'Woman in Black'

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Claire Brown 4B                26 April 2007

‘Woman in Black’

The story of Arthur’s haunting by Jennet Humphrey is told with an effective narrative technique. The most obvious device employed, initially, by Susan Hill, is to tell the story in flashback. As soon as Arthur decides to commit his story to paper we leave the present narrative. In ‘Christmas Eve’, the opening chapter of the story starts full of ‘Cheerfulness and bustle’. Susan Hill interests the reader when she sets up a happy atmosphere. The peaceful beginning contrasts well with the dramatic ending of violence, suddenness and ‘cold fear’, which seems to be dealt with briefly to prevent pain for Arthur.

        At the beginning of the novel the writer drops seeds that point to the future and give hints of something dreadful to come, ‘Long shadow of the past’, ‘woven into my fibres’. Hill is signalling that something awful has happened that will always be with Arthur. This leaves many unanswered questions for the reader to think about, ‘what has happened in the past to make Arthur so unhappy?’ Further on in the novel the reader is introduced to Stella, Arthur’s fiancée. We are left to wonder what happened to her and how come he ends up happily married to Esme.

Arthur’s story is labelled not, ‘casual entertainment,’ but a story of, ‘haunting and evil, fear and confusion, horror and tragedy’. The cosy atmosphere becomes slightly soured.

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At the end of chapter one Hill writes, ‘When it was over, I would have work to do.’ The sentence is effective because it ends the chapter in a cliffhanger, which again leads to more questions and builds up suspense of what is to come. It was the telling of clichéd ghost stories round the fire that provoked Arthur’s memories to come flooding back to him.

        Mr. Samuel Daily introduces the area where Arthur is staying, with eerie names associated with the place, ‘Nine Lives Causeway’, ‘Eel Marsh’ and ‘Gape Mouth Tunnel’. The author gives us early indications that ...

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