The Woman In Black

1. The Woman In Black Lesson Objective: To explore the character of Mrs Drablow

2. The ghost story HOUSE • Most ghost stories have a central location – most prominently a HOUSE • In GOTHIC literature the house (or sometimes just a room in a house) is used as a metaphor for a character or the mind of a character • Gothic literature is full of innocent heroines being trapped in a room in which they face their most hidden fears • In Jane Eyre (a classic Gothic novel) the young Jane is locked in a red room by her evil oppressive aunt. Here she sees the ghost of her dead uncle. Is the room symbolic of her own subconscious and the ghost symbolic of her own dark uncontrollable nature? • Later in the novel we are introduced to a wild female character who has been locked in the attic of Jane’s husband’s house. The wild character has links to Jane as they are both passionate and impulsive. • In the Picture of Dorian Grey the locked attic is the room in the house where the secret of Dorian’s youth is kept hidden. • In Psycho, the final scene takes us down to the cellar, where all the mysteries of the film are revealed.

6. Read until the end of the chapter • As we read • Look at the descriptions that Arthur gives of the house. • Is there anything unusual? • What can we learn about the woman who lived there? • Pick out some quotes from the text which show that the house is affecting Arthur in some way

7. You are Mrs Drablow • She kept a diary: • Write the last entry in her diary before she died. • Copy the style of the writer: • Descriptions of the weather • Descriptions of her inner feelings • Hint to the reader that something is ‘not right’ • Does she know about the woman in black? • Is the chapter title ‘In the Nursery’ relevant? What does Mrs Drablow think about what’s in the nursery?