Thomas Maule is the model for old Matthew Maule of The House of the
Seven Gables. It is of some interest to investigate the historical activities
of Thomas Maule, a character with whom Hawthorne seems to have had some familiarity.
Much more can be learned about him by visiting the following website: http://www.maulefamily.com/mauleb9.htm
This brief account of the persecution of Quaker, Mary
Dyer provides a sense of both the cruelty of the Puritan persecution of
the Quakers and the tenacity with which some Quakers provoked that persecution.
It is likely that Hawthorne would have found the obstinacy of both parties
sadly disturbing.
