The Gothic Style Revisited

                Throughout the book, “The House of Seven Gables,” the Gothic style is represented through darkness, gloom, supernatural events, etc.   The house is strange and the people act somewhat unusual within the story.  Yet, the passage at the beginning of chapter seven shows a section where the Gothic style is not used. 

                Within the first few lines of chapter seven, the reader quickly realizes that the Gothic style is not being used at the moment.  For instance, Hawthorne says, “When Phoebe awoke- which she did with the early twittering of the conjugal couple of robins, in the pear-tree- she heard movements below the stairs, and hastening down, found Hepzibah already in the kitchen” (p.98).  Here, we have a totally different feel from the start of the passage.  It seems much sweeter and innocent with the chirping birds, pear tree, and working in the kitchen.  As the passage continues, we realize that Hepzibah is working in the kitchen to make breakfast which gives the reader a warm feeling inside, contrary to the cold and eerie feeling one gets from reading the Gothic style.  The sense of panic and uneasiness that one feels from reading in the Gothic style has disappeared in this section. 

Although the Gothic style is not sensed in these first few pages of chapter seven, it adds to the mystery of the book, therefore, furthering the Gothic style.  The mystery of the book is advanced because this section gives the reader a glimpse into what life in the house could have been like and therefore, adds to the eeriness of the Gothic style. 

The Gothic in "The House of the Seven Gables"

When I think of gothic, my first mental image is a haunted house.  Yet, upon further thinking and through class discussion, the gothic definition includes themes such as order vs. disorder, guilt, and the forgotten past affecting the future (to name a few).  In addition, some ideas which help build my current understanding of the gothic within literature include darkness, descriptive imagery, and supernatural events occurring.  Within “The House of the Seven Gables,” it is clear that these aspects are found within the text, which makes it gothic.  

In “The House of Seven Gables,” some of the supernatural events that occur are from the house itself.  In this sense, it is almost like the house is a main character also and is a part of the events which are occurring.  One of these events had to do with the well in the front yard.  Although this well was not directly connected to the house (like a door or a window would be), it relates to the supernatural events.  It says, “It was a curious, and, as some people thought, an ominous fact, that, very soon after the workmen began their operations, the spring of water, above mentioned, entirely lost the deliciousness of its pristine quality” (Hawthorne, p.10).  The well stopped working when the Pyncheon family moved onto the land.  It is erie and an ironic occurrence which leads me to believe that it has to do with a curse or something from the Maule family, since they previously owned the land and might be seeking vengeance from the death of Matthew Maule.  I could continue to contemplate this, but, the point is that it is a supernatural event which is occurring and playing a role in the story.  Furthermore, it also shows how the forgotten past affects the future.  Although some may have forgotten about the tragic events between the Maule & Pyncheon families, the situation with the well brings that history back into new light.  

The house itself proves to be spooky looking and it is described with great description by Hawthorne.  This is another sign that this text has the gothic theme to it.  Hawthorne says, 

“Its whole visible exterior was ornamented with quaint figures, conceived in the grotesqueness of a Gothic fancy, and drawn or stamped in the glittering plaster, composed of lime, pebbles, and bits of glass, with which the wood-word of the walls was overspread.  On every side, the seven gables pointed sharply towards the sky, and presented the aspect of a whole sisterhood of edifices, breathing through the spiracles of one great chimney...carved globes of wood were affixed under the jutting stories...” (p.11-12)

As you can see, this descriptive imagery allows the reader to explicitly picture the house which Hawthorne describes.  When I picture this house in my head, it looks like a haunted house with dark undertones and seems creepy.  This also shows the gothic within “The House of the Seven Gables” because one of the aspects which defines the gothic, to me, is darkness.  By the long description, we know that this house will play a large role in the story at hand.  Throughout the text, there are many examples of the gothic within “The House of Seven Gables” and the ones I elaborated on above are just a few.  However, based on the examples above, it is clear that the gothic is present within this book.  

Escape and Survival: Themes in "Big Two-Hearted River"

        When reading through Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River,” it is is written with themes and metaphors which contribute to the overall meaning of the short story.  These include nature/escape and grasshoppers/survival.

At the beginning of the story, we see Nick fishing.  Fishing allowed Nick to leave his thoughts of war.  He is trying to escape his old memories and fishing allows him to do this.  Nick describes how happy he was to be fishing again and how it made him happy.  This suggests that it allows him to escape those old thoughts and traumatic moments of war.  This also relates to the river.  Here, the river is similar to the significance of fishing.  Nick is able to forget about the traumatic events in his past and lose himself in nature; specifically the river.   

The grasshoppers come about on page 982 and are significant to the theme of survival.  In this scene, Nick is overlooking a village burned by a fire.  Here, he sees that the grasshoppers have survived.  They are black which signifies darkness or death.  They have been affected by what has gone on, yet have not been destroyed.  This is similar to how Nick has been affected by the war and has haunting memories, but has not let the memories of war completely wipe him out.  In this sense, we also see that Nick has respect for living things which is based on going through devastating events, such as war.  

As a reader can see by examining the short story, “Big Two-Hearted River,” the themes of nature/escape and grasshoppers/survival play an important role in understanding the meaning of the story.