Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • National Poetry Month
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

“The House of Seven Gables” by Nathaniel Hawthorne – Still a Fascinating Story

By Glynn Young 3 Comments

I first read The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) 50 years ago. I recently reread it and discovered it was nothing like what I remembered, or what I thought I remembered. Superficially, the book tells the story of a woman in Puritan Boston who gives birth out of wedlock, is shunned and condemned by her fellow citizens, and thumbs her nose at them by embroidering a scarlet letter “A” on her dress.

The novel is actually much more substantive — the story of a woman of rather independent mind caught between the opposing demands of her lover and those of her husband. It’s an exploration of guilt, love, steadfastness, loyalty, and redemption.

I wondered if the same thing would be true of Hawthorne’s The House of Seven Gables, which I first and last read about that same 50 years ago. What I remembered was a ghost story of sorts, not as wild as an Edgar Allan Poe story but in that vein. I reread it last month and discovered that memory misled me even more than with The Scarlet Letter. It’s what the Romantic and Victorian eras called a “gothic romance,” to be sure. And it has a mystery embedded in its core. But it is decidedly not a ghost story. It is more of a “the past is always with us” story, with the emphasis on ancestral guilt strangling families through the generations. If there’s a ghost, it’s that sense of guilt.

Hawthorne tells the story of the Pynchon family, whose history in Salem stretches back to before the witch trials. That history begins with an injustice. A Pynchon was a witch trial judge, and he condemned a man named Maule to death for witchcraft. It just so happened that Maule’s home sat on property that Pynchon wanted, and took. The Pynchons built their large home on the land, and the house was notable for its seven gables. Over the decades, it also became known for its gloominess and gradual physical decline.

It’s occupied by Hepzibah Pynchon, an elderly lady who’s approaching the end of her financial means and is forced to open a penny shop, or general store, in the house. She has a lodger, Holgrave, a young photographer who’s something of an artist.

Hepzibah’s cousin is also a Judge Pynchon, and she doesn’t trust him. (Hawthorne makes sure the reader doesn’t trust him either.) He says all the right things, he’s involved in all the right causes and town projects, and he may be looking beyond Salem for making a change in his officeholding status. But there’s something oily about the man. He’s always been interested in the old family Holy Grail of a missing real estate deed, one that would have given the family ownership of a large tract of land in what is now Maine.

Hawthorne in 1848

Daily life at the house changes first with the arrival of a young cousin from the country, Phoebe, who breathes fresh air into the house’s rooms and Hepzibah’s life. Then Clifford Pynchon, Hepzibah’s dearly loved and now elderly brother, returns after a long absence. Eventually the reader understands that Clifford has been in prison for most of his life, and the current Judge Pynchon seems to have something to do with it.

Hawthorne then begins to stir the pot, pushing the lives of everyone into upheaval.

The story is filled with extensive descriptions of the house and its atmosphere. The past hangs heavily over the house, and the gloom of the interior is a metaphor for the gloom that seems to be slowly suffocating the family. Will what really happened to Clifford be revealed? Will the missing real estate deed, if it truly exists, be found? Will Judge Pynchon be victorious in his quest for the deed and his desire to persecute Clifford?

The House of Seven Gables was published in 1851, not long after The Scarlet Letter. The book actually sold better than its bestselling predecessor, and Hawthorne told friends he actually liked it better. The setting was loosely based on a real home in Salem, the Turner-Ingersoll House, but in Hawthorne’s day it only had three gables (the original house had been modernized and the other four removed).

The Taylor-Ingersoll House in Salem

The Scarlet Letter has had numerous adaptions in film and television, while those for The House of Seven Gables have been more limited. It was first filmed as a silent short film in 1910 and remade as a short in 1967. The best-known version is the 1940 movie of the same name, starring Vincent Price. It was filmed for television in 1960 as a one-hour episode for The Shirley Temple Show, with Agnes Moorehead as Hepzibah, Martin Landau as Clifford, and Shirley Temple as Phoebe.

With The Scarlet Letter, The House of Seven Gables solidified Hawthorne’s reputation as a preeminent American author in both America and Europe. The book is relatively short, and it relies heavily on the atmosphere of house to help tell the story, an atmosphere centered on the portrait of the first Judge Pynchon, he of the witch trials, which stares gloomily on all who enter the parlor and the house. And it’s still a fascinating story, almost 170 years after its first publication.

Resources for Teachers

Numerous books, articles, websites, and videos exist to help with classroom teaching about The House of Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne, America literature of the mid-19th century, and related subjects.

Books

A Brief Biography of National Hawthorne by Henry James (1897)

Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Biography by Arlin Turner (1980)

Salem is My Dwelling Place: Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne by Edwin Haviland Miller (1991)

The Salem World of Nathaniel Hawthorne by Margaret Moore (1998)

Hawthorne: A Life by Brenda Wineapple (2004)

The Real Blithedale Romance: The Love and Marriage of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Sophia Peabody by Paul Brody (2013)

The Divine Magnet: Herman Melville’s Letters to Nathaniel Hawthorne (2013)

Hawthorne in Concord by Philip McFarland (2013)

A Short Biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne by Camille Arbogast (2019)

Nathaniel Hawthorne by George Woodberry (2019)

Worldwide Web

A list of websites on Hawthorne, his books, and movies and television programs based on Hawthorne’s works

Hawthorne’s listing at American Authors, the Literature Network, GradeSaver (including study guides), and SparkNotes

Places in Hawthorne’s life and writings

Video

History Meets Fiction at the House of Seven Gables

A Tour of the House of Seven Gables with Vincent Price (1990)

House of Seven Gables Analysis Video

The House of Seven Gables – CBS Radio Mystery Theater (1974)

1940 movie with Vincent Price

Photo by heyFilbert, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Glynn Young.

Browse more book reviews

__________________________

How to Read a Poem by Tania Runyan How to Read a Poem uses images like the mouse, the hive, the switch (from the Billy Collins poem)—to guide readers into new ways of understanding poems. Anthology included.

“I require all our incoming poetry students—in the MFA I direct—to buy and read this book.”

—Jeanetta Calhoun Mish

Buy How to Read a Poem Now!

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Glynn Young
Follow Glynn
Glynn Young
Editor and Twitter-Party-Cool-Poem-Weaver at Tweetspeak Poetry
Glynn Young lives in St. Louis where he retired as the team leader for Online Strategy & Communications for a Fortune 500 company. Glynn writes poetry, short stories and fiction, and he loves to bike. He is the author of Poetry at Work and the Dancing Priest Series. Find Glynn at Faith, Fiction, Friends.
Glynn Young
Follow Glynn
Latest posts by Glynn Young (see all)
  • Looking for the Poetry in Vermeer, a Blockbuster of an Art Exhibition - March 17, 2023
  • An Updated Take on Keats’s Odes by Anahid Nersessian - March 14, 2023
  • In Praise of Small Museums - March 7, 2023

Filed Under: article, Books, Literary Analysis, Literary Tour

Get Every Day Poems...

Comments

  1. Maureen says

    March 3, 2020 at 10:32 am

    I’ve been to the house in Salem. It was part of the Underground Railroad. Worth a visit (if you can avoid most of the tourists).

    Reply
  2. Laura Lynn Brown says

    March 4, 2020 at 1:59 pm

    I’ve been to that house too, and to the Salem Witch Museum the same day. The first was interesting to explore and learn about. The second was strange and very commercial.

    I’m glad you re-read this and discovered a different, better book. I wonder, which old tome that I read as a requirement would be a different, better, possibly even beloved book if I reread it now?

    Reply
  3. Will Willingham says

    March 7, 2020 at 9:43 am

    Kind of makes me not feel too bad for not having read it before, if I might not remember it exactly anyway. 🙂 Maybe I should pick it up now…

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cute Comic

😊

The Sadbook Collections

A stick-figure human sure to capture your heart.

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our March Menu.

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

Now a Graphic Novel!

"Stunning, heartbreaking, and relevant illustrations"

Callie Feyen, teacher

read a summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

meet The Yellow Wallpaper characters

Your Comments

  • 20 Best Poetry Books About Love to Read Now  | Giannina Braschi on Poets and Poems: Dave Malone’s “O: Love Poems from the Ozarks”
  • Laura on The Honey Field—5: Sugar Water for Honeybees
  • Glynn on Looking for the Poetry in Vermeer, a Blockbuster of an Art Exhibition
  • L.L. Barkat on The Honey Field—5: Sugar Water for Honeybees

How to Write Poetry

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Coloring Page Poem Printables!

Get all free coloring page poems now

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Annual Theme 2022: Perspective
  • • Annual Theme 2021: Generous
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • How to Write Form Poems-Infographics
  • • Poetry Club Tea Date
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2023 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy

We serve poetry with our cookies. Because that's the way it should be.
We serve poetry with your cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you... accept the cookies with a smile.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
update cookie prefs

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT