Nobles and Savages

Since its publication, the conclusion of The House of the Seven Gables has been criticized as either inconsistent with the rest of the novel or a failure. After analyzing this novel along with Hawthornes other major works, it becomes clear that there is in fact consistency to the conclusion of this great American novel. It is through a complex dissection of the concept of hierarchies and their constructions that the patterns in Hawthornes texts become more obvious--and the meaning of the conclusion of this long debated text becomes apparent.