Talk:The House of the Seven Gables

Genre

Although the author described the book as "a romance", this rather indicates that it has fantastical elements than that it is a "romance novel" in the modern sense. I have ascribed it the genre "Gothic fiction" as it is claimed as a notable example in that article, but just "novel" may be preferable. Robina Fox (talk) 16:59, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

I guess "Gothic fiction" is OK. I think it's really sui generis. I've never read anything else remotely like Chapter XVIII, "Governor Pyncheon," the one where Hawthorne goes on for page after page gloating over Pyncheon's death. Dpbsmith (talk) 02:21, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

no relation...?

I just visited the House of Seven Gables and aparently Hawthorn's aunt owned the house. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.69.175.130 (talk) 20:44, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Plot Summary

The plot summmary is very murky. I would suggest replacing it with something like the following:

The House of Seven Gables is an ornate dwelling in Salem with a tainted origin. During the Salem Witch Trials, the Pyncheon family denounced an innocent man, Maule, so that they could buy his property cheaply after the state confiscated it. Maule predicted that God would punish the Pyncheons; since then the family has suffered numerous disasters which are superstitiously attributed to Maule's curse.

In the "present" day (the 1850's) the direct family has dwindled to Hepzibah, a kindly but unattractive old woman who has to open a shop to support herself; and her brother Clifford, who has been in prison for 30 years for an undisclosed crime of which he claims innocence, and is now a nervous wreck. The gloom is lit up by two newcomers: Phoebe, an unspoiled young rural cousin who comes to live with the Pyncheons, and Holgrave, a lodger interested in the "modern" science of photography. However, Clifford is threatened by another cousin, the Judge, who thinks Clifford knows valuable family secrets and threatens to have him committed to an insane asylum unless he reveals them. During the interview the Judge dies of a stroke (or, Hawthorne hints, is somehow killed by Clifford) and the elder Pyncheons flee on another novel invention, the railway.

Holgrave falls in love with Phoebe. Once she has accepted him, he reveals that he is a descendant of the Maules and believes he has the power to absolve the family of its supposed inherited guilt. With their marriage, the property is restored to the Maule's descendants and the ancient crime is settled. [ END OF SUMMARY]

Maybe this is too prosaic for a Gothic novel, but I think it is an improvement. CharlesTheBold (talk) 13:39, 13 September 2008 (UTC)