The Woman in Black – Reading Assessment

Skill 2: Structure
Why do I need to link to Chapter 1? How do I link to Chapter 1?

It shows your ‘sophisticated’ knowledge of the structure of the novel – it is also very important! How
would your experience of reading ‘The Woman in Black’ have been different if the first chapter did
not exist?

Key points about Chapter 1

 Hill establishes to the reader that Arthur is a solitary and disturbed character, deeply
troubled by mysterious events in his past through his references to how he has been
“haunted” by memories for years - “I knew that I should have no rest from it, that I should
lie awake in a chill of sweat, going over that time, those events, those places. So it had been
night after night for years” (p.11) and intrigues the reader – e.g. his emotional reaction to
the ghost stories (p.10)
 The first chapter creates a sense of ‘dramatic irony’ in that it imbues a sense of foreboding
around Eel Marsh House, “… it had, after all, been he who had sent me on that first journey
up to Crythin Gifford, and Eel Marsh House, and to the funeral of Mrs Drablow” (p.5) so
when we read on and Arthur travels to these places/events we remember how this is
associated with his fear and anxiety in Chapter 1.
 Introduces the key theme of the supernatural (through Arthur’s stepchildren telling ghost
stories (“… to tell the horridest, most spine chilling tale..” p.8) and Hill’s choice of language in
describing Arthur’s experience, “Yes, I had a story, a true story, a story of haunting and evil,
fear and confusion, horror and tragedy” (p.10) “Well then, mine should be exorcised” (p.11)
(explore connotations – how this description evokes ghosts/haunting etc for the reader –
hints at what is to come)
 Structures the rest of the novel – Hill uses this chapter as a framing device, “I should tell my
tale” (p.11) as it introduces how Arthur will tell his story “I would write my own ghost story”
(p.11)
 Emotive language: “I was the one who had been haunted and who had suffered” (p.11) “For
although I was in control of my emotions now, I dreaded the hours of darkness that lay
ahead” (p.11)
 Metaphor: “I truly believed that I had at last come out from under the long shadow cast by
the events of the past” (p.5) “I was trying to suppress my mounting unease, to hold back the
rising flood of memory” (p.9) “I had always known in my heart that the experience would
never leave me, that it was now woven into my very fibres” (p.11) “…it was from me alone
the ghost must be driven” (p.11) – unpick why Susan Hill chooses these metaphors to
describe Arthur’s emotions.
 Simile: “Like an old wound, it gave off a faint twinge now and then” (p.11) highlights the
pain and lasting ‘injury’ that his experiences have caused him.
 Can you label the PEDAL ingredients?

Hill presents Arthur’s first reaction to Eel Marsh House in ‘Across the Causeway’ as one of
admiration and excitement “I should become quite addicted to the solitude and the
quietness”. Hill’s use of hyperbole highlights how Arthur is drawn to the setting, but more
importantly the isolation of it. The strength of the word choice “addicted” feels particularly
meaningful, perhaps associating the location with danger as well as admiration – linking to
how important setting is within gothic literature in reflecting themes and creating
atmosphere. Hill’s introduction to the novel reflects this as she feels “atmosphere and a
sense of place” are the most important elements within a ghost story. The importance of
setting is clear from the beginning of the novel – in the opening chapter Hill uses symbolism
which links to Arthur being associated with “solitude” as he is distant physically and
emotionally from his family on Christmas Eve. Structurally, this moment where Arthur
appreciates and admires Eel Marsh House is very different to the opening of the novel. Hill
structures the novel so that is begins in the present tense, this establishes Arthur as a
troubled and solitary character, “I had no taste for social life”1 to the reader. Arthur appears
emotionally separated from his family on Christmas Eve due to being “haunted”2 by events
in his past “I wanted to banish the chill that had settled upon me and the sensation of fear in
my breast”3. Interestingly, this chapter also creates a sense of foreboding for the reader due
to the mention of Eel Marsh House and how it is associated with Arthur’s “lonely terrors” 4.
Hill’s use of the present tense creates sense of ‘dramatic irony’ “… it had, after all, been he
who had sent me on that first journey up to Crythin Gifford, and Eel Marsh House, and to the
funeral of Mrs Drablow” this guarded and foreboding reference to Mr Bentley’s guilt about
sending Arthur there contrast greatly with his first reaction to Eel Marsh House in ‘Across
the Causeway’;5. Thus Hill’s structural choice is extremely effective in creating atmosphere
and suspicion around the central location of the novel.

1
p.3
2
p.11
3
p.9
4
p.12
5
p.44