How Does Susan Hill Present and Use Settings in the Woman in Black ?

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Setting is very important in this novel because it is a ghost story, the setting is used to create atmosphere, if it is at night or frighting it can create a terrifying atmosphere which is essential for a ghost story. In the setting of “A London particular” Hill uses a lot of pathetic fallacy to do with the fog to create a sense of foreboding. This chapter is also important because it is when Arthur receives instructions to sort out Mrs. Drablow's papers. It was a dull day, very foggy as it says it was “the thickest of London peasoupers” which is called that because the fog is a yellow colour because of factory pollution. The description of this London fog is an allusion to Charles Dickens, “A Christmas carol”, a particularly famous ghost story, and also other Victorian novels. Hill is deliberately trying to evoke the feeling of a Victorian ghost story. The fog is unnerving, sinister and malevolent, it makes the familiar things become disturbing and puts the reader in an unfamiliar world. In this chapter Susan Hill uses techniques of foreshadowing in her description of the fog as the sea frets that appear at Eel Marsh House whenever Arthur hears the phantom cries of the 'shabby pony and trap' and passengers screaming and drowning in the marshes. The word 'shabby' is used because the pony has been used for this particular job a lot. Susan Hill makes deliberate and direct links to hell and Dante's inferno. Maybe Hill makes these links because the woman in black is evil and is also a ghost so she must have something to do with hell or the devil. The book is written in the style of a Christian writer which means the writer may not necessarily be Christian but writes with Christian ideas, for example; God, the afterlife, the Devil and spirit communication. Susan Hill Presents and uses setting well at Eel Marsh House which has dramatic effects on the reader.
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