Among the most striking characteristics of the Gothic genre is the style of its architectural settings. In early Gothic, these were often medieval, involving ancient stone buildings with elaborate, "Gothic" arches, buttresses, passages and crypts. This would become the staging of Gothicism, full of symbols of hidden doors and secret chambers, incomprehensible labyrinths, talking portraits and trap doors. (Allen Lloyd-Smith 7) Gothic Element of the Seven Gables The House of the Seven Gables, by Nathanial Hawthorn, is full of Gothic tropes and features. Since the story takes place in the Pyncheon house or rather on the Maule property, I will focus on the characteristics of the house, which are Gothic. This is not to say that the story is Gothic only because of the house, but rather that the house and its possessions are the setting for the Gothic events. Parts of the house are described throughout the story, mostly in small junks reminiscent of the past. . The narrator passes the Pyncheon house. He calls it an “antiquity” and a “weathered building” (11). At this time, the house may not seem so Gothic but rather simply an old mansion. However, with more description of the house, it becomes more noticeable. The best description of the house is found in the first chapter: There it stood, a little withdrawn from the line of the street, but out of pride and not modesty. All its visible exterior was ornamented with picturesque figures, conceived in the grotesque of Gothic fancy, and drawn or impressed upon the trembling plaster, composed of lime, pebbles, and bits of glass, with which the woodwork of the walls was covered. On each side the seven gables pointed sharply towards the sky and presented the appearance of a whole sisterhood or... middle of paper... find out, one summer afternoon, as I lounged and dreamed of home, long ago . But the mystery escapes me." (328). The secret of the trapdoor and the door itself, which lies behind a portrait of Colonel Pyncheon, are both Gothic elements. Clifford has lost his memories trying to come forward and the judges' struggle to causing those memories to become known is found in many Gothic stories. In Gothic novels, evil will follow evil and darkness will fall on the house. With its estate, the house would seem to decay much faster than it actually did. The house, built by the son of the "magician", is strong and is able to resist as long as it holds a secret and a cure. It is only when the curse is broken and the Pyncheon family abandons the property that it takes on its gloomy and idealized appearance. that the narrator paints at the beginning of the story..