How Susan Hill Creates Tension and Isolation

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Woman in black Susan Hill creates the sense of isolation in the novel ‘The woman in black’. In three main, different ways. The first way Hill creates the sense of isolation is through the sense of referring to gothic topography. The route to Eel Marsh House, is across the causeway. Nine lives causeway is the only way to get to Eel marsh house and get out of Eel marsh house. It is a strip of road surrounded by marshes and water. At a certain time the causeway will flood leaving the house isolated and trapped from any way out. ‘When the tide came in, it would quickly be quite submerged and untraceable’ By saying ‘submerged’ and ‘untraceable’ it gives the idea that once he is in Eel Marsh House he will be unable to escape. As nine lives causeway will be untraceable and submerged under water, so the only way out of the house is by drowning. If you submerge something you are trapping it under water leaving it untraceable, much like all the lives that have been lost in the marshes, they have been submerged and then untraceable in the forever lasting marshes. The name nine lives causeway could be the amount of lives lost at the causeway when it get submerged under the water. It could also be the fact that a cat has nine lives and whoever gets submerged into the causeway has nine lives. Haunts the causeway, as they have nine lives they are not completely dead and have nine more lives left to live. When keckwick leaves Kipps alone in the house he begins feeling ‘alone, outside that gaunt, empty house’. This builds tension and builds the mood of isolation because Kipps will face the woman in black soon. We know that he is bound to face her soon, although the naive younger kipps is unaware of what he has got himself

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