Stephanie Nesbitt Dr. Virgil Mathes ENG 432 The American Renaissance January 28th, 2017 The Judgement of Hawthorne’s Characters Looks can be deceiving. This adage has been proven by centuries of people from various different walks of life, and the time of Nathaniel Hawthorne proves to be no exception. The description of various characters throughout The House of the Seven Gables, especially the polarizing opposites of Hepzibah Pyncheon and Judge Jaffrey Pyncheon, prove to the readers that their appearances do not always convey who they are on the inside. However, to the characters of the novel, appearances are extremely important, and many of those traits become the final characteristics on which these people are judged, categorized and treated. Hepzibah’s dominant trait, a prominent scowl, is not conducive of the type of person that she is, but this scowl in the end is her reflection to the world and therefore alters the way she is treated, even by family who should know her a little better. The Judge Jaffrey Pyncheon is on the opposite scale of Hepzibah; he gives the world a charming and affectionate smile that in no way ties to the nature of his character. Hawthorne uses these …show more content…
This character is described with a charming smile, though throughout the story the reader learns that this is not the case. Once again, we as readers are able to come up with the true evaluation of this character because of our omnipotent knowledge; however, to the people in this town, the Judge is defined by his smile. Even when he is found dead, Hepzibah and Clifford worry about being blamed, due to the warm way that this character is received, and would rather vanish than attempt an explanation (322-323). Between Hepzibah’s scowl, and Clifford’s insanity and idiocy, they understand, at least subconsciously, that those traits will define them and ultimately define their fate in front of