Class-Distinction in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables

Abstract

It is well known to many critics that Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writings are often inspired by his life and the events and concepts he went through, and The House of the Seven Gables is of course not exempt from this rule. The idea of the novel is built on events and news that the writer heard about his upper class ancestors and their racist view towards the lower classes.

The character of the dictator and the oppressor in the novel is well embodied in the personality of Colonel Pyncheon.. infact the Colonel reflects the thoughts and beliefs of Hawthorne’s ancestors, who were known for their arrogance, injustice and tyranny with poor and simple people. It is clear that Hawthorne’s comments in the novel are mostly about the idea of the class inequality that ruled society at the time, and his rejection to that backward aristocratic mentality.

The research discusses the idea of class distinction embodied by the characters of the novel with the idea that this differentiation can be ended and become a thing of the past if the new generations feel love and respect towards each other as this is embodied in characters of Holgrave and Phoebe.