The House of Seven Gables “For, what other dungeon is so dark as one’s own heart! What jailer so inexorable as one’s self!” This is quote taken from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The House of Seven Gables. This quote relates to the theme of the novel, which is the interpretation of both the past and the present. It is said that the past shapes the present, however the past and the present cannot exist simultaneously, which is what the Pyncheon’s try to accomplish. As a result, great pain and suffering is felt by the inhabitants of the house of seven gables. “For what other dungeon is so dark as one’s own heart! What jailer so