Ostensibly a story about the effects of sin and guilt manifested through successive generations of a New England family, Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables is a richly detailed novel with multiple layers of meaning and ambiguities which have attracted a wide range of critical interpretations. Although frequently criticized for its narrative structure or other perceived flaws, The House of the Seven Gables is generally ranked second in importance, behind The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne considered it his greatest work "more characteristic" of his mind and "more appropriate and natural" for him to write than his first novel. Overall, it was a critical success with three themes seeming to attract most of the attention of critics of its century. The three topics covered were Hawthorne's authentic characters, the powerful setting, and the theme that was both invigorating and unsettling. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayHawthorne analyzes the delicate traits of human feeling and character and opens vistas into this beautiful and unexplored world of love and thought that exists in every human being. be, although overshadowed by material circumstances. Hawthorne takes obvious pleasure in developing character types and general traits of life or in highlighting the most obvious facts of consciousness. Henry Tuckerman wrote: "No such contrast can be imagined, more eloquent to a sympathetic mind than that between the inner conscience and the outward appearance of Clifford, or of Phoebe and Holgrave, or of the Judge." They respectively symbolize the poles of human existence. and are fine studies for the psychologist. However, this attraction is subordinated to loyalty to local characteristics. Clifford represents the man with fine organization and real feeling surrounded by the material realities of New England. Phoebe is the ideal of an authentic, efficient and loving woman. character in the same latitude; and Holgrave embodies Yankee insight and boldness redeemed by integrity and enthusiasm" (520). Tuckerman's passage describes the local authenticity that Hawthorne uses to bring his characters to life. One of the most important to the book is Hepzibah, who, as the book opens, is the sole owner of the dark recesses of the mansion. Rudolph Von Abele gives us a detailed overview of her when he writes: "[Hepzibah] is the embodiment. of the aristocratic nobility, supported only by his illusion of family heritage Hawthorne knew how perfectly his predicament corresponded to the movement of the times, since "in this republican country, amid the fluctuating waves of our social life, someone is always on the verge of drowning” (316). Abele shows how Hawthorne uses Hepzibah to contrast the other characters through his failing aristocratic beliefs. Hawthorne will use the same detailed descriptions to construct his scene on which his characters can move. The setting becomes as important as the characters themselves. The decor of The House of the Seven Gables is imbued with a local authenticity, which is not for a moment altered by the imaginative charm of romance. We seem to breathe the air as we read and be surrounded by the familiar objects of a New England town. Austin Warren concludes: "The interior of the house, every item described from the quaint table to the Malbone miniature, every produce of the old garden, the street scenes that delight the eye. 1851