Curses Inherited From Previous Generations (Smith 1)In the first chapter of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables, we learn the dark story of how the house fell so easily in the bosom of the Pyncheon family. Colonel Pyncheon used his influence and political power to put Mathew Maule to death on suspicion of witchcraft. It turns out that Mathew Maule owned property that the colonel had been trying to get his hands on for years. Before Maule was hanged, his last words were: “God will give him blood to drink!” » Colonel Pyncheon set about building an incredible house on the spot where Maule's cabin once stood, known as the House of the Seven Gables. From the beginning, it is clear that the house was founded on sin. Greed, murder, and lies were embedded in the very foundations of the house and would keep a dark cloud over the Pyncheon family for generations to come. The sins of previous generations haunting subsequent ones is a key theme of The House of the Seven Gables which manifests itself in a rather enigmatic and gothic manner. Maule's last words - "God will give him blood to drink" - are part of a curse. it stays with the Pyncheon family. Colonel Pyncheon was throwing a party to show off his new home when he was found dead in a chair, his beard and shirt collar soaked in blood. Nearly 200 years later, Judge Pyncheon is found in the same place, sitting under Colonel Pyncheon's portrait, and dies in exactly the same way. The family also inherits other curses said to have been given by Maule, such as the mirror being cursed. The land that was taken from Mathew Maule is said to have a well with some of the best water in the world. Once in the middle of paper......Stic and captivating romance; but it is the individual greed and sin of certain family members, not the "curse" that proves their downfall. In the end, Judge Pyncheon meets his demise while trying to coerce Clifford into telling him the whereabouts of a certain document that would give him a huge trail of land in Maine. Colonel Pyncheon dies while throwing a party to show off his new home which he acquired by having an innocent man killed. Alice Pyncheon is killed when her father greedily allows her to be put into a trance in hopes of finding the missing deed to the Maine land. Clifford's uncle, Jaffrey Pyncheon, dies after seeing his nephew looking through his notes. The Maule curse seems to hit the cruel and greedy in the family hardest and somewhat spares those of sound heart, suggesting that it is more of a self-fulfilling prophecy..