Themes

• Effects of ancestral sin and guilt

• Decay of aristocratic families

• Conflict between past and present

• Power of love to overcome the past

• Social class and status

• Isolation and its psychological effects

• Appearance versus reality

Setting

The House of the Seven Gables is set primarily in mid-19th century New England, specifically in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. The novel's time frame spans multiple generations, with flashbacks to events in the late 17th century when the house was first built. This allows Hawthorne to explore the long-reaching consequences of past actions on the present.

The titular house serves as the novel’s focal point and driving force. Described as a “rusty wooden house, with seven acutely peaked gables,” it stands on Pyncheon Street, a fictional byway in Salem. The house's gloomy atmosphere and Gothic architecture reflect the dark history of the Pyncheon family and the curse that haunts them, creating a palpable sense of decay and oppression.

Beyond the house itself, Hawthorne paints a vivid picture of 19th-century Salem, a town steeped in Puritan history and still grappling with the legacy of the infamous witch trials. The author's intimate knowledge of Salem's streets, buildings, and social dynamics adds authenticity to the setting, grounding the novel's supernatural elements in a tangible, recognizable world.

Characters

• Hepzibah Pyncheon: An elderly spinster who opens a cent-shop in the family's decaying mansion to support herself and her brother. Though impoverished, she clings to her family's faded aristocratic legacy. Hepzibah is initially stern and reclusive but gradually softens as the story progresses. Her nearsightedness causes her to squint, giving her a forbidding appearance that belies her gentle nature.

• Clifford Pyncheon: Hepzibah's elderly brother who returns home after serving 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He is sensitive and childlike after his long imprisonment, struggling to adjust to freedom and the changes in the world. Clifford finds joy in beauty and simple pleasures but is haunted by his past. His relationship with Phoebe helps restore some of his vitality and connection to life.

• Phoebe Pyncheon: A young, cheerful country cousin who comes to stay at the House of Seven Gables. Her youthful energy and optimism breathe new life into the gloomy mansion and its inhabitants. Phoebe successfully runs the cent-shop and forms a close bond with Clifford. She falls in love with the lodger Holgrave despite their different backgrounds.

• Holgrave: A young daguerreotypist who rents a room in the House of Seven Gables. He is revealed to be a descendant of Matthew Maule, continuing the link between the Maule and Pyncheon families. Holgrave has unconventional, reformist views but ultimately embraces a more traditional life through his love for Phoebe. His artistic eye allows him to see beyond surface appearances to hidden truths.

• Judge Jaffrey Pyncheon: A wealthy, powerful cousin of Hepzibah and Clifford who outwardly appears respectable but is cruel and greedy. He framed Clifford for murder years ago and continues to threaten him in pursuit of hidden family wealth. The Judge's sudden death in the house mirrors that of his ancestor, fulfilling the family curse.

• Matthew Maule: The original owner of the land where the House of Seven Gables was built. He was executed after Colonel Pyncheon falsely accused him of witchcraft to claim his land.

• Alice Pyncheon: A beautiful ancestor of the Pyncheon family whose ghost is said to haunt the house. She died after being mesmerized by a Maule descendant in an act of revenge against the Pyncheons.

• Uncle Venner: An elderly neighbor who is friendly to the Pyncheons. He offers simple wisdom and represents the community beyond the insular world of the house.

Quick facts

• The House of the Seven Gables was inspired by a real house in Salem, Massachusetts, that belonged to Nathaniel Hawthorne's cousin.

• Hawthorne wrote the novel while living in Lenox, Massachusetts, from 1850 to 1851.

• The House of the Seven Gables was published in 1851, just one year after Hawthorne's most famous work, The Scarlet Letter.

• The novel initially received mixed reviews from critics but sold more than 6,700 copies in its first year of publication.

• The House of the Seven Gables explores themes of guilt, retribution, and atonement, with suggestions of supernatural elements.

• The character of Judge Pyncheon was based in part on Hawthorne's cousin John Pynchon.

• Horror writer H.P. Lovecraft called the novel “New England's greatest contribution to weird literature."

• Hawthorne's friend and fellow author Herman Melville praised the novel for its deep exploration of “the tragicalness of human thought."

• The House of the Seven Gables has been adapted several times for the screen, including a 1940 film featuring Vincent Price as Clifford and a 2022 TV movie. 

• An opera based on the novel premiered at the Manhattan School of Music in 2000.

About the Author

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was one of the most influential American authors of the 19th century. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Hawthorne came from a family with deep Puritan roots in New England. This heritage would heavily influence his writing, which often explored themes of sin, guilt, and morality in early American society.

Hawthorne began his career writing short stories, many of which were published in his collections Twice-Told Tales and Mosses from an Old Manse. However, he achieved widespread fame with his 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter, a dark psychological exploration of sin and redemption in Puritan New England. This was followed by other notable works like The House of the Seven Gables and The Blithedale Romance.

As a writer, Hawthorne was known for his mastery of allegory and symbolism. His works often contained moral messages and deep psychological complexity, placing him firmly in the Romantic movement of American literature. Hawthorne's writing style was marked by a formal yet evocative prose that brought early American history to life while probing the depths of human nature.

Beyond his literary career, Hawthorne worked for a time as a customs surveyor and later served as United States consul in Liverpool, England. He was friends with other prominent literary figures like Herman Melville and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Hawthorne left behind a body of work that continues to be widely read and studied for its psychological insight and powerful storytelling.