3. Contents … in which we discover…
Summary the big ideas in Chapter 11
Characterisation who these people are
Themes the main morals of the story
Context the cultural aspects
Genre the type of story being told
Style the feel for the text
Quotes some lines of impact
Quiz
4. A restless Samuel Daily arrives by pony and trap
to revive Kipps
Kipps is horrified to discover a trashed nursery
Kipps learns that Nathaniel is the illegitimate
son of Jennet Humfrye
Six years later the misty marshes claimed the
lives of Nathaniel, his nurse maid, Keckwick
Snr and their dog
When the woman in black is seen, a child dies
‘in dreadful or violent circumstances’
In his feverish state Kipps is haunted by the
woman in black
5. Kipps
Kipps was a model of Victorian rational man,
until the supernatural happenings rips his world
apart
‘I never intend to go back there. Nothing
would persuade me’.
Samuel Daily
Has previously refused to become involved in woman in
black rumors - but still does not buy Eel Marsh House
when it comes up for sale
He now reluctantly reveals to Kipps the story of Jennet
Humfrye
His reluctance suggests he is unwilling to accept the
terror of the woman in black until it can no longer be
ignored - then he must divulge all
6. Jennet Humfrye –
The villagers live in constant fear of Jennet’s ghost
Jennet’s ghost has been haunting her sister, seeking
revenge, for ‘killing her child’
Whenever she is seen in Crythin Gifford, a child dies ‘in
violent and dreadful circumstances’.
Kipps encounters the woman in black not only as a visual
presence, but also as the sounds of a child drowning, the
locked nursery door and her haunting in Kipps’ dreams.
Mr. Jerome -
‘Mr Jerome is afraid’ in chapter seven
because
his own child was killed by the woman in black
7. Revenge –
Jennet Humfrye blames her sister for the death of her son
She haunts Alice Drablow until her death.
Why does she continue to kill innocent children from
Crythin Gifford even after Alice’s death?
Sleep -
The woman in black haunts Kipps even in his dreams
this blurs Kipp’s sense of reality.
Also, death is often referred to as ‘rest’ or an ‘eternal sleep’
this implies that he will never be free from the hauntings of
the woman in black or the death of her victims.
8. Religious Faith
Both Kipps and Susan Hill are self-proclaimed Christians
Kipps’ attitude to religion is more ‘formal and dutiful’ at the
beginning of the story, in chapter 11, Kipps asks himself
‘unanswerable questions’ about life and death and the
borderlines between and (he) prayed simple, passionate
prayers.’
This on-going battle between good and evil is a recurring
theme in the bible and ‘The Woman in Black’
Is the woman in black evil or a victim of evil?
When Kipps finds out the truth about the woman in black, he
is almost sympathetic towards her. He even goes on to say
that her actions are ‘understandable but not forgivable’.
This is interesting as Kipps says many times that he is a
Christian yet the church teaches that ‘all sins are forgivable’.
This could show that the whole experience has pushed Kipps
to the limits of his beliefs and he is having to revaluate
himself and his principles.
9. Nature/ The Supernatural
Although we suspect the woman in black is a ghost, it is not
confirmed until Kipps finds Jennet Humfrye’s death
certificate.
Initially, he is reluctant to accept the supernatural
happenings, so he can’t understand the town’s peoples
hesitance towards Alice Drablow.
The supernatural is contrasted with the vast images of the
natural world (such as the marshes and the weather). This
creates an uncertainty of what is real and what isn’t.
Childhood
At first Kipps is comforted by his child hood memories
triggered by the sound of the rocking chair
This soon turns to terror when he finds the nursery in a
state of disarray
This may represent the final breaking of his innocence.
Leaving a broken man
10. Before the 1960s it was considered
deeply shameful for
unmarried women to give birth.
Babies were often forcibly
taken from their mother and
offered for adoption.
So it was for Jennet Humfrye.
At first Jennet thanked her sister
for taking him in. It became harder to
accept the separation from her
son as he grew up to closely resemble
her and ‘more attached to the woman
(his mother) and as he did so he
began to grow colder towards
Alice Drablow’.
Context
11. Light boring
into Kipps
The nursery
is in disarray
Stella
arrives
Kipps returns to
Crythin Gifford
Kipps is saved
by Mr Daily
The mystery
is revealed
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Reader’stension
start
end
12. Gothic Is a combination of both horror and romance
Gothic refers to the medieval type of buildings in
which many of these stories take place
Ghost story Any piece of supernatural fiction, drama or
account that includes a ghost, or the possibility
of ghosts
Narrative Homodiegetic – allows reader to connect more
with Kipps and experience the events for
themselves making the book more intense
13. Dialogue –
To slow down the pace
of the narrative, Susan
Hill has Kipps discuss
his findings with Daily
using dialogue for the
purpose of helping the
reader to absorb the
information.
Furthermore, it allows
Daily’s character to
present slowly the final
horror (of children
dying) in the form of a
climax.
Symbolism –
Before Kipps leaves Eel
Marsh House, he finds
the nursery terrorised.
The nursery is
symbolic for Kipps’
naivety and innocence,
so, it suggests that
Kipps’ innocence and
youth has been
destroyed, he even
describes himself as
feeling ‘like another
man’.
14. When Mr Daily rescues Kipps, the references to ‘bright light’
create connotations of heaven and holiness. Mr Daily therefore
adopts a ‘saviour’ image.
Kipps describes discussing the story to be 'like a purgation'. This
simile suggest that it feels like a weight has been lifted from him
– he’s been cleansed.
Kipps almost becomes consumed by the horror he faced, but he
turns to faith in search of reclamation. He prays 'fervently and
with a newly awakened zeal', hoping that god will rid him of the
intense mental agony he faces.
15. ‘It was a day of winter sunshine but these had
been one of the first frosts of the year.’ - The
‘sunshine’ signifies the gratification he feels for overcoming his trauma - it
creates the image of dawn, the beginning of a new time frame. However, the
‘frosts’ suggest that he’s still not completely mentally secure – that he still
feels the ‘chill’ of the woman in black.
The wind had been stopping since dawn’ – This shows
how that since Mr Daily arrived, Kipps feels more composed and safe as his
fear has ‘dropped’
'The weather might change, the wind drop, the sun
shine, Eel Marsh House might stand quiet and still.’
- This reflects how the house is in a powerful intransient state – that nothing
can change or effect the eerie tone the house radiates; that it's immune to the
powerful force of nature.
16. ‘I realized that there were forces for good and
those for evil doing battle together and that
a man might range himself on one side or the
other.’
The use of the word ‘battle’ makes it seem that there needs
to be a victor between these ‘good and…evil’ forces. Which in
turn, sets up the reader for the next chapter where the book
concludes and we find out whether good or evil has
prevailed.
17. And as soon as ever she died the hauntings began.
And so they have gone on.’
Hauntings – portrays the ghost-like image of causing trauma to other
individuals. The woman has remained in the consciousness of the
inhabitants of the village - her image is one that is well known but incredibly
feared. Thus, most people adopt a silent approach with matters concerning
the woman, for their own sake. Sounds almost accepting the circumstances
18. 'In some violent or dreadful circumstances,
a child has died'
- Violent – evokes a tone of anger and torment. This is reflected in Jennet's
desire for revenge - her hunger to make others understand how she felt.
- The only time we have seen children in Crythin Gifford is when Kipps first
sees the woman in black at Alice Drablow’s funeral. Kipps notes their
‘solemn’ faces and their ‘pale skin’ as they watch him leave. This quote could
explain why the children were looking so scared (as Kipps ponders this
question in the chapter) or alternatively, the children could in fact be the
victims of the woman in black, which creates a foreshadowing of this quote.
19. Apart from Nathaniel, who else
drowned in the marshes?
Quiz
Keckwick’s Dad
Keckwick’s Dad
&
Rose Judd
Mr Jeromes Dad
&
Rose Judd
