The chapter “Governor Pyncheon” from The House of the Seven Gables is very important to text as a whole. Hawthorne dedicates nearly the entire chapter to dwelling on the dead body of Judge Pyncheon. The narrator exhausts the notion that the Judge is not dead. Continuing to prod the Judge by wondering why he was so still. Why had he not stood up? Why could he not rotate his arm to look at his watch and check to see how much time had passed.
The reader was already under the impression that the Judge was dead so why it is important to understand why Hawthorne subjects the reader to very strange sequence. This chapter is out of place and it is quite clear that this ghostly sequence was deliberately added by Hawthorne to emphasize some of his main points and themes. With the addition of this grisly scene, Hawthorne puts into jeopardy the eloquent realism throughout the novel.
The ghostly chapter of “governor Pyncheon” does not fit within the style and language of the rest of the novel. This signifies to the reader, like highlighting or bolding a text would that there is great value in those words. In this case it Hawthorne uses to richness of the language to leak some vital details to the reader. Hawthorne created this ghostly chapter for two reasons; to display the deepness of the hatred felt towards Judge Pyncheon, while also revealing the extent of his ambition. The details may not have added directly to the storyline, but the bit of information given really molds the reader’s perception of Judge Pyncheon. It seems that the narrator is gloating over the body but it is in the gruesome details that revealed how many people were in danger of Judge Pyncheon’s authority. The ironic attack of Judge Pyncheon’s is difficult to read without inwardly cringing. Hawthorne uses this erie ghost scene to solidify the theme that anyone on verge of their greatest achievements will somehow be denied and cut down.
