The last image of the chapter is of the disgraceful shop door in the front gable of the old house. Describe the circumstances of its creation and why you think the author mentions it here.
The House of the Seven Gables itself is a physical representation of the Pyncheon and the Maule family history. The House essentially contains the old Maule hut, inextricably linking the two families together. When the house was built, it spoiled Maule's Well, a metaphor for the Pyncheon's destruction of the Maule family legacy as well as an indication that the Pyncheons have disrupted the natural order. As the story begins, the House, much like the Pyncheons themselves, has fallen into a state of decay: this includes the "disgraceful shop door."
http://www.gradesaver.com/the-house-of-the-seven-gables/study-guide/section1/
