The Dark Side of Hawthorne In The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne exhibits the fate of a family due to a curse by analyzing the most “disagreeable” secrets of a man’s soul (Great Lives Hawthorne shows the decay of an aristocratic familydue to the sins of the past. He uses allegory within hischaracter’s personalities and emotions to expose “the truthof the human heart” (biography). Hawthorne’s chosen location for this novel reflectsgreatly on his life and specifically his childhood. Salemis the home of The House of the Seven Gables. Ironicallythis is the same town in which he was born in and lived inthrough adulthood. He was raised in this town, therefore hewas very aware of the dark side of its past. He was a partof this past through his ancestors. One of which was ajudge in the infamous Salem witch trials. At this trialHawthorne’s uncle is cursed by a so-called witch with thewords, “God will give you blood to drink” (Magill 2736). This curse is much similar to Matthew Maule’s curse on thePyncheon family (Magill 2734). The solitude of hischaracters reflects his childhood as well. Growing up, his 2mother kept herself away from people which led him to becomea very solitary man for much of his life. As a young childHawthorne was lamed. During these years he became welllearned with the writings of Edmund Spenser, John Bunyan,and William Shakespear(CSLF 1570). From these men he hasgained technique and style.Having lived in Salem most of his life, Hawthorne isextremely influenced by Puritanism. His writings greatly reflect this. Hawthorne deals much with the sins of a manbeing pasted down for generations. This is very much aPuritan belief. Puritans are a very superstitious type ofperson. Thus, this explains Hawthorne’s belief that acurse, such as ...
