Life And Death In The House Of The Seven Gables
Nathaniel Hawthorne was a popular author during the eighteenth century, the time in which the romantic style of writing had a significant influence. The literature style of romanticism has six main components – the individual, imagination, personal and social intuition, nature, emotion, and the unknown. The unknown is typically portrayed as death. While humans can understand the events that occur whilst they live, they know nothing of what happens during the act of death, or after death has occurred. Do human beings simply decay in the earth in which they are buried within? Or, perhaps, do we become spirits and live on eternally watching over the earth we have left? Hawthorne addresses these questions in his novels using both life and death
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Where the unknown is death, the known is life. Life is portrayed in a variety of ways throughout Hawthorne’s novels. In The House of the Seven Gables, Hawthorne portrays life as a wondrous event that brings hope and happiness to all whom embrace it; “‘In the midst of life – in the throng of our fellow beings! Let you and I be happy!’” (Hawthorne 179). Hawthorne illuminates the thought that if one embraces the known, and therefor is less fretful about the unknown, life becomes a more joyous and purposeful experience. Hawthorne also suggests that laying focus upon the known makes life become more fulfilling and inspiring for the individual; “to the strong passion of her life” (20). In The Marble Faun, Hawthorne portrays the known as life. However in The Marble Faun he focuses more upon how the youth of a character affects their personality and the people surrounding them. Donatello is portrayed as the most youthful character of the four artists; “‘with a real and commonplace young man like Donatello’” (5). Donatello is stereotypically young in many significant ways. However, the most commonly portrayed way is his apparent lack of “strict obedience to conventional rules” (6). He shows a distinct disregard for the societal rules and is much more carefree than the rest of his fellow artists. The common fear of the unknown is not affecting Donatello. Instead he contains the ability to
Where the unknown is death, the known is life. Life is portrayed in a variety of ways throughout Hawthorne’s novels. In The House of the Seven Gables, Hawthorne portrays life as a wondrous event that brings hope and happiness to all whom embrace it; “‘In the midst of life – in the throng of our fellow beings! Let you and I be happy!’” (Hawthorne 179). Hawthorne illuminates the thought that if one embraces the known, and therefor is less fretful about the unknown, life becomes a more joyous and purposeful experience. Hawthorne also suggests that laying focus upon the known makes life become more fulfilling and inspiring for the individual; “to the strong passion of her life” (20). In The Marble Faun, Hawthorne portrays the known as life. However in The Marble Faun he focuses more upon how the youth of a character affects their personality and the people surrounding them. Donatello is portrayed as the most youthful character of the four artists; “‘with a real and commonplace young man like Donatello’” (5). Donatello is stereotypically young in many significant ways. However, the most commonly portrayed way is his apparent lack of “strict obedience to conventional rules” (6). He shows a distinct disregard for the societal rules and is much more carefree than the rest of his fellow artists. The common fear of the unknown is not affecting Donatello. Instead he contains the ability to