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Theme Of Power In The House Of Seven Gables

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Abigail Goldsmith Dr. Kirsti Cole ENG-671 29 April 2023 Power in The House of Seven Gables In Nathanial Hawthorne’s The House of Seven Gables, readers witness various characters experiencing intimidation from the story’s antagonist, Judge Pyncheon, a man who, despite his obvious character flaws, enjoys high social status and respectability in the town. However, this facade is shading something much darker, and Judge Pyncheon actually enjoys flexing his privilege wherever he can in order to hold power over those who are less privileged than he, specifically Hepzibah and Clifford. This abuse of power is something he has inherited from his past family members, though, as a closer analysis of the family tree reveals that Pyncheon men have caused …show more content…

This is mainly observed through the comparison of Hepzibah and Phoebe: Hepzibah is the old crone who has locked herself up in her home and cut herself off from society, and she is devastated that she must open up a penny shop to support herself and her brother. Phoebe, on the other hand, is the model woman, the type of woman that people of the time period wanted to be: through blending her skills in both the domestic and private spheres, she shows that women will help move the country forward, which was something incredibly important as the country at this time was moving forward into a capitalistic …show more content…

Race is especially apparent regarding the Pyncheon land deed, which asserts that land originally claimed by Native Americans was now the property of the Pyncheons. Ownership itself comes into question here, as Mark Rifkin discusses: according to him, the Penobscot leaders who were actually developing treaties for their land said “the great God who put us on the land did not give us the privilege of knowing what the value of it is” (72). From the native perspective, they were put onto this land by God, so who is to say they actually own it? Could it not be argued that they are simply living where the Lord has appointed

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