Since its publication, the conclusion of The House of
the Seven Gables has been criticized as either
inconsistent with the rest of the novel or a failure.
After analyzing this novel along with Hawthorne's
other major works, it becomes clear that there is in
fact consistency to the conclusion of this great
American novel. It is through a complex dissection
of the concept of hierarchies and their constructions
that the patterns in Hawthorne's texts become more
obvious--and the meaning of the conclusion of this
long debated text becomes apparent.
the Seven Gables has been criticized as either
inconsistent with the rest of the novel or a failure.
After analyzing this novel along with Hawthorne's
other major works, it becomes clear that there is in
fact consistency to the conclusion of this great
American novel. It is through a complex dissection
of the concept of hierarchies and their constructions
that the patterns in Hawthorne's texts become more
obvious--and the meaning of the conclusion of this
long debated text becomes apparent.