Susan Hill, in the introduction to 'The Woman In Black' acknowledges M.R. James' 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' as a source for her modern ghost story. Consider the similarities and differences between these two texts.

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English Literature

Unit 7: Post - 1914 texts - Coursework

Comparative [Social/Cultural/Historical]

M. R. James: Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You,

                      My Lad [1931]

Susan Hill: The Woman In Black [1983]

Susan Hill, in the introduction to ‘The Woman In Black’ acknowledges M.R. James’ ‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Ladas a source for her modern ghost story. Consider the similarities and differences between these two texts.

   

    In Susan Hill’s introduction to ‘The Woman In Black’ she mentions M.R. James’ short stories as some of the greatest ghost stories ever written. Her appreciation of James’ writing is one of the reasons for the many similarities and differences between the two texts. Hill was greatly inspired by the setting of ‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’ and this results in her novel being a similar reading experience to James’ story. One of the most obvious influences on Susan Hill’s novel is the similarity between the title of M.R. James’ story and one of the chapters in ‘The Woman In Black’, titled ‘Whistle and I’ll Come to You’.

   There are also many differences in the writing style and technique between the two texts; Susan Hill uses her own techniques for the novel as well as using ideas from other writers. And although the two texts are individual in their own right, the influence of ‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’ by M.R. James on Susan Hill’s ‘Woman In Black’ is evident not just in the introduction to the novel, but similarities linking the two are common throughout the text.

   At the beginning of both texts we meet the first similarity between the two, the setting. Both are set in unfamiliar or unknown places, which is the first step to create a small sense of mystery in the story. Moving away from the familiar adds effectiveness to the eerie storylines, the less we know about something, the more scared we can be by it. In ‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’ the setting of a seaside symbolises the edge of the world, where there is nowhere to run from fear. Eel Marsh House in ‘The Woman In Black’ is also very isolated, with it only being accessible at low tide. Both writers use the setting effectively to set down the mood of the story.

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   The main characters in the stories are also very similar, both Parkins (‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’) and Arthur (The Woman In Black) are young, curious and non-believers of anything to do with the supernatural. Parkins in particular makes his views very clear:

   “My own views on such subjects are very strong. I am, in fact, a convinced disbeliever in what is called the ‘supernatural’-“

   It is obvious from this that Parkins feels strongly on the matter of the supernatural, as does Arthur. The similarities do not end there; they ...

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