The House Of Seven Gables - Sy

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- that the very timbers were oozy, as with the moisture of a heart." (Hawthorne 27). Hawthorne turns the house into a symbol of the collection of all the hearts that were darkened by the house. "It was itself like a great human heart, with a life of its own, and full of rich and somber reminiscences" (Hawthorne 27). Evert Augustus Duyckinck agrees that "The chief perhaps, of the dramatis personae, is the house itself. From its turrets to its kitchen, in every nook and recess without and within, it is alive and vital." (Hawthorne 352) Duyckinck feels that the house is meant to be used as a symbol of an actual character, "Truly it is an actor in the scene"(Hawthorne 352). This turns the house into an interesting, but still depressing place that darkens the book in many ways. Hawthorne means for the house’s gloomy atmosphere to symbolize many things in his book.
The house also is used to symbolize a prison that has darkened the lives of its inmates forever. The house is a prison ...

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and felt, both of them, as if they were standing in the presence of the whole world… Their hearts quaked within them, at the idea of taking one step further. (Hawthorne 169)
Hepzibah and Clifford are completely cut off from the outside world. They are like prisoners who after being jailed for decades return to find a world they do not know.(Rountree 101). Clifford is deeply saddened when he says, " ‘We are ghosts! We have no right among human beings - no right anywhere, but in this old house"(Hawthorne 169). The house has imprisoned their souls and trapped their lives. Hence, the house symbolizes a prison for its inhabitants.
The house also symbolizes the history of the of Pyncheon ...

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