

I came to this book as a fan of Nathaniel Hawthorne and was terribly disappointed. On the other hand, it is a very interesting book if read as an example of the extreme sentimentalism of a particular strain of American literature and thought. To be fair, Hawthorne announces the sentimentality of the book from the get go, telling us in his introduction he has written a "romance" not to be confused with a "tragedy" which would partake more of the gritty reality of life. We are told more or less to enjoy the book but not take it too seriously. Fair enough, and by the end, if this warning was not sufficient, you will be sure to understand that you have been served a piece of fluff in the guise of a nebulous allegory that never pans out. But the book is actually worse than that. It is not merely "light" but also false and at times vicious, essentially inverting the sense of justice it relies upon to create sympathy for its protagonists--Clifford and Hepzibah, and at bottom, the "Wizard Maule."

The structure is very conventionally sentimental. That is, whilst relying on a terrible events to create a sense of drama and importance--the burning of the Wizard Maule during the Salem witch trials, Clifford's nearly life long imprisonment for a crime he did not commit--it simultaneously buries those events in the past, outside the frame of depicted action. In this way the reader is allowed to enjoy the thrill of pain and injustice without being confronted or in any way implicated with its actuality. In fact, whilst the narrative invokes one person being burned alive and another buried alive in a prison, it actually depicts little more than a group of kindly people taking fastidious care of each other in a back garden. The reader's relationship to the book is nicely encapsulated--could it be intentional? One would think Hawthorne could not be mocking his readers so mercilessly--in the figure of the "urchin" little Ned Higgins--Hepzibah's (Hawthorne's?) "earliest and staunchest customer"--who punctuates the narrative by showing up at Hepzibah's shop to devour sugar covered cookies in the shapes of wild beasts.

This sentimentality, in my view, is enough to make the book almost worthless but Hawthorne takes it one step further and in this way makes the book actually quite interesting in its sheer perversity. The dramatic and ethical root story lies in the alluded to but never depicted Salem Witch trials in which a small farmer Maule is burned alive after being prosecuted by Governor Pyncheon in order to gain control of his small bit of land that is the site of a valuable well. Here we have the classic big guy beats up little guy narrative so common to American literature. What's more the cast is pure Melodrama. The big guy is a greed driven capitalist who uses his social influence to persecute the little guy, a small farmer quite content to cultivate his own small plot of land from which he makes a living with his own two hands. It's a bit of a strange depiction of the Salem witch trials, the horror of which one can hardly attribute to pecuniary motives. Certainly one imagines that cool headed influential as well as more humble opportunists would have taken advantage of the mass hysteria accompanying such trials to confiscate the goods of their victims, but the evil that drove the process goes deeper into human nature than greed. In fact, a serious treatment of witch trials would have to explore the darkest heart of communal violence, designation and dehumanization of the other, scapegoating etc... But for Hawthorne,in this book, all that just serves as the backdrop for a land grab...

What makes the book fascinatingly perverse is that after adopting that background to serve his melodrama, Hawthorne actually enacts the deeper horror implied by the witch trials by scapegoating his own villain and in the process creates a happy ending for his protagonists that inverts the values for which they originally gained our sympathy.

Only two deaths are directly recounted in the narrative--those of Governor Pyncheon and later Judge Pyncheon, whom we are told more or less directly represent different incarnations of the same personality. What's more the deaths themselves are presented as virtually cause-less events, attributed to a curse, which Hawthorne reminds us not believe in, and then later to a vague hereditary disease that Hawthorne never names, merely pointing us in the direction of experts who could certainly attest to its plausibility. Finally, Governor Pyncheon's death, of which Judge Pyncheon's demise is presented as an echo, comes as the climax to the ceremonial opening of The House of Seven Gables. Wholly mysterious, the death is explicable only in terms of the ceremony. The crowds attending the ceremony "discover" the body slumped and bloody behind a desk. What's more in both cases, the death is fructifying, allowing the new young heirs to enjoy life renewed and unlocked by the demise of their previous owners. Anyone passingly familiar with scapegoating, The Golden Bough or the work of Rene Gerard, will recognize the pattern instantly. The subtext of these passages is clearly the immemorial act of human sacrifice. In itself this depiction is tremendously interesting and could lend true importance to the book if Hawthorne rather than enacting the sacrifice were uncovering and debunking the ceremony.

Unfortunately in this book, Hawthorne's narrator acts as a participant rather than an enlightener. He does this through his depiction of Judge Pyncheon whom he presents not as a human being but as a dehumanized emblem of greed and hypocrisy, evil personified. Much verbiage is given to describing this nefarious character, all of it to the purpose of provoking the reader to withdraw any sympathy or identification he or she might be inclined to offer Judge Pyncheon. In fact, the prose in the book attains its highest energy in almost unseemly triumphant dance around his corpse whose solitary stillness inside the House of Seven Gables is contrasted for page after page with the life that continues outside it.

In the end, Hawthorne's inability to suppress his gloating over the death of his villain destroys even whatever ethical integrity his melodrama might have employed to assert values superior to those presumably embodied in the person of his greedy capitalist. The various utopian and anti-materialistic notions of the simple, good life where one finds happiness in companionship and small gardens put forth or enacted by the "good" characters in the book (in opposition to the grandiose acts of acquisition pursued by the baddies) are pretty much washed completely away by the blood of the nefarious Judge Pyncheon. We are treated rather to a very Hollywood ending. Holgrave gives up his notions of becoming a social or political reformer to marry Phoebe and live off her inheritance. Clifford gets to enjoy the fineries and luxuries he, so Hawthorne tells us, was born to enjoy. Poor old Uncle Venner is spared his oft wished for retirement to a workhouse. One fear no drop of bitterness in this philosophy. Judge Pyncheon has taken it all upon himself and disposed of it with no-one the wiser.(less)

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Jan 21, 2013 Matthew Duke rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of The Seven Gables satisfied my running apatite for a horror/ thriller novel. I found the book to not live up to the acclaim its procured, known as a great american classic. The great colonel Pyncheon has built an extensive mansion on the grave of a wizard who has been wronged continuously, Matthew Maule. When is grave is positioned on the location that the mansion is to be built, a curse is placed upon the house. Long after the Pyncheon family has split apart a...more Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of The Seven Gables satisfied my running apatite for a horror/ thriller novel. I found the book to not live up to the acclaim its procured, known as a great american classic. The great colonel Pyncheon has built an extensive mansion on the grave of a wizard who has been wronged continuously, Matthew Maule. When is grave is positioned on the location that the mansion is to be built, a curse is placed upon the house. Long after the Pyncheon family has split apart and scattered around the world. Those who reside there are old and driven insane from the presence in the house: a witch like hag, Hepzibah and almost psychotic brother Clifford. A cousin named Phoebe is a light in the grim tale and works to unseat another greedy, corrupt cousin named Jaffery Pyncheon.

However, one area I do believe it excels is the character development and the interest the reader will have with them. Each one feels like it's own lush engaging planet. Very few are passionate but that seems to play positively into their development (with the exception of Phoebe.)The view of Hepzibah the grouchy, aging crone who estranges company from herself is an enrapturing one. If Phoebe were to serve a great purpose it would be a foil to the malevolent nature of the other characters. A young, witty, endearing and skillful woman, Phoebe seems to be kin of none of Pyncheon family members, so much so the characters realize and comment on it, "Can you tell me whether there ever was a Pyncheon she took after?" to which the old uncle replies "I don't believe there ever was." Finally the last and possibly most interesting character could be Judge Jaffery Pyncheon. Corruption and greed seethe from this man's very pours. He is Iron tempered and rash in his decisions. He makes for a compelling antagonist.

Recommendations would be to thriller lovers of clenching suspense. Also, the beat down and dark aspect may interest some more than others. Fans of Hawthorne's novels realize his nature because that is what he was shaped by. Hawthorne was born into Salem and was the son of the infamous John Hathorne, the judge in the Salem witch trials. Embarrassed and shaped by this, he added a "w" to culminate the name: "Hawthorne." I stand by my decision of this book being mildly satisfying at it's peak. If your neither a fan of Thriller of Hawthorne do not hesitate to let this one slide through normal standards. (less)

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Nov 18, 2012 Estott rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I recently reread this one. I Thought it was good, but you have to make some allowances- this is a mid 19th C. novel, and a very wordy one at that. Hawthorne is one of those novelists who will tell you about an action in three densely written pages, instead of showing you the action in one paragraph. He also uses the 3rd person omniscient voice which allows him to comment and elaborate- much of the work reads like a series of essays upon what ever subject takes his fancy. In addition he doesn't...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Gkc3of9 rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, fiction

Just a quick comment about Hawthorne's claim this is a "romance". Many posts here misunderstand the author's definition of the word romance, thinking he means the kind of book found in the romance section of the modern bookstore that includes Nora Roberts and the like. This is NOT the kind of romance the author is claiming for this novel. More closely akin to what Hawthorne means for the modern reader would be "fantasy", that is, not a story of realism, but arising from a creative liberty which...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Anga rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Now, before I go into my review, I need warn you that I read this book in fifth grade by my own free will. Think about that. I had nowhere near the maturity to understand the nuances and themes of the book. Not when Black Beauty was more my speed at the time.

I HATED this book. After a intriguing introduction that made me decide to buy the book it quickly sunk into descriptions that I could have cared less for. The one chapter devoted to the Judge's "missed appointments" made me want to throw th...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Benjamin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 18, 2012 Scott Reighard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The House of Seven Gables was one of Hawthorne's works that I did not get to until later in college. I was able to appreciate the story due to the supernatural and warped characters running around, but it wasn't until later when I read the book again that I gained a true appreciation for this story.

I find Hawthorne to be fascinating, the tortured soul that he was. I cannot imagine his standard of perfection when it came to his craft, but here is what I find in most Hawthorne works, every page g...more

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About Nathaniel Hawthorne

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.

Shortly after graduating from Bowdoin College, Hathorne changed his name to Hawthorne. Hawthorne anonymously published his first work, a novel titled Fanshawe, in 1828. In 1837, he published Twice-Told T...more

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