In Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu, the gothic protagonist Maud is in danger. She was raised among ghost stories in the gloomy Knowl estate with a father who barely spoke to her, surrounded by cemeteries, churches, and the strange Swedenborgians. After her father passed, she moved to Bartram-Haugh with her Uncle Silas, and now she’s in a precarious situation. Although she understands her danger through a supernatural light shaped by her gothic predispositions, Maud is primarily in physical danger by the people who surround her. First, if danger came Maud’s way, the setting Silas had placed her in would stop her from getting help. Namely, Monica’s fears that Silas would neglect Maud have come true, as he cares about his children and Maud as much as his ruined estate. When Maud initially tours Bartram-Haugh, she’s …show more content…
Maud first encountered Dudley at her old estate where he conspired with Madame de la Rougierre and then tried to kidnap her before beating her gamekeeper. Now, Dudley often returns to Bartram for money and continues to be violent such as when he fought Captain Oakley. After that, Dudley “stood lower than ever in [Maud’s] estimation; for though [she] feared him more, it was by reason of these brutal and cold-blooded associations” (313). Even worse, he has taken a special interest in Maud and obsessively wishes for her to marry him. Because Maud wants nothing to do with Dudley, every encounter between them becomes an altercation. Additionally, Dickon Hawkes, the miller, plays a similar role. When he first runs into Maud, he almost harms her for trespassing, saying, “Dang it, lass, thou’rt in luck I didn’t heave a brick at thee when I saw thee first” (214). He’s quick to anger and turns to violence, often physically abusing his own daughter without care. But besides these outwardly violent characters at the estate, Uncle Silas has a very strong motive to murder Maud, and it’s possible he was murdered in the