How Does Hill Create Atmosphere in Eel Marsh House?

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How does Hill create atmosphere with her description of Eel Marsh House? Hill creates atmosphere with her description of EMH largely with the descriptions given by Kipps. Because the reader is following Kipps’ descriptions, our opinions of the house and the setting change as his do, thereby involving the reader successfully. Initially, the house is a safe place for Kipps, and a place where he feels much better than in the ‘oppressive fog’ of London; his first description of EMH is ‘gaunt, but handsome’, which is very optimistic. Hill further builds up a calm atmosphere by expressing Kipps’ admiration of the house, with the quotes ‘I rather liked this lonely spot’ and his description ‘isolated, uncompromising, but also…handsome’. These quotes foreshadow the isolation that will be felt by Kipps much more strongly later on in the book, but also give a sense of quiet and calm, which further contrasts the din of London. The calm atmosphere starts being subverted when Keckwick leaves Kipps alone in the house for the first time and Kipps begins feeling ‘alone, outside that gaunt, empty house’. This builds tension and strengthens the mood of isolation, as Kipps will encounter the woman in black shortly. Another major factor in the theme of isolation is the Nine Lives Causeway, because it physically stops Kipps from entering and leaving Eel Marsh House with the fog; ‘…a thick, damp sea mist that had come over the marshes and enveloped everything’ (p 73). In this quote, Hill personifies the fog, which makes it seem more sinister and creates the feeling of Kipps being physically trapped by it. Furthermore, the sea ‘frets’ show pathetic fallacy, as Kipps is much happier and less fearful when they are not there, as shown in the quote ‘The air was crisp and fresh’. The mists also reflect the mystery around The Woman in Black and Eel marsh house. With the mists
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