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The Woman in Black: themes, genre and context
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The Woman in Black is a modern novel written in the style of a Victorian Gothic ghost story.
Gothic features
Isolated house, fog and marshes, a locked room (the nursery), strange noises, a ghost, a curse and a rational narrator who is terrified.
Pathetic fallacy (weather reflecting mood) is used heavily: sea mists come in as fear rises.
Pathetic fallacy (weather reflecting mood) is used heavily: sea mists come in as fear rises.
Key themes
Isolation: the house, the marsh and Arthur's loneliness.
Grief and revenge: Jennet's grief turns to vengeance.
Motherhood and loss: Jennet, Mrs Drablow and Stella.
The supernatural and reason: Arthur's logic fails.
Grief and revenge: Jennet's grief turns to vengeance.
Motherhood and loss: Jennet, Mrs Drablow and Stella.
The supernatural and reason: Arthur's logic fails.
Context
Hill published the novel in 1983 but set it in an earlier time, in the late Victorian or Edwardian era.
In the Victorian period, a child born outside marriage was a source of shame, which explains why Jennet's son was taken from her.
Hill deliberately wrote in the style of classic Victorian ghost stories.
In the Victorian period, a child born outside marriage was a source of shame, which explains why Jennet's son was taken from her.
Hill deliberately wrote in the style of classic Victorian ghost stories.
How does Hill use fog to create tension?
- Fog hides the landscape so Arthur cannot see.
- He hears the pony and trap but cannot help.
- Not seeing makes the horror worse for him and the reader.
Answer: Fog blinds Arthur, so he can only hear the accident, which builds fear and helplessness.
A Gothic ghost story: isolated setting, fog, locked nursery, curse. Themes: isolation, grief and revenge, motherhood, reason versus the supernatural. Published 1983; Victorian attitudes to illegitimacy.
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