AQA English Lit Unit 1 (The Woman in Black) - Can someone please mark my essay?

Hey there guys, I would really appreciate it if someone could please mark my essay on The Woman in Black and give me any feedback on what I could do to improve. Thanks a lot guys! :biggrin:

Question - How does Hill create a sense of isolation in the novel 'The Woman In Black'?

Answer:

Throughout Hill's novel, isolation plays a central theme as both a device to intensify the atmosphere of tension and also to further the plot of the novel.

My first example of the use of isolation in the novel is the geographical isolation of Eel Marsh House, a location which is pivotal to the plot and plays an essential part in the storyline. The quote "Minutes later, they were receding across the causeway" also adds to the sense of social isolation when Keckwick leaves Kipps to search through the house in solitude. Although Keckwick is abnormally quiet in most situations, the sense of company offered by him helps relieve Kipps of some of the terrifying fear of being stranded at Eel Marsh without anyone to help. We can infer that Kipps is reluctant to see him go and despite his outward manner towards the issue, he secretly doesn't **** to be left alone. In addition, the very name 'Eel Marsh' has connotations of being trapped and fear due to the references uses (an eel is a strong muscular animal that often constricts it's prey to death, while a marsh is an environment that is often thought to be cut off from society and generally left alone by people.) The contrast with the small, relatively friendly village of Cwythin Gifford serves to accentuate this feeling even more

In addition to this, another example of isolation is evident in the conspiracy of silence displayed by all the residents of CG. By purposely leaving out information (" ’She could hardly do otherwise, living there’ and he turned away abruptly ” ), Hill creates a sense iof foreshadowing and the ominous feeling that Kipps is being left out of the loop. Obviously, we as the readers and future Kipps himself are aware of why the villagers are doing this, but the arrogant past Kipps is not, which is what makes this use of dramatic irony all the more effective in singling out Kipps from everyone else.

Furthermore, the first person narration of the novel also creates a sense of isolation as it restricts our point of view to what Kipps is feeling and cuts off all other interpretation so we are forced to rely purely on Kipps' initial thoughts on a person, which can sometimes give a distorted view on events. For example, take Samuel Daily, who was first described as Kipps to be "a big man, with a beefy face and huge raw-looking hands, well enough spoken" which fits in with the stereotypical description of a 'country bumpkin', but he ends up turning out to be an extremely affluent businessman. Also, Kipps is presented as an "arrogant" and "modern" person in stark contrast to the simple and traditional ways of the villagers, which further sets him apart from the other characters.

My final example of isolation is the grief and solitude felt by the eponymous Woman in Black herself. It is revealed that throughout the novel that the Woman in Black used to be an ordinary, caring mother ( "In Scotland, a son was born to her and she wrote of him with a desperate, clinging affection."), but through the death of her child, she felt the need to take revenge on people for her loss. This inexplicable drive for revenge, even on people who had no idea of the events that had conspired, along with her hatred for humanity is what creates a sense of isolation in TWIB. By taking her anger out on the rest of the world, primarily innocent children who had done nothing to harm her, her depression and isolation become even more apparent, which serve to provide a chilling feel to the novel.

In summary, Hill's skillful use of Gothic literary techniques are an essential part in creating the atmosphere of isolation that seems to permeate throughout the whole novel and creates a blood curdling backdrop for the events that lie in store.

Posted from TSR Mobile

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

TSR Learn Together

Official Rep

Hi there,

While you're waiting for an answer, did you know we have 300,000 study resources that could answer your question in TSR's Learn together section?

We have everything from Teacher Marked Essays to Mindmaps and Quizzes to help you with your work. Take a look around.

If you're stuck on how to get started, try creating some resources. It's free to do and can help breakdown tough topics into manageable chunks. Get creating now.

Thanks!

Not sure what all of this is about? Head here to find out more.