The Woman In Black by Susan Hill

The Woman in Black is a gothic novel written by Susan Hill. The characters in the novel mature and grow throughout the story mentally and emotionally. Reading about the characters the audience becomes aware of the text’s issues. The issues in the text are supported by the protagonist Arthur Kipps growth and the antagonist Jennet Humfyre. Two issues in the text include: The fight against good and evil and Revenge.

Arthur Kipps is the main character. He goes through the most changes emotionally and mentally. When the audience first reads about Arthur Kipps they meet a skeptic, naive young man who believes that there are no such things as ghosts and that we will always receive a rational explanation. When Arthur Kipps is first told about Mrs. Drablow and Eel Marsh House he thinks its going to be very blissfully easy unaware of the secrets hidden in the old, proud house. Arthur’s emotions are high on end which is supported by this quote, “My emotions had now become so volatile, and so extreme, my nervous responses so near the surface, so rapid and keen, that I was living in the another dimension, my heart seemed to beat faster, my step to be quicker, everything I saw was brighter, its outlines more sharply, precisely defined.”One of the powerful emotion changes was in chapter 5 – Across the Causeway. “. . . and the dreadfulness of her expression began to fill me with fear.” Arthur is extremely frightened as anyone would be seeing a wasted face staring at you with eyes full of hated and malevolence. Another powerful bout of emotion Arthur showed was when he entered the nursery. “But for the moment at least there was nothing here to frighten or harm me, there was only emptiness, an open door, a neatly made bed and a curious air of sadness, of something lost, missing, so that I myself felt a desolation, a grief in my own heart.” Arthur felt a deep feeling of emptiness of having walked in to the locked room and seeing everything in its place not having been used in years. He felt feelings even he couldn’t even explain.

Arthur changes mentally when he goes to Eel Marsh House. After Arthur first visits the house he became haunted after hearing a child scream. When he went to the inn his face was pale. He had nightmares that night, since then Arthur hasn’t been able to have good nights sleep as the occurrences of Eel Marsh House haunted him.