The field of literature has been used in passing intended communication to the audience for a long time. Shirley Jackson has been one of the well-known authors who have done much literature works, mostly fiction. Among the most famous novels that were written by Shirley is The Haunting of Hill House. It has turned out to be one of the known fiction stories in the stories history. This is a story that is more concerned with romance and horror. In her works, she is more concerned with psychological well-being than any other form of supernatural horror. In his book, she majorly concerns with the psychological issues which at the same time dominated her own life. In this fictional work, she incorporates the use of the gothic genre, intending to critique women’s captivity when at home. In this work, therefore, she employed psychological and social themes to bring out the book’s primary concern. The novel handles the mental illness, which has no actual treatment in the whole story. Therefore, this paper will look at how women exhibit the theme of psychological issues of madness at home and how this is a way of life in the society, as presented in The Haunting of Hill House.
As earlier noted, the theme of mental illness and social problems is what Shirley focuses on in this particular novel. In the book, the Hill House is in an uncanny state, which is linked directly to Eleanor’s mental state. There are various instances of violence in the Hill House, which revolves around social issues. In this play, two forms of power come into a person’s mind: Dr. Montague, a doctor, brings out structural violence, and the Hill House brings the issue of cultural influence, which represents women in the society in the time of Eleanor. In this way, it is revealed that women are blamed for every form of mistake during this time despite the state they are in at that particular moment and used as a ladder to seek power and reputation. For instance, in the novel, it is directly indicated that Dr. Montague was involved in blaming Eleanor because she was mad.
On the other hand, he is directly dependent on Eleanor’s madness to prove that he was working towards finding medication and how he can help the Hill House. In a real sense, he was doing nothing to help, rather than relying on false accusations and research that he is not doing. In our real-life situations, we consider a home to be a place where love and care are found. People depend on dwellings to have peace of mind or make sure that people around them are happy. Home has been used in this novel; the house has been considered a place full of violence, where the family members are not going on well amongst themselves.
In this way, it is transformed into a mental hospital. Dr. Montague takes this as an opportunity to employ reasoning and insanity. When they discussed the day they had at Hill House, of Eleanor, they all happened to start worrying about her mental status. This is where Dr. Monatague says that ‘Fear…is the relinquishment of logic, the willing relinquishment of reasonable patterns. We yield to it or we fight it, but we cannot meet it halfway’ (Jackson 159). He claims that even if the house’s state was in a mess, to live in, it was from one’s willing. This is because the owners have once warned them that that was not a safe place that they can spend their time in, but due to ignorance, they decided to give it a try, a condition that has resulted in Eleanor being mad. This is well applied to our contemporary society, displaying that the highest level of madness is ignorance. In the current society, most people tend to ignore simple instructions and do things they are not told to do. This later poses a challenge and often leading them to severe problems.
The beginning of madness to Eleanor is a great opportunity that has been used in this novel to define the power of a woman towards external forces. It is directly implied from the story that women in the society at that particular time had no control or means that they could get themselves out of a trying situation. In the novel, Eleanor showed the concern of surrendering to the Hill House and being a victim of the cultural violence in the madhouse. In this category, the writer talks about women in society. She implies that women are easily driven by luxury and lust, which they expect a shortcut, something that results in them failing. Eleanor has succumbed to the house’s insistent hospitality (Jackson 67), where she was based on how the place was spacious. It means that women’s madness in society, as revealed in a broader context, is that they are not always concerned with a more in-depth situation analysis. Most of them tend to be driven by external appearances, making informed decisions that later tend to affect them in their lives.
This novel directs the audience through various distinct worldview points. Montague, as one of the characters, uses this as an opportunity to create a chance. The mental state of Eleanor has completely deteriorated. In this way, she experiences frequent hallucinations in the Hill House. The novel also highlights that ‘the room came clearly alive around her’ (Jackson 9), which reveals the feminist context of a woman who is seeking to face life but unable due to certain conditions. The hallucinations in this particular context have been presented in various ways; for example, she experienced high temperatures and even saw the blood’s writings on the wall.
The Haunting of Hill House is used by the author to give insights about the madness and hysteria are presented in contemporary society, mainly by basing on the relationship that Eleanor has with the three males in the story. When reading this particular story, they are concerned with madness as Montague and other male characters base it in the whole story. In this way, it has shown the power of a woman to use different situations to adapt to the changing environment. The Hill House is a scary place where everyone, including the caretaker and other people, is warned from living around it. The situation of madness that Eleanor exhibits is a strategy to cope with the room’s scary nature. This is because after being mad as considered, she started being friendly to the environment; however, much the rest of the people were all scared of it. Therefore, she forms a bond with Hill House, and she seems to fall victim to the house. Also, this shows the acceptance of women to different situations when they encounter in life. The only way women can live well in society and adapt to the new conditions is to play made and damn.
In the same case, the novel depicts that a woman in modern society is concerned with creating a new worldview and finding ways that they can do to adapt to such changing situations. Simultaneously, they are always motivated to freedom because they consider that their rights are not considered by society. In this novel, it can be concluded that she desired to be mad. It was the choice that she loved, and being mad was the only option that would make her conform to the new normal that she has decided for herself.
Lastly, it can be viewed that women in society are affected by the events around them. In this case, it can be revealed that her mother’s death haunted Eleanor, and her experience at the Hill House was just a different feeling that affected her in a greater perspective. She ultimately had a different feeling in the Hill House as separate from others. It shows that people in society do not consider women as necessary. This is basing on the fact that men in society are not ready and willing to assist women in their settings.
In conclusion, women exhibit the theme of psychological issues of madness at home and how this is a way of life in society, as presented in The Haunting of Hill House. Literature has been used to exhibit various themes and communicating a specific message to the audience. In this particular novel, Shirley reveals issues that affect people in their daily living, mainly concerning horror and what people seek to choose in society. The Haunting of Hill House is used by the author to give insights about the madness and hysteria are presented in contemporary society, mainly by basing on the relationship that Eleanor has with the three males in the story. It is directly implied from the information that women in the society at that particular time had no control or means that they could get themselves out of a trying situation. Shirley bases this novel on real-life situations, where madness can be defined from different perspectives.