"Beloved" and "The Haunting of Hill House"

African-American Studies
English > Comparison
Literature
Literature > American

A look at how Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" and Toni Morrison's "Beloved" share a distinctly feminine perspective on the nature of ghosts in the domestic sphere.

2,926 words () | 2 sources | 2000 United States

From the Paper:

"Although they were written nearly thirty years apart, and deal with completely different periods in American history and American culture, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and Toni Morrison's Beloved share a distinctly feminine perspective on the nature of ghosts in the domestic sphere. In both novels, while female protagonists are haunted by female ghosts, the root of the disturbance is definitely a masculine, patriarchal one. This patriarchal evil, expressed through feminine supernatural phenomena, places constraints of domesticity and servitude not just on the victims of the ghosts, but on the ghosts as well. Furthermore, the constraints go beyond mere domesticity, but destroy the identity and the sanity of the antagonized woman in the process."

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APA Citation:

"Beloved" and "The Haunting of Hill House" (2012, January 15). Retrieved February 10, 2012, from http://www.academon.com/Comparison-Essay-Beloved-and-The-Haunting-of-Hill-House/122

MLA Citation:

""Beloved" and "The Haunting of Hill House"" 15 January 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <http://www.academon.com/Comparison-Essay-Beloved-and-The-Haunting-of-Hill-House/122>