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It's not as cold-hearted as it sounds, though. When Theodora is victimized by the haunting, she starts to get more attention than Eleanor. function in any situation outside of a home. Yet, the audience cannot help but feel empathy for her as we follow her from childhood to adulthood, from life to death. from the beginning of the novel onward. controls in his hands" (1.66). I wouldn't call it horror, but clearly it wasn't necessary for Jackson to portray her characters that way in terms of the story arc or their relationship. Eleanor is such a rich, flesh-and-blood character that it's really hard stone lions and oleandersappear later in the dream apartment she lies fears prevent her from seeking out her own stone lions and oleanders contented" to her Hill House peers (4.2). Eleanor lies about her apartment to impress Theodora. Fear. [An=?4,z=='|2 =c)NOEYAOG6zz;O==]yOg|6B?^4$IS ^G/ G/B SW| z5 _^;pu _~zJ3_GBjkAI?~~!3@= Y ~i2os- u> Fz=M ~en.oE*zz0ew|'WA}h@}x=A}dv>t>>O5OuGoMw@~;%q_vi>3}DB?y@o|?4cAE>? 9__%?B_cW ?zOCoEK?G/?_#//_ I see it as more a need to belong, to be loved and accepted, that is so deep it stops mattering who she gains attention from. She is unable to go out and This book never gets old to me - nor does the Lottery. There were way too many instances of female relationships in this book to be a coincidence. It's to point out that what we're 35 0 obj 36 0 obj Thea is purposely left ambiguous; she may be lesbian, since the gender of her partner is never revealed, which struck me as unusual. Perhaps the most telling example of Eleanor's She only ever imagines her freedom; she never actually gets [-1017 -521 1017 1052] with a stick" or "batter her with rocks" (5.158). During their conversation she points out, Its nice to be listened to. (The Bent-Neck Lady.) One morning, during a paralysis, Arthur has an aneurysm and quickly passes away as Nelly lies there, helplessly watching her husband die. Hill House becomes an attractive alternative, a place to make a home. So be forewarned, possible spoilers in this response. As Theodora says, she's "got foolishness and Why cant you see me? Whenever she feels like the others are distancing themselves from her, she does everything in her power to come offering below is not the end-all-be-all of this character, and you I mean, come on, they are 30 year old women holding hands and skipping through a field of flowers, Theo has a "roommate," Nell gets extremely jealous of Theo's friendship with Luke, and at one point in the book they are both wanting to say "do you love me?" When Eleanor gets to Hill House, things don't change in this regard. stopped in wonder at the thought. I was surprised as I studied analyses of this novel that female sexuality is not considered the major theme of this book. Even Instead, we watch the inevitable tragedy run its course. You might agree with some I personally don't think so. Sexuality is certainly a key part of adult life, but female sexuality is not equivalent to a lesbian identity. It seems to the expectations of a new parental figure, Dr. Montague. To see her character go from a scared little girl to a de-pressed and unheard adult helped the audience build empathy for her, especially as we see her struggle and eventually give up. Eleanor's Image from @TheHaunting on instagram, the shows Instagram page, Jessica Espinoza Diaz, Social Media ManagerMarch 28, 2022. we're talking about is Eleanor's inner child. I see it as more a need to belong, to be loved and accepted, that is so deep it stops mattering who she gains attention. [For sure this book is about Lesbians/WlW Eleanor is definitely some flavour of gay. But the apartment itself never becomes a real thing. Stricken by grief and depression, she seeks comfort from her family, but they remain too self-absorbed in their issues to listen to Nelly as she is slowly losing her mind. The thing about Eleanor's freedom is that it always comes in an illusory form. I myself was not sure what to make of Eleanor in terms of her romantic or sexual identity, since most of her interactions with people seemed awkward and naive. Do you read it as attraction? Eventually, she returns to the source of all her trauma, Hill House, where she is convinced by the then insane ghost of her mother to hang herself. I didn't think of it as horror, but it was a prominent theme, so it could be. person to shelter and protect her from the terrors that truly get under I am inside. suspended childhood, bound to the care of her invalid mother. Eleanor's drive to Hill House is instructed by someone else: Dr. Eleanor has spent the last eleven years of her life in a type of I think the overall 'horror' of the novel is actually Eleanor's lack of overall identity, as she seems to be someone who is very unaware of herself or her surroundings, and has little self worth or grip on reality. to pin down the who of who she is. [I didn't feel like it was a major theme, but I did feel that there were some quite obvious feelings between Eleanor and Theodora. of Eleanor's character. We've put this together to get you She tells her family, I was right here, and I was screaming and shouting and none of you could see me. Now she her roll. At the time this was published homosexuality was characterized as a mental illness, so some of Eleanor's unraveling comes from her jealousy of Luke's attraction to Theodora. loneliness, hardship, love, guilt, and the world outside the Why does she do this? On the one hand, we see a woman desperately trying to Although there's a good argument to be made for Theo being repressed tbh, because you can kind of see her being affectionate and then very angry about Eleanor's affections. << Possiblyalthough I'm gonna toss this into the cereal: Mrs. Montague and Arthur were totally having an affair. Jackson was a superb writer. Definitely! [h?0? Her sole purpose in the story is for her death to be used as a steppingstone to urge her siblings to uncover the truth and heal from the trauma of Hill House. I'd say it's more unrequited than 'repressed' though, given that this book was written in 59, any really blatant attempts to show her affection could go really poorly, and I do think you see Theo reacting negatively to her affection more than once (also Mrs. Montague). I think this story was more of the horror of a woman who was not emotionally equipped to exist in the real world at that time in her life. [] make her own home, and, like a child, she requires the home of another (9.15). Theodora promptly refuses, Eleanor sighs that she's "never been wanted anywhere" (8.33). Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. On the left Elenor Crain, played by Victoria Padretti, on the right young Elenor Crain, played by Violet McGraw. Required fields are marked *. To me, the companion was the elder sister's lover and the younger sister didn't want to acknowledge that they had a familial relationship. already looked at. It's just that Conventional wisdom, however, makes me think "1959 publishing date? What It's It was not cold at all, but deliciously, fondly warm. She can't stand having people touch her feet and finds Theodora's shade of red nail polish wicked. The feeling of being unheard by those around you is a relatable human experience we have all felt at one point in our lives. When My final take on it was that Eleanor was so unloved, that she reached out for love and attention from anyone who was willing to notice her or favor her with a smile or a kind comment. The horror seemed repressed life, a woman who has really lost her life after childhood. If you'll remember, Eleanor's sense of freedom When the others make Eleanor leave the security of Hill House, fear is finds she is "unbelievably happy" in the mansion, despite the whole The Bent-Neck Lady appears for the first time in years, seemingly mocking her. arrested development is her need for a home. Refresh and try again. it. I think that tended to send her even farther down the hole of being mentally/emotionally imbalanced, along with afterwards, having to live with family who used her and didn't care for her. acceptable approaches to the task of figuring out just who exactly Theodora appeared to me as most likely lesbian or bi, but Eleanor didn't really know one way or the other what she was. The fears of Eleanor's inner childfear of she couldn't be happier. Because the book is told almost Sure, these were As she dies, she returns to all the traumatic scenes of the haunting of The Bent-Neck Lady only to realize that it was her all along and this was her destiny. What makes I think it is more female repression in general; thoughts, feelings, reactions, how these are treated by society. She's constantly questioning what she's said or what she's done, concerned that she might "[seem] foolishly, childishly I myself was on the fence about that, though I do see what you mean. The author (Shirley Jackson) had been asked this question during her lifetime, and she responded similarly to the way Nancy explains it - it is about feeling closed in about your life and repressed in all ways, not just sexuality. they do little justice to just how often Eleanor's arrested development xydWU7PCBB&B eyT[HDFEcTDTD_u}yvu:u]^~kun# we all need homes and family to get by, Eleanor seems unable to Such is the case with the wonderfully well-rounded character of Eleanor Crain in the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House. The mystery miniseries allows the audience to slowly build relationships with the Crain kids as we watch them grow up before our eyes, with Eleanor being one of the youngest. during her car ride came in the form of imagining new homes, homes with Eleanor's inner child and lack of social growth is what really prevents [Edit: I marked this to be in spoiler tags but for some reason they aren't showing up for me. feels she can finally go out and live her life for herself. invitation arrives to go and stay at Hill House, she totally goes for some childish traits on the inside. entirely from her perspective, we get to see Eleanor's inner child rage But Eleanor lets all those dreams go in order to meet her inner child's need for warmth and security: Here Eleanor made lots of references to having a boyfriend, or envisioning herself with a guy eventually (the way she'd always tell herself 'journeys end in lovers meeting'). In the end, Eleanor becomes her own haunted house of fears. The audience sees Nellys transformation into a completely different being as she is reunited in death with her parents, doomed to rot within the walls of Hill House, together, for eternity. shouldn't consider it as such. At escape the confines of her current life predicament. Q'F4@aa:IU}r@D*uKgI-Mt8tPOU}:Ct`:0A2J:SZ And once she arrives at Hill House, she sets out to be the I waved and jumped and screamed and you didnt even look. }c00$oA~Ob {X5`clt I took the horror to be her own self-consciousness and how she was always judging herself and others to the point that it overwhelmed her. In this instance she asks her family why couldnt you see me, and the answer was they were too preoccupied with their own lives to give her what she needed. Eleanor Vance really is. When that doesn't work for her, what choice does she have but to give herself the same ending the companion had? Im reading it now, and thats one hundred percent how Im reading it. (Side note, the 1999 film The Haunting portrays Theo as an openly bisexual and polyamorous woman when she says to Nell "my girlfriend doesn't think I have commitment issues, but my boyfriend does"). Seriously, this smattering of examples may help prove our point, but 2022 Shmoop University Inc | All Rights Reserved | Privacy | Legal. As I was reading this, from the first interaction between Nell and Theo, I said out loud "they're lesbians" and "they gay" almost every single page (my roommate was pretty exhausted by my excited squealing by the end). The original owner of the house was unmarried but lived with a companion, to whom she left her house after she died. It's not that these readings can't agree on the facts I read and reread this so many times years ago. @0=:y1\}o_z g]s^ww7qu/BM8MOZW:~BpRq?G"vS@]wyWo!tww~7!u^[nOO=vDm9o3iw%|o+~v+~w_tt6_/>mNrm{C:*h{*_?o?W=2P}zG~=@DqI o~08N(p,w1.^0ZV=F^^o{:/Ijx[&x^of7~>FndE~==n!a9z:zX|=X^^n'FCyl6VX)taU6?{;zks-BFgHo50`VhdHe4A~>A9"oC>HQ4/dLOA(e P 5wBm. dh!kh\AkU>'6AWmh: r5y =:y BGAFAEYA@GE5:]4+t t)eDA^=e ]yz =5?CWkA^#?EG]?hD7?~=?L}M o@7=Ft>XtnF? In her flirtation with Luke, Eleanor wonders if he will be gallant or mysterious (6.3). So the Considering half the book is about how awesomely cool Theo looks, I'd say it's heavily implied -- plus it's mentioned Theo lives with a girl, and kind of heavily implied that they're far more than "friends". endobj she imagines all the different lives she might live in all the different For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Even if we havent experienced something, we can all empathize with characters we feel akin to. In fact, they become much worse. halted her normal psychological development, because Eleanor has a Shirley Jackson was utterly shocked when some of her works were interpreted along this line--her amazing biography, written by Ruth Franklin, reveals how important friendship was for her, particularly because, sadly, she did not have a lifelong female friend, had no female friend growing up that she would keep and her mother was so horrible to her, so demeaning, so hateful, that Shirley Jackson did not even get that primordial relationship to give her comfort. houses. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The Haunting Fate of Eleanor Crain: A Character Analysis of the Haunting of Hill House, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window). At the end of the episode, Nelly reappears, sobbing in the same spot she had disappeared in. Good luck, sister. Why does anybody do anything in a horror story? stream More likely she looked at Theo as someone to protect her and be her friend, which many women prefer another woman's company for comfort and understanding than a man. to Theodora about. grown up on the outsideshe's thirty-twoshe's still carrying around Reader Q&A, Eleanor Vance is the protagonist of The Haunting of Hill House, Her character is not without flaw, though, and can be just as selfish and self-centered as her siblings; however, this characteristic is not her downfall. When she leaves her The most heart-wrenching scene to embody this idea during the series runtime must be during the episode Two Storms. During the episode we see the Crain family preoccupied with trying to get the power back on in the house, while the struggling Nelly disappears, causing the family to separate and look for her throughout the house before ultimately getting distracted by their own obstacles. Montague, who "guid[es] her from some spot far away, moving her car with time and time again. During her trip to Hill House, This seemed like a hatred that happened due to her lesbian relationship. The surprising revelation of Nellys ghost being her all along is gut-wrenchingly tragic and sickening. and achieve with a newfound lease on life. Once at Hill House, she And when she ponders Once she came to Hill House, she found she had a hard time relating; going back & forth between her self made reality to what was actually going on. And Theodora was clever enough to figure that out at several passages of the novel. wickedness mixed up" (4.167). She is the second youngest of five siblings. And when the Eleanor developed a sexual attraction toward Theodora. Authors reveal more than they intend or know. endobj wonderfully ironic actually. While I definitely picked up on some gay subtext, I haven't really thought of it that way What exactly do you mean? For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. She also had a habit of coming close to people and then pushing them away, such as how she'd shrink away from Theodora's physical affection, or how Luke would try to be charming and make her laugh and then she'd privately castigate him in her thoughts and write him off as selfish and too simple. Let It doesn't state whether Eleanor had any kind of relations with any man in her past, so of course she'd probably be a little gun shy around Luke. do we mean by that? /Length 25911 first thing we notice in Eleanor is a desire to free herself from the Very interesting. Eleanor seems to have an attraction to both Luke and Theodora. Huh, that's an interesting question! Her life appeared to be strictly sheltered from reality, as she took care of her mother for years until the one night Eleanor decided not to get up and her mother died. it. /Type /Stream Error rating book. Why I am home, I am home. her skin, like the real world. No stone lions for me, she thought, no oleanders, I have broken the we first meet Eleanor, she's dealing with the death of her mother, and I think she seemed to have ambivalent feelings about Theodora which would vacillate between great admiration and great disgust. Eleanor worries about making a fool of herself in front of the others. Your email address will not be published. this point, readings start to diverge and differ like light split In fact, that whole scene reads like a schoolyard love scene. After seeing the Netflix series I was motivated to read it. that all those years spent in the service of her mother must have No matter how hard she tried to cry for help to those around her, they paid her no attention, except for the audience who saw her, listened to her, but could not help. and that's the one point all readings of her character agree on. All those lives she imagines living while on the roadlives with 34 0 obj endobj spell of Hill House and somehow come inside. On the other hand, potentially soul-sucking horror of the place. kL9memrT=I"e-Yq `qZNS . confines of her reality. I think too Theodora represented a kind of liveliness and freedom of expression that Eleanor forbade in herself, so possibly this too explains her complex reaction to Theodora. I am home, she thought, and what ultimately drives her car into that tree. It absolutely is there as subtext throughout this novel. Before further analyzing her character, we should summarize her purpose in the series. Also repressed sexuality in general. started into diving into Eleanor's psyche. When she added Luke into the equation, I was beginning to think "wow, they are not just gay they are poly!" are many, many more examples of Eleanor's childishness to be found. None of you even looked. (Two Storms.) This quote embodies her character perfectly. Eventually, the Crain children lose their mother to the insanity of the house, ultimately moving in with their aunt. serious case of arrested development. I thought about the possible lesbian connection several times throughout the reading of the novel. through a prism. ? &+g~MO^g!"+{b)0~n59{{(u@)4Ot`N-u0~iAA:,(}n5=VDB]ALA::+GXP()t A\08{t0@GMeH:Sg\@Qt1~8sty':&rs{{h%*u`(BgJVBu`@js@ht a_o{tP (uV%2JXJLiaTS>`& 99App Past stone lions and oleanders and a cup of stars. her from achieving her freedom, not some malevolent, outside force. Nah" I think you might be onto something here. What better wait to start living your life, right? >> I also have some vague recollection of the movie from the 60s. % /Filter /FlateDecode and cup of stars. So The house is then imbued with resentful repressed same-sex sexual interest, which inflicts itself on Eleanor -- she picks up on the (not-so) subtle hints that Theodora has a lesbian partner (her "roommate") that she's fighting with, and thinks that her future will be following Theodora to her home and becoming her new lover. These same fears attract her to Hill House. What Eleanor Crain, or as her family affectionately nicknamed her, Nelly, is a tragic character. This upsets Eleanor immensely, and she thinks about how she would like to "hit her [This book has been lying around our house for years. All are The companion was "hated to death" until she committed suicide. 33 0 obj Nelly was a character who was bound for tragedy since the first appearance of The Bent-Neck Lady. She was a character who is very relatable as we have all felt unheard by someone in our time of need. 
[Yes! Eleanor, was a very repressed person and lived mostly in a fantasy world created in her mind. do we bring this up at the beginning? While If that is the case, what do you make of the ending of the book, and what do you make of the fact that she can sense everything that happens inside the house? So I think that the reader has enough indicators to believe it was more than friendship and that there was a unrequited sexual element, regardless of the sheltered life Eleanor may have lived in the past or even what the author may have consciously intended. Examples? points and add to them, or you might take them in a different direction, The companion inherits the house when the elder sister dies. I was thinking the same thing! When she alone hears Hill House's song, she feels herself to be special and believes "no one else could satisfy [Hill House]" (9.79). of, well, herself. I can see your interpretation, though, that part of her is urging her to "come home" or embrace her sexuality, or alternatively, telling her to return to her prior life before this part of her was revealed. The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled. I suspect there was some kind of attraction but I also suspect that Nancy Sculerati nails it with the words "repressed life" and other points she makes. But the younger sister doesn't see her as worthy of owning the house and harasses her until she ends up killing herself. (Adobe) She is often overlooked or dismissed by her family who never listen to her. homeoutweigh her fear of ghosts and phantoms and things that go bump in leaving Hill House, she asks Theodora if she can move in with her. As with most humans, we often all share common experiences, whether those experiences be traumatic or pleasant. So, Eleanor's freedom is pretty much all or you might totally disagree with everything we say. in her mind, while the reality of her situation is that she's confined }__o@o_o_+D6~)2w_A_E}
go7+{C? They're right there in the book. illusions, but we might also call them dreams: something to work toward It's the part of her character that drives her And there Welcome back. Ask the Author. Soucys Average speaks to artists everywhere, Depps domestic abuse battle sparks intrigue, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 entertains fans old and new, A24s Everything Everywhere All at Once is a cinematic masterpiece worth watching, Fresh Review: A film About Untasteful Dating, Substitute Teachers Struggle in the Classroom, Student commuters scared of soaring gas prices, How Environmental Wellness Affects Students, Frida Kahlos impact as a feminist and her indigenous appropriation, The Student News Site of California State University, Bakersfield, Your email address will not be published. And the why? However, upon realizing that she was The Bent-Neck Lady all along, the audience realizes that she could not be helped, and her fate was cemented the moment her family moved to Hill House. "back into the fold" (5.95). %PDF-1.7 [I don't know that anyone else mentioned that the elder Crain sister, a spinster, has a young woman from the village come and live with her. I think she is just sheltered and does not know how to deal with new experiences. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. mother's house, she goes directly to Hill House. Although Eleanor is all (Identity) And between this and the experiences she had at Hill House just sent her all the way into insanity. takes hold of her. She also worries about not being liked by the others. Eleanor spent so much time coping by living in her imaginary world in her mind, she had no idea what actual reality and dealing with real people and situations were. Oh boy, do we have examples for you. I definitely picked up on something vaguely homoerotic going on between Nell and Theo. or ask your favorite author a question with You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Eleanor such a tragic figure is the combination of the two traits we've woman she's always wanted to beand to free herself from the confines They could have become enemies or friends without adding those nuances. Eleanor Crains character is a tragic one, and from the start of the series, we can see her character is meant to die. When Hill House, we discover further depths to Eleanor's character. In adulthood, we see that she is still struggling with the constant apparitions of The Bent-Neck Lady. She describes to Arthur, her eventual husband, that the ghost often appears during her sleep paralysis. In her childhood at Hill House, she is often haunted by The Bent-Neck Lady, a gray ghost with a protruded bone sticking out the side of her neck. the night (what we traditionally associate with childish fears). More questions about The Haunting of Hill House. Do you read it as attraction?
