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Plot Summary: The novel revolves around a gloomy New England mansion known as the House of the Seven Gables. This house has been haunted since its construction by fraudulent dealings, accusations of witchcraft, and sudden deaths. Here are some key elements:
Hepzibah Pyncheon: The current resident, dignified but desperately poor, opens a shop in the house to support her brother, Clifford, who has just completed a thirty-year sentence for murder.
Phoebe: A lively and pretty young woman who arrives and becomes invaluable, charming customers and rousing Clifford from depression.
Holgrave: The mysterious attic lodger who is writing a history of the Pyncheon family. A delicate romance develops between Phoebe and Holgrave.
Curse and Dark Past: The house was built on ground wrongfully seized from its rightful owner, Matthew Maule, by Colonel Pyncheon, the founder of the Massachusetts branch of the family. Maule was accused of practicing witchcraft and executed. Legend has it that Maule laid a curse upon the Pyncheon family at the time of his death.
Colonel Pyncheon: The founder of the family, he was found dead during housewarming festivities. Whether he died from the curse or a congenital disease remains unclear. His portrait remains in the house as a symbol of its dark past and the weight of the curse.
The novel weaves themes of guilt, retribution, and atonement, with hints of the supernatural and witchcraft. The setting was inspired by the real-life Turner-Ingersoll Mansion in Salem, Massachusetts, which belonged to Hawthorne’s cousin Susanna Ingersoll. Additionally, Hawthorne’s ancestors played a part in the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692.
“The House of the Seven Gables” has left a lasting impact and even influenced the work of H. P. Lovecraft.
The Riverside Literature Series was a collection of literary works published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co. It included a diverse range of texts, from classic plays and poems to short stories and novels.
