Analysing the extract
The question
How does Hill use setting to create a sense of threat and danger?
Write about:
- how Hill presents the sea mist in this extract
- how Hill presents other aspects of setting in the novel
For the first part of the question you should examine the language of the extract closely. Look at how the weather is presented here - how is Hill using pathetic fallacy?
Look again at the extract below and examine the highlighted points. Think about how Susan Hill is using the weather to create atmosphere.
The extract
'Some minutes later, (1) I could not tell how many, I came out of my reverie, to realise that I could no longer see very far in front of me and when I turned around. (2) I was startled to find that Eel Marsh House, too, was invisible, not because the darkness of evening had fallen, but because of a thick, damp sea-mist that had come rolling over the marshes and (3) enveloped everything, myself, the house behind me, the end of the causeway path and the countryside ahead. It was a mist (4) like a damp, clinging, cobwebby thing, fine and yet impenetrable. It smelled and tasted quite different from the (5) yellow filthy fog of London; that (6) was choking and thick and still, this was salty, light and pale and (7) moving in front of my eyes all the time. (8) I felt confused, teased by it, as though it were made up (9) of millions of live fingers that crept over me, hung on to me and then shifted away again. My hair and face and the sleeves of my coat were already (10) damp with a veil of moisture. Above all, it was the suddenness of it that had so unnerved and disorientated me.'
From 'The Sound of a Pony and Trap' The Woman in Black
- (1) I could not tell how many, - Kipps' disorientation is clear from the opening of this extract where he has lost track of time in the mist.
- (2) I was startled - the verb 'startled' makes us feel nervous and anticipate more sudden ghostly happenings.
- (3) enveloped everything - this alliteration emphasises how completely the mist has descended and creates a sense of entrapment.
- (4) like a damp, clinging, cobwebby thing, - this simile is particularly effective in its use of the word 'thing'. That Kipps does not have a specific word here invites us to use our imaginations. At this stage in the story we are likely to come back with ghostly images!
- (5) yellow filthy fog of London; - the comparison between the dense fog that Kipps knows from London and this more delicate mysterious thing reminds us of our narrator's isolation. He is far away from home and even the 'yellow filthy fog' he knows well seems safe in comparison with the sea mist.
- (6) choking and thick - these adjectives suggest a suffocation. These references to death and suffering add an unsettling tone to the piece.
- (7) moving in front of my eyes all the time - the mist is impossible to grasp. This seems to reflect the shifting and unstable nature of the place and ultimately of the effect Jennet Humfrye's ghost has on men's minds.
- (8) I felt confused, teased by it - Kipps' confusion is demonstrated in his use of two verbs here, as if he cannot decide which word to use.
- (9) millions of live fingers that crept over me, - this image is unnerving and particularly creepy. The personification of the mist makes it even more disturbing and threatening. The verb 'crept' adds to the sense of danger.
- (10) damp with a veil of moisture - the mist has affected Kipps on an emotional and physical level. The word 'veil' might remind us of the woman in black and create a sense of anticipation that she will come out of the mist.