The Brothers Hawthorne

Paternal figures are a motif in The Brothers Hawthorne as both protagonists, Grayson and Jameson, are brought into conflict through their respective fathers. Sheffield Grayson embezzled from his company and seemingly drained his wife’s accounts. Gigi looks for him, and Grayson gets involved to protect Gigi from the truth about their father’s crimes. Ian Johnstone-Jameson solicits Jameson to win a spot in the Game at the Devil’s Mercy, to win back Vantage for Ian. Jameson struggles with conflicting feelings about his father: “I told myself after Gray met his asshole father that I never wanted to meet mine” (33). Gigi and Savannah struggle against their father’s expectations; Eve struggles with the lack of a paternal figure; Branford wishes he could be a father, but his secret son would suffer if the secret got out. The power of a father figure over a person’s identity is reflected across the novel through these characters’ relationships—or lack of relationships—with their fathers.

The novel opens with the tree house, a Christmas gift to the four Hawthorne brothers from their grandfather. The tree house is a symbol of the Hawthorne brother’s unity and love for each other. When Tobias Hawthorne wants to teach Jameson and Grayson an object lesson about their relationship, he challenges them to find strong and weak boards in the tree house. When Emily dies, Jameson destroys the tree house as an outlet for his anger toward Grayson. At the end of the novel, “it was Jameson’s idea to rebuild the tree house” (460), symbolizing how Grayson has overcome his pain by confronting it directly with his brothers and Avery.

Each family house in The Brothers Hawthorne symbolizes a core quality of the family. The Grayson mansion, “almost obsessively symmetrical, the terracotta tiles on the roof matched exactly to the clay-red bricks” (83), reflects Sheffield Hawthorne’s exacting expectations and cold relationship to Grayson. Vantage House is a summer home, ancient and steady, and it promises Jameson a solid relationship with his identity and a place of protection for Avery. The Blake mansion, described as a house with “bowels” (evoking a dungeon-like quality), is a lonely place for Eve.

Competition and a focus on winning or losing are motifs in the novel that contribute to the tension and represent the cutthroat nature of obscene wealth in a capitalist society. The Hawthorne brothers grew up under constant competition, “and Hawthornes never lose” (7). Tobias Hawthorne taught his exacting standards through games and puzzles, and he admonished the boys if they lost or didn’t play to win. The Devil’s Mercy is a gambling club, built from wagers, games, and fights with clear victors. The annual competition is called the Game, and players play for secrets or property—high-stakes prizes. The atmosphere of competition so common among the obscenely wealthy also creates competition within relationships. Jameson and Grayson first compete for Emily’s attention, then Avery’s. Eve believes that she cannot have what she wants because Avery took it from her. Eve characterizes her vendetta against Avery as a game, with winners and losers.