The Woman in Black Essay Example for Free

The womanhood in forbidding endeavorNo reader of The womanhood in Black Can be left in interrogation about its conscious evocation of the gothic. It is full of motifs and effects associated with that genre, How far would you agree with this statement of the novel?I agree undeniably, with the above statement, as the novel is a pastiche of the Victorian/Edwardian ghost point which is a sub-genre of the gothic. Thus consciously evoking the medieval. However, it could be argued that Susan hummock at times cleverly manipulates the motifs and effects associated with the Gothic genre. It is theses motifs and effects that ar present in the gothic genre, which I give discuss in The Women in Black (1983). I will begin by briefly discussing this essay on the genre itselfThe Gothic genre is a genre that has been burning artistically for centuries, ever since it was more or less invented by Horace Walpole in the classical gothic novel The Castle of Otranto1765 possessed the indi spensable and core sections of this genre, it was set to be a benchmark for following work in this field such as The Woman in White (1860) by Wilkie Collins, The Italian (1797) by Ann Radcliff, The Monk(1796) by Mathew Lewis and Bram Stokers Dracula (1897).The Women in Black is full of Gothic elements and conventions throughout. The reader at first realises the effectiveness of the first person narrative of the novel this is delivered by Arthur Kipps the principal(prenominal) character of the story. Effectively, the reader gains a first hand insight of thoughts, feelings and emotions of Arthur instantly as they happen. Therefore, slowly but gradually the reader brings attached to Arthur due to the sense of immediacy that they run across with the unfolding of emotions, thoughts and events when Arthur does. This is initially employ in the opening chapter Christmas Eve when Arthur statesI was seized by close tothing I cannot possibly describe, an emotion, a desire- no, it was r ather more, a knowledge, a simple certainty, which gripped me,Indisputably, the Christmas Eve opening of The Woman in Black echoes the opening of Henry Jamess bow of the Screw. It is a convention of the ghost Story were in the festive season people gather by the fire and make up lurid inventions about vampires to even rats and bats. In addition the intertextuality of the novel is emphasised with the striking resemblance between Arthur Kipps and Jonathon Harker in Bram Stokers Dracula (1897).Here both are lawyers and both are very rational which is exemplified when Arthur describes himself as a commonsensical man. Another example of the novels intertextuality is one of the chapters actual predict Oh whistle and Ill come to you which is taken from an M.R. James ghost story. These thoroughly present intertextuality continuously imprints on the reader the elements of the novel, the ghost story. This is too agreed by to the highest degree Enlish critic equal (1)Alan Jones who says Hills novel also shows an eclectic indebtedness to other text. The referential quality of text like Walpoles The Castle of Otranto or Lewiss The Monk, with their nods in the direction of medieval manuscript, Shakespeare, graveyard poetry and so on, finds full measure in the pages of her text.The first delegate acknowledged by the reader as a common Gothic element is the setting of The Women in Black. overall, there are two main settings of the story, one being Monks launch where Arthur begins the story of The Women in Black. Initially, Monks Piece is presented as lead from out of reach from civilisation, an area of remoteness and isolation, a place really distant. Arthur describes its denudate of remoteness and isolation which makes us feel ourselves to be much further from civilization.The eerie or differently inexplicable events are a key theme in the Gothic genre and The Woman in Black is no exception. In The Woman in Black is the constant emphasis of man versus record tha t is repeated throughout. Susan Hill provides an undetectable malicious and treacherous force, using nature, whether its a fog, sea-freats or a mist. The net felling of supernatural is without a shadow of doubt, created by the fog, one of Londons deadliest peasoupers. The fog slowly, but gradually constructs the sense of the supernatural by creating an illusion of uncertainty for both Arthur and the reader. This is conveyed when Arthur describes the fog.Fog was out door, hanging over the river, creeping in the and out of alleys and passagessly entrance at every opening of a door.This idea of the fog suggests the fog has become an entity by technique of personification used by Hill. This projects the idea that the fog is more than a fog. In that way it is given a beastly presentation especially by the use of the simile like a furred beast. The distinct description of the fog provokes the inevitable thought of the supernatural with its ever-present malevolent force.This idea of the isolation and remoteness is often used in the Gothic. It gives a clear sense of ghostliness and vulnerability about Monks Piece. This is the setting were Arthur begins his ghostly narrative in an attempt to Exorcise the haunting of his past. This brings to mind the idea that when Arthur dies, his accounts of events would be found by someone else like the traditional manuscript found by Jonathon Harker in Bram Stokers Dracula.The other main setting of the novel is Eel marshland erect. In comparison with Monks piece, Eel Marsh home plate has an air of strange sensation, an excitement mingled with alarm. Eel Marsh House is projected as a place that will have you startled with excitement but also vividly perceptive at the same time.This is illustrated in the description when Arthur initially sets eyes on Eel Marsh House by saying it was a tall, thin household that is isolated and uncompromising but also on the other hand Handsome. Nevertheless, Eel Marsh house is so indistinguisha ble of Monks Piece in the sense of the sheer solitude and loneliness about the place. However, dissimilar Monks Piece there is evil with a touch of wickedness about Eel Marsh House, this illustrates that Eel Marsh House is an updating of the Gothic castle. It is this Gothic aura that seems to be seducing Arthur. This idea can be unmistakably accepted when Arthur mentions thatI was aware of a heightened of every one of my senses, andConscious that this extraordinary place was imprinting itself on my mind and deep on my imagination tooThis cleverly hints the supernatural force that seems to be enfold itself around Arthur, inevitably, he appears to be addicted to the place and not discouraged by eeriness compound by the satanic sea vultures and by the bleakness that is being hurled by the small burial cause near Eel Marsh house which is typical Gothic iconography. This is further emphasised by the condition of the decayed gravestone with patches of greenish-yellow lichen and moss . Moreover, its the indecipherable dates and names on the Drablows graveyard that create enigma, just like how the novels time dot and place of setting is left ambiguous.An atmosphere of mystery and suspense is another key Gothic element in the gothic genre and The Woman in Black is no different. The presentation of London in A London Particular establishes the mystery and mood of the novel. The city is presented as dark, evil-smelling, with a foul lugubriousness atmosphere, when these carefully constructed metaphors and adjectives bind, they do paint a vivid image for the reader.In addition, the true sense of mystery and suspense is cemented by the introduction of Jennet Humfrye the Woman in Black herself. At the funeral of Mrs. Drablow, she is described as a woman with some terrible wasting disease a woman with skin that is tautly stretched and strikingly, a woman only a short time away from her own dying. This description deployed by Hill illustrates that this is no ordinary woman and inhuman in some sort even to the lecturemost that she is a walking corpse, a curse on Crythin Gifford. Therefore, Hill sustains the key Gothic theme of death and curse in the novel.The novel itself is built around the mystery of the woman and the tragic death of her child. This unravels that Jennets disconnected from her son because of the social stigma associated with children being born out of wedlock. This is heightened by the inexplicable behaviour of the Woman in Black and more effectively the reaction of those who see and hear of her presence. This is conveyed to the reader when Arthur saysI had neer in my life been so possessed by it, never known my knees to trembleAnd my flesh to creep, and thence to turn cold as stone.The absolute fear here is over-ridden by the total danger which she has caused him. This utter tantrum is fuelled by the unexplainable event of disappearance by the wasted woman. This high, even overwrought emotion is common in most Gothic novels it clearly portrays the feeling of impending doom being experience by the character, in this case, Arthur when he is in intense fear and sense of shock as he witnessed the vanishing of The Woman in Black.It is clear that Susan Hill effectively deploys the basics of gothic elements of gothic fiction. However, these elements are altered to appeal to a more modern audience in the case the castle. Therefore it can be said that Eel Marsh House is an updating of the Gothic Castle. Hill effectively sustains her Gothic genre of Gothic horror of contracting the soul, freezing the faculties and nearly annihilating them. This is apparent in The Woman in The Black several times with excessive examples of Arthur and even other characters including Mr. Jerome, when he is in shock, paralysed by fear of the Woman in BlackMr. Jerome grabbed my wrist and held it in an agonizingly tight grip or collapse with some kind of seizure.Or even more effectively when the sense of danger and horror is built u p using Arthurs companion dog Spider, who becomes accustomed to the threat presentEvery her of her body was on end, her ears were pricked, her follow erect, the whole of her tense, as if ready to springThis form of reaction defines gothic horror capturing the idea highly-developed by Ann Radcliffe.Another Victorian/Edwardian convention of ghost stories that cements the pastiches of the novel is how the setting is kept ambiguous. This is shown when Mr Bentley sends Arthur to Eel Marsh in-shire? to represent the firm at Mrs Drablows funeral. Moreover, the context of the novel is kept unclear, because the story could be taking place after the First World War or more likely in the Edwardian catamenia due to the lack of cars present and more significantly to the continuous appearances of a pony and trap in the novel as a leitmotif.Overall, Susan hill captures the mood of the Gothic genre and specially the sub-genre the ghost story. Hill shows a great variety of traditional gothic eleme nts with a blend of originality and innovation by overturning the readers vista of the genre inconsistently within the novel. In the woman in black the oppressor is a woman and the dupe is a man, Arthur, threatened by a powerful, impulsive and a tyramical female, where on the other hand most gothic genre have a woman as a victim. Nevertheless, this ingenious thesis by Hill is a pleasant one because undoubtedly the novel is unpredictable while still consciously evoking the gothic.