Virginia Woolf's "A Haunted House

Short Story Analysis
A Haunted House

A Haunted House
Short story analysis
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
By Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
Prepared by:
Fera Komala Sari (E1D 010 002)
Efri Lestari (E1D 010 025)

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
A Haunted House illustration

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
Introduction
Two ghosts, a male and a female, a couple, go around their former
house searching for some buried treasure. In the end, they realize
that the real treasure is actually "the light in the heart," the love of a
certain partner for the other partner.
This short story is haunting, yet beautiful. The beginning starts off
with a "ghostly couple" that is looking for something. They wander
around the house as quiet as they can so they won't wake the
inhabitants. The narrator--who lives in the house--isn't awoken by
them. However, the searching and confusion does pass onto her. The
drawing room is described next. When the couple is in there, there
are green leaves, roses, and apples reflected in the window. Anyone
else just sees the room how it is, though. The house's heart beats
"safe" over and over; ensuring that the treasure the couple is looking
for is indeed there and belongs to them. Next, the couple when they
weren't ghosts is described. The wife died hundreds of years back,
which sent the husband traveling. He eventually came back to the
house, though. The story pulls back to the present, where the couple
begins to recall old memories. They stop in the narrator's doorway
and look upon her and her lover. The narrator then wakes and
guesses that the hidden treasure is actually the "light in the heart".

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
Intrinsic elements
• Setting
a)place – in a house formerly
owned by a ghost couple
b)time- a long time ago
c) weather conditions- fine
d) social conditions- the ghosts
led a comfortable life when
they were still alive
e) mood or atmosphere- light

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
Character
1. the male and the female
ghosts: both protagonists,
both flat and static.
2.The narrator: protagonist
3. The narrator husband:
figurant

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
Conflict
The conflict here is Internal,
that of Man (or ghost, to
that matter)vs. Himself, as
each of the ghosts here is
frantically searching for the
said treasure around their
former house, afraid that
the new occupants have
found it.

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
Point of view
The Point of View used in this
short story is the Omniscient
Limited - The author tells the
story in third person (using
pronouns they, she, he, it,
etc). We know only what the
character knows and what
the author allows him/her to
tell us. We can see the
thoughts and feelings of
characters if the author
chooses to reveal them to us.

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
Theme
the theme Things are not
always as they appear to be
is applicable to this story
which major theme is love
story.

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
Literary devices
In my opinion, the literary
devices used in this story
are Symbolism and Irony.
The treasure mentioned by
the ghosts here is not
tangible, it is just a symbol.
Irony because the title
sounds scary, but the actual
story is not.

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
PLOT
• a) Introduction
This short story takes place in a house where two ghosts, a
couple, used to live.
b) Rising Action
The couple-ghosts think that the present living occupants of
their former house have already found the buried treasure that they
are looking for.
c) Climax
The ghosts are still searching for their treasure and they are
wondering whether it is in the garden.
d) Falling action
realizing that the treasure was not found by the house’s
present occupants, the ghosts are relieved that it is safe, and such
treasure is really theirs.
e) Denouement:
Finally, the ghosts know that the treasure is really safe, and theirs,
and such treasure is not tangible things, but intangible, found in the
light in the heart.

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
Section 3
Discussion (Analyze by approach)
1. What approach which is used? is
it interesting? Why?
2. What is the meaning behind
“Here” and “It” in the short
story?
-----> the buried treasure that is the
treasure of life
3. The short story are using imagery,
irony and full of symbols. What
are the interesting about it?

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
Approach
The technique of "close reading"
was created by critics such as F.R.
Leavis and Cleanth Brooks, and it's
not a coincidence that it came to
the fore in the wake of High
Modernism. If one didn't engage in
"close reading" of authors such as
James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, or
William Faulkner, one couldn't read
them at all. Old techniques such as
reading for the plot result in one
getting to the bottom of the first
page of one of these writers' works
and saying, "Huh?"

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
Here and It are the buried treasure?
the author reveals that the buried
treasure is “"the light in the heart”.
Throughout the story, Virginia Woolf,
uses the repetition of the words “here”
and “it”
By using the repetition of the word
“here” and “it”, Woolf emphasizes the
significance of both of the words. The
couple says “it” could be “here” in the
book room, the drawing room and the
upstairs. They also say if “it’s” upstairs or
if they left “it” in the drawing room. This
makes the reader start to question what
exactly are the ghosts looking for and
where did they leave it? The author also
makes the reader wonder if “it” is “here”
and if not “here” then where is “it”?
When Woolf finally explains that “it” is
“treasure”, the reader is led to imagine

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
Imagery, irony and full of symbols
Woolf reveals clues throughout the story by
showing the reader the happy thoughts and
love that the ghosts shared with each other. For
example, “we slept here” and “kisses without
number”. The story has a symbolic meaning to it
because the treasure is not an actually tangible
item, rather a symbol of love. Imagery is used in
the story very often and is used for great effect
by giving the reader a mental picture of what is
being described and giving the reader the
perception that Woolf desires for the reader.
Examples of imagery in the story are abundant
but a specific example is in the simile, “The
doors go shutting in the distance, gently
knocking like the pulse of a heart.” This puts the
reader right in the story and allows them to see
the doors shutting and the ghosts moving
through the house. Just by the title, A Haunted
House, the story makes the perception of the
house seem that of an evil place. This shows the
irony because both of the ghosts are the
protagonists and throughout the story it shows

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
Section 4
Conclusion
A haunted house by Virginia
Woolf is a short story which is
interesting and wonders the
reader to read and read again
until she or he get the point.
It is interesting because no
one can guess the meaning
before she or he use close
reading and looking for of the
meaning of symbols which
are appear in the short story.
The reader will not satisfy
until she or he get the point
of the story. Although the

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
Section 5
Bibliography
http://sparknotes.com/
http://www.novelguide.co
m/index.html
http://encarta.msn.com/en
cnet/homework/l…
http://www.cliffsnotes.com
/WileyCDA/
http://www.reviewsofbooks
.com
http://www.bartleby.com/
http://www.shvoong.com/
http://www.gradesaver.com

A Haunted House
By Virginia Woolf
Prepared By
An Illustration
Introduction
Intrinsic Elements
Character
Conflict
Point of View
Theme
Literacy Divices
Plot
Discussion
Approach
THANZZZZ
ANY
QUESTIONS?????.................
.........

Virginia Woolf's "A Haunted House

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Virginia Woolf's "A Haunted House