In Shirley Jackson's novel "The Haunting of Hill House", there are numerous traces of the representation of the uncanny which was suggested by Sigmund Freud. In the story, the Hill House itself is an uncanny figure to the central protagonist, Eleanor, as it features as her mother which has an ambivalent nature as the meaning of the German word of `uncanny' itself. Moreover, the house also acts as a mirror reflecting her own image so that she can see herself by looking at the house, thus the house is actually an allegory of Eleanor's psychological condition and she is literally consumed by it in the end as the boundary between her and the house collapses. Besides, another protagonist, Theodora, is a double of Eleanor as she figures her opposite side which is her denied self and self-destructiveness while she also expresses the repressed feelings of Eleanor. These examples match with the concept of the uncanny which stresses on the uncanny effect of the `Doubling' and `Infantile complexes' . (Alison 32) According to Freud, "the uncanny is that class of the frightening which leads back to what is known of old and long familiar. (Freud 220) In other words, the uncanny can be expressed by "the distinction between imagination and reality is effaced" (Freud 244) and "an actual repression of some content thought and a return of this repressed content" (Freud 220). Moreover, he posits the uncanny moment as one in which two ostensibly opposing figures, elements, or definitions appear to coalesce, or in which one is mistaken for the other, revealing the fundamental instability of their distinction. (Alison 32) Besides, it involves the infantile complexes which was formerly repressed but are later revived and gen... ... middle of paper ... ...d. Brian Docherty. Macmallan Press, c 1990. Rubenstein, Roberta. "House Mothers and Haunted Daughters: Shirley Jackson and Female Gothic" Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature, Vol.15, No.2 (Autumn, 1996) Tracy, Alison. "Uncanny Afflictions." Spectral America: phantoms and the national imagination. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press/Popular Press, c 2004. Bibliography Edwards, Justin D., 1970- Gothic passages: racial ambiguity and the American gothic (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press), c2003. Lootens, Tricia. "Whose Hand Was I Holding?" Haunting the house of fiction: feminist perspectives on ghost stories by American women (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press), c 1991. Meyers, Helene. Femicidal fears: narratives of the female gothic experience (Albany: State University of New York Press), c 2001.
The Haunting of Hill House is a gothic horror novel written by Shirley Jackson. Supernatural occurrences take place within the house revolving around Eleanor. Eleanor is a thirty-two-year-old woman who never once has felt the sense of inclusion. Eleanor seems to never recall the feeling of delight in her adult years due to the fact that she was a caretaker for her now deceased Mother; who took away most of her freedom by being incredibly restrictive. Dr. Montague, a doctor that specializes in analysis of the supernatural rents Hill House, a supposedly haunted house. During the renting period, Dr. Montague begins an experiment inviting individuals who have had involvement in abnormal events
Fear brings forth a certain atmosphere which compels us to act upon it. The era in which the book was published allows us to see how common these fears were. Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House is an excellent portrayal of how fear controls the human mind by using the characters as examples. In the book Eleanor, Theodora, Luke, and Dr. Montague have all been influenced by fear in the story, whether it be the fear of love, the unknown, family, rejection, expression, or loneliness. These different types of fear plagued their minds causing their actions to reflect upon them. Jackson explores the theme of fear in The Haunting of Hill House by creating a cast of characters that in turn are manipulated by the inner workings of their minds and the
Fafari, Morteza. Freud's Uncanny: The Roles of the Double in Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. 2010. Print. April 28, 2014
An unnamed narrator visits his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher. The duality is expressed mainly between Roderick and his sister Madeline. The siblings have a rather bizarre relationship and are as close as twins. After Madeline collapses he starts to mimic her behavior. “The disease of the lady Madeline had long baffled the skill of her physicians. A settled apathy, a gradual wasting away of the person, and frequent although transient affections of a partially cataleptical character were the unusual diagnosis.” Madeline gave another reason not to be buried. It was possible with her condition to be mistaken as dead when really she was alive. “I know not how it was—but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit.” This quote shows Roderick’s suggestion that the house has its own intelligence. “To an anomalous species of terror I found him a bounden slave.” Roderick is now afraid and lost and terror over rules
The mind is a complicated thing. Not many stories are able to portray this in such an interesting manner as in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher". The haunting story of a man and his sister, living in the old family mansion. But as all should know, much symbolism can be found in most of Poe's works. "The Fall of the House of Usher" is no exception.
Ever do something stupid to impress someone? Throughout a person’s life they will do something very ignorant or say something very stupid hundreds of times. Most of the time it is because they are trying to impress somebody or change their ways to make someone or others accept them. The story “Haunting of Hill House” has great examples of people changing just to fit in. The author Shirley Jackson, who died in 1965, was one of the most brilliant writers of her time. She was widely acclaimed for her hair-raising stories and novels of the supernatural. Although the “Haunting of Hill House” fits this description perfectly with its eerie description of supernatural tales of the happenings of Hill House; there is a more to it than hauntings. The story starts out with three guests being invited to the house to monitor any out of the ordinary occurrences in Hill House. Throughout the story the guests experience some ghostly moments. However during this one of the guest named Eleanor changes her ways to fit in with the guests. Her actions show that society’s views on a person can lead that person to things they would never have thought of. One example would be when Eleanor told lies about herself and her past. Another example would be when Eleanor went around the house alone having no fear. Finally Eleanor became open and spoke out what was on her mind.
Sigmund Freud was first to take notice toward personality. “Like all of us, Sigmund Freud was a product of his times” (Myers 454). Freud took notice to a sequence of repetition within his patients. Freud had a large impact on psychology, history, and literary studies, however his most essential commitment was to focus on the unconscious mind. “In Freud’s view, human personality-including its emotions and striving- arises from a conflict between impulse and restraint-between our aggressive, pleasure- seeking biological urges and our internalized social controls over these urges” (Myers 455). His patients were experiencing a series of free association, which is also known as a state of unconsciousness. Freud explored unconscious with consciousness experience. The thought that individuals presented other reasons other than those they professed in earlier stages in time. “Freud’s
Of the copious number of topics in the world today, nothing captivated Sigmund Freud’s attention like psychology did. Known as the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud laid the foundations for comprehending the inner workings that determine human behavior (1). Through his involvement with the hypnosis, dream analysis, psychosexual stages, and the unconscious as a whole, Freud began a new revolution that faced its own conflict but eventually brought the harvest of new knowledge and clarity to the concept of the mind.
Mary Shelley book Frankenstein, is a dark romantic novel that was published in the 19th century. Social prejudice based on physical appearance impacts a person's character negatively. Individuals make misjudgments based on physical aspects which affect how they treat the individual. Mary Shelly brings out the theme of appearance and prejudice in the novel Frankenstein. "The monster created by Victor Frankenstein highlights societal prejudice (Russell)."
Sigmund Freud’s theories on the construction of the mind are simple, but fundamentally changed the field of psychology. He proposed, among other things, that the human mind is composed of three parts: the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. The preconscious consists of information, such as a telephone number, that is “accessible to consciousness without emotional resistance” (Schellenberg 21). In Freud’s estimation, the unconscious is the most important area of the mind. The information stored within it has “very strong resistances” to becoming conscious (Freud 32). Residing in the unconscious is the id, which “contains everything…that is present at birth… – above all, therefore, the instincts which originate from somatic organization” (14). From birth, all action is instinctual, from the id. The id recognizes and entertains no desires but its own and is impatient to have its needs met. This phase lasts until a part of the id changes “under the influence of the real external world” (14). This changed portion b...
The notion of the 'uncanny' is reoccurant in Horrors, the idea that something familiar has been altered in such an unsettling way that the audience garners discomfort. The use is particularly effective in film as the fear of the uncanny is so dissimilar to tradition notions of
In modern fiction today, one of the modern themes that can be seen throughout these works is the Das Unheimliche or “The Uncanny” due to the influence of Sigmund Freud during this era and also due to the life style of post war era as well as authors wanting the fiction to be relatable to the real world today. First I would like to provide some historical background for Woolf’s novel “To the Lighthouse.” This background information will be about the time when Virginia Woolf was livi...
Long regarded as the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) lives on today as an incredibly influential and powerful figure in the applied discipline of psychology. For Freud, it was his intense study of dialogue and interplay of involuntary human communication that ultimately led to his conclusions concerning the human unconscious. In contemporary studies, these conclusions have evolved into many of the distinguished, and more importantly controversial theories we associate with his name: the Oedipus complex; castration anxiety; penis envy; repetition compulsion; repression; etc. Much of the contention surrounding Freud is grounded in the belief that his works instituted notions that cannot be proven scientifically, such as personality development in infantile stages; sexuality in unconscious desire; and the unconscious drives behind human mannerism. Yet, despite the fact that many of Freud’s theories have not withstood the test of scientific scrutiny, few can argue against the fact that Freudianism is still impactful and has permeated other branches of modern theory. To prove this point, we can bring to attention the names of two modern theorists that have not only built upon Freud’s ideas in their work, but have consequently expanded his influence into other realms of literature, and other spheres of study. Harold Bloom (1930 – present) and Jacques Lacan (1901-1981) are only two notable thinkers that extend Freud’s ideas and have gained far-reaching influence in intellectual life. In response to this revival however, new opponents of Freud have found the opportunity to retaliate with their concerns and arguments. Nevertheless, the presentation of human identity and unconscious by Freud’s opponents and successors c...
a dull grey colour as if it had lost the will to live and stopped
The story unfolds in a rickety colonial mansion described by the narrator plainly as “a haunted house” (Gilman 1) with barred windows and rings bolted to the walls (Gilman 2). These features along with the “horrid” (Gilman 6) yellow wallpaper entrap the narrator and swaddle her in her own madness. As the “woman” (Gilman 6) in the wallpaper takes hold of the narrator’s psyche she grows sinisterly corporal, depicted through the unintelligible sporadic entries. The purpose of the narrator’s journal warps from entries assuring herself of the pettiness of her sickness to entries that confirm and act as horrendous safe haven’s for her unhinged mental condition. Entries like “I see her in that long shaded lane, creeping up and down. I see her in hose dark grape 'arbors, creeping all around the garden” (Gilman 8) juxtapose nonchalant writing style with dark subject matter in a way that creates a disturbing tone that must be uncomfortably ingested by