Nathaniel Hawthorne suggests people are weighed by their past and ancestry and this attributes to his own anxiety about the future. Hawthorne's anxiety is best portrayed in his literary architecture. In Hawthorne's "House of the Seven Gables," the reader visualizes the depreciation of this house that was once strong in its time. Analogously, the Pyncheon family is losing value, for the children have not fully utilized the privileges given to them. In fact, the heightened stature of the Pyncheon family set such high standards that the children felt they were above certain work. Hawthorne, a man from a privileged background, is making connections to his life, showing that individualistic growth is important. Hawthorne's development of the depreciating house and the image of a diminishing Pyncheon family, combined with the context of Hawthorne's novel, begs the question, what is Hawthorne saying about remaining significant? Surely, time is the nemesis of architecture, status, and any structure. Hawthorne, overall, is making the statement that great architecture, status, and thought requires upkeep.
             In Hawthorne's literary architecture, he captures the image of the depreciating house. Although once the largest house in the community, the house of the title began to fall apart and relatively look less than what it was originally. Largely, this was due to the lack of maintenance on the house. The imagery of the depreciating house sets up the analogy for the weakening family name. The Pyncheon family settled at the land when Colonel Pyncheon built the house with seven gables. This was at the height of the family's success. Colonel Pyncheon is even described to be watching over the family. From his death, the family has been on a downward trend. When the house was first built, it was described as the largest house and one of the first mansions in Salem. This was at the same time Colonel Pyncheon was...