Beauty is part of the human condition; we are attracted to what we like and repelled by what we dislike. In the 18th and 19th centuries, scholars grasped this concept and put words to what it means to experience beauty. Immanuel Kant, for his part, had written books about this experience, a state of perception which consequently opened the doors to literary criticism. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables, illusions of beauty and aesthetics were crucial to the development of the characters, particularly that of Clifford Pyncheon and Holgrave. By applying Kant's concepts of beauty and judgment to the characters of Hawthorne, Clifford, and Holgrave, we can use character comparisons to investigate the existence of different levels of aesthetic development. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayKantian principles regarding beauty and judgment describe an overall step-by-step process. Humans are naturally attracted to something they find beautiful and then judge it. This process of judgment is the lasting impression a person would produce by establishing, yes, that an object is a thing of beauty: "In deciding whether something is beautiful or not, we do not refer the representation by understanding to the object. object of cognition, but rather relate it by means of imagination (perhaps combined with understanding) to the subject and its feeling of pleasure or displeasure” (Kant, 414). This aspect of precognition in identifying beauty is important in the concept of aesthetic identification and appreciation. This solidifies the concept that beauty is instantaneous and natural, universally created in all humans. Kant further states: “The judgment of taste is therefore not a cognitive judgment, and therefore not logical, but is rather aesthetic, by which we mean one whose determining motive cannot be other than subjective” (414). From this statement, aesthetic terminology takes its origin from a reference to the logical and non-rationalized moment of the determination of beauty. In the case of Clifford Pyncheon and Hawthorne, it is essential to remember that both possess the same human traits capable of identifying and processing beauty. Beginning with Clifford, an examination of aesthetic development can be constructed. Clifford Pyncheon, an elderly man recently released from prison, has the face of a child. Hawthorne does not fully explain the technical details of Clifford's small mind, but it is notable that his nature is described as that of a "sybarite", someone who is greatly influenced by beauty and pursues it diligently. This quality of one's character becomes an important attribute when examining one's aesthetic development. The limitations of Clifford's aesthetic development can be considered for two reasons. The first is that Clifford was naturally born with a small mind. Clifford's childish mind simplifies his experience. This simplification, although limiting, leaves room for the aesthetic experience through its lack of knowledge and non-sublime encounters. “But Clifford listened with rapt delight. The sound, unpleasant as it was, had a very vivid life and, with the circle of curious children watching the turns of the wheel, seemed to give him a more vivid sense of active, bustling, sunny existence than it did. had reached almost any other country. in another way. This moment provides insight into Clifford's childhood development of aesthetic appreciation. The limitations of his mind inhibit Clifford due to his inability to draw conclusionsbroader, rationalize and create appropriate functionality in response to aesthetic appreciation. The second reason that hinders Clifford's development is his stay in prison for most of his life. The isolation and lack of beauty of the place deprived Clifford of the ability to advance aesthetic appreciation in a lasting, slowly built way. Being immersed in the free world, in almost every situation Clifford experiences aesthetic appreciation, he is overwhelmed by the stimuli. These limiting factors work with Kant's focus on beauty and judgment. “We see clearly that saying that it is beautiful and proving that I have taste what counts is what I make of this representation in myself, and not how I depend on the existence of the object” (415). Clifford's developmental delay creates this polar existence of aesthetic admiration and lack of aesthetics. This dynamic points to an addiction to aesthetic gratification. When beauty is taken away from him, his existence is dark. Kant says that there is a prescient moment of appreciation of beauty. Likewise, immediately after this appreciation, a similar moment occurs, in which the opposite of the sublime occurs – the anti-sublime. This concept is in line with the law of the scientist Isaac Newton according to which “what goes up must come down”. In this context, the highest sentiments translate into an absolute decline. Clifford is dependent on this aesthetic height, because without it, and without developed aesthetic skills and appreciations, there is no way to land other than absolute nothingness. When beauty is not present, Clifford is absent and empty. This emptiness comes from the absence of aesthetics and an overall reaction of withdrawal. This concept of withdrawal can be observed throughout the scene in which Clifford reflects on the dangerous action he made in nearly jumping out of the window: “Perhaps, in some sense, Clifford was right. He needed a shock; or perhaps he needed to dive deep, very deep into the ocean of human life, to sink and allow himself to be covered by its depth, and then to emerge, sobered, invigorated, restored to the world and to himself. Perhaps, once again, he only needed the great ultimate remedy: death! (Hawthorne, 115). This scene demonstrates the deep void inside Clifford that only aesthetic involvement can fill. Needing a "shock" to break him out of his state of trembling nothingness, Clifford acts in the most extreme and desperate way to pull himself out of the abyss. Aesthetic obsession is therefore not an overall positive experience. It is the highest form, which means that there is inherently a lowest form. The experience of aesthetics and its immediate cessation creates a shock for a person in which it exists in this “nothing”. For a developed person, the existence of beauty in other entities, even in their memories, fills this nothingness. This explains the obsession with beauty in search of aesthetics for the stunted life that Clifford lived. Aesthetic appreciation is a heightened experience for Clifford due to the limited life he has lived thus far. Hawthorne's examples of illuminating beauty are symbolic of the aesthetic Clifford sees. Furthermore, the emotions triggered by aesthetic appreciation go beyond Clifford's own being. “That’s what happened with Clifford. He shuddered; he turned pale; he looked pleadingly at Hepizbah and Phoebe, who were with him at the window. They didn't understand his emotions and simply believed him to be disturbed by this unusual tumult. Finally, with trembling limbs, he stood up, placed his foot on the window sill, and in an instant others would have found themselves on the unguarded balcony. (115).The powerful window scene demonstrates how powerful the aesthetic is and the appreciation it inspires. Another highlight of the novel is the train scene in which Clifford knows he is free from Judge Pyncheon and speaks emotionally to a stranger about everything he feels. This extraordinary moment is the direct result of the experience of aesthetic appreciation. However, this moment is important to realize that aesthetic response comes in different forms. In this scene, Clifford succumbs to the aesthetic experience without resorting to sight, sound, or touch but rather a euphoric moment of complete enlightenment. According to Columbia Themes in Philosophy, Social Criticism, and the Arts: Queer Beauty: Sexuality and Aesthetics from Winckelmann to Freud and Beyond by Whitney Davis, the existence of various forms of aesthetic appreciation coincides with Kant's statements on beauty and judgement. "According to section 17 of Kant's Third Critique, the judgment of ideal beauty (the beautiful ideal) separates individual expressions of interested pleasure, such as a pederastic appreciation of the juvenile male body, from the increasingly disinterested accumulation of multiple judgments rendered on the same body. or similar objects by the same person or by other people” (Davis, 37). The different aspects that affect Clifford in different ways cannot therefore be limited to a single defined type. Clifford's attraction to aesthetics became his life's mission. “Beauty would be his life; his aspirations would all tend towards this; and, by allowing his figure and physical organs to be in consonance, his own developments would be equally beautiful” (Hawthorne, 74). This devotion to the pursuit of aesthetics greatly isolates Clifford as a character and places him in his own world. Although the pursuit of aesthetics is not an uncommon attribute in human existence, the severity with which Clifford engages in it becomes a retardation not only in aesthetic appreciation but in personal growth as a whole. Clifford is no longer adapted to his environment if one finds aesthetic admiration. He exists only as a being, not as an expanding functional person. The other character who expresses aesthetic development in Hawthorne's novel is Holgrave. In his profession as an artist, he already has a close relationship with beauty. This relationship includes the ability to differentiate between different levels of beauty and what is “real” or not. The ability to tell the truth comes from his daguerreotypes reflecting the true character of the subject. “Though we credit him with depicting only the smallest surface, he actually brings out the secret character with a truth that no painter would ever venture, nor could even detect” (Hawthorne, 63). The truth of daguerreotypes impacts Holgrave's aesthetic development because they represent art and beauty. Davis's work describing Kantian themes can be applied to Holgrave's art: "In Kant's Critique of Judgment and in the Kantian tradition, in fact, the erotic appeal of natural objects (or their representation in (Davis, 3). Davis' statement described here applies to Holgrave's images and how, as the artist behind the images, he recognizes the natural appeal of his subjects, which is why he photographs them. Holgrave's character takes the form of an artist. As an artist, Holgrave is inspired by aesthetic beauty and finds a way to preserve it through photographs. This step-by-step training differs greatly fromthe aesthetic appreciation exhibited by Clifford. Holgrave is able to rationalize aesthetic experience and express his appreciation of it through daguerreotyping. Clifford's interaction with the aesthetic must be drawn into it and is so involved in it that he is no longer present in reality. Hograve's aesthetic development has matured enough that he appreciates aesthetics while still being present in reality. Davis would argue that this concept of aesthetically based judgment does not run counter to the precognitive need emphasized by Kant. “This process of accumulation and modification of aesthetic judgment, socially constituted and communicated, is neither mysterious nor sinister” (37). Holgrave's profession would therefore fit into this ideal. As an artist, Holgrave has a well-established idea of ​​what he finds aesthetically pleasing. For rationalization to occur, Holgrave should have had a spectrum of what he considers beautiful and what he does not. Through numerous encounters with aesthetically pleasing people, Holgrave became bored by the many beautiful stimuli to which he was exposed. This dumbing down did not take away his appreciation and respect for aesthetics, but simply increased his development in aesthetic experience. With the further development shown in Holgrave's character, the process of aesthetic appreciation goes even further. Davis states that “the psychic and social process must be transitive, whether or not Kant drew attention to this fact. Each order of judgment in the subjective consolidation and social transmission of an ideal therefore conceals possibilities not only of realizing the other order of judgment” (Davis, 38). This means that Holgrave's internal psychic process of aesthetic admiration coincides with the social representation he gives of it. Through the physical representation of the daguerreotypes, Holgrave demonstrates the social aspect of his judgment of beauty. This takes an interesting turn in sharing daguerreotypes with others. The diffusion of what Holgrave considers socially aesthetic solidifies what his spectrum looks like in the development of aesthetic appreciation. Clifford, in comparison, is so enamored with aesthetics that he is not sufficiently developed to be able to share with others the same beauty he admires. Holgrave's manipulation of aesthetics is also visible throughout the novel. With the narration of Pyncheon and Maule's ancient feud, Holgrave's narration is so finely tuned and so beautifully composed that it has an overwhelming effect on Phoebe. “It was evident that, with a single wave of his hand and a corresponding effort of his will, he could complete his mastery of Phoebe's still free and virgin mind; he could establish over this good, pure and simple child an influence as dangerous, and perhaps as disastrous, as that which the carpenter of his legend had acquired and exercised over the unfortunate Alice” (Hawthorne, 147). Hawthorne highlights the type of aesthetic relationship Holgrave maintains by insisting: "To a disposition like Holgrave's, both speculative and active, there is no temptation so great as the opportunity to acquire a empire over the human mind; nor any idea more attractive to a young man than to become the arbiter of a young girl's destiny” (148). This section develops the concept that in aesthetic development, when such control and maturity arise, the next step is the control of one's own aesthetic capacity over that of another. To think about this idea, let's look at the functions of artistic professions. The expression and control of the representation of the aesthetic vision that is achieved through development..