Hauntings, Fantastic stories; by Vernon Lee - Assignment Example

A major theme that the uses throughout the story is mystery. The is good at keeping suspense and never giving away the most crucial element of the narration. It can be easily seen throughout the text. This element of mystery makes the reader want to read the whole story all at once without blinking. The author sees Mr. Oke as a shy person who feels inferior in front of his own wife and wants to make an impression where, on the other hand Mrs. Oke is obsessed with a ghostly tale which encompasses her family and ancestors. Mrs. Oke’s mood revolves around the interest that she has in her ancestor’s story. The two passages that I have selected for close reading include passage VI and passage X. In both of the passages Mrs. Oke was unusually happy and excited for some reason. Throughout the book the narrator is impressed by the looks and etiquettes and according to the husband Mrs. Oke usually remains ill or does not feel well and so it is rare to find Mrs. Oke in such a happy and cheerful state. In passage VI the author also felt that the cheerfulness of Mrs. Oke was quite unusual because of the mishap that had occurred earlier before that day. However the reason of Mrs. Oke’s happiness was somewhat related to the superstitious story that she believed in. The author states Mrs. Okes words which described as to how she felt that day “Oh, don’t you think it delightful, going at this pace, with the idea that any moment the horse may come down and we two be killed?” (Lee, 133). This statement clearly shows that on that day the author was again thinking about her ancestors and how lovelock had died at the same place that she was riding towards. Alice Oke also seemed happy in the last passage of the book where the author realizes her cheerful mood at a sitting. Although the narrator was thinking that Mrs. Oke had forgotten about her ghostly lover but her words about Vita Nouva clearly showed that she was thinking other wise, “"Love such as that...is very rare, but it can exist. It becomes a persons whole existence, his whole soul; and it can survive the death, not merely of the beloved, but of the lover. It is inextinguishable, and goes on in the spiritual world until it meets a reincarnation of the beloved; and when this happens, it jets out and draws to it all that may remain of that lovers soul, and takes shape and surrounds the beloved once more." (Lee, 150). It seemed as if the effect of Alice Oke’s happiness was directly affecting Mr. Oke as well because when Mrs. Oke was happy, Mr. Oke was found in a pleasant mood as well. “Still, it does make me awfully happy to see her like this” (Lee, 132). In the last passage the author observed that Mr. Oke was also happy since Mrs. Oke hadn’t mentioned the name of Lockhart since quite a few days, “Oke had been much more cheerful and natural since our conversation. He no longer seemed so worried; and once or twice I had caught in him a look of great gentleness and loving-kindness, almost of pity, as towards some young and very frail thing, as he sat opposite his wife” (Lee, 151). The two passages are also related in ways as they show that how much Mr. Oke was bothered by his pas stories, Passage six also holds such incidence in which Mr. Oke’s expression had changed when he heard regarding the Whereabouts of his wife. But in the last passage, the irritation had finally got to him. The narrator writes about Mr. Oke’s expression before the occurrence of his manic episode “There was something in his face that made me start up and follow him at once. He was extremely quiet, even stiff, not a muscle of his face moving, but very pale” (Lee, 152). The passages are also related because they show as to how whenever Mrs. Oke was happy something bad usually happened which frightened the author making him believe that Alive Oke was in a state of madness. “I did not know what to answer; this woman positively frightened me” (Lee, 135). There was another instance when the author thought that Alice Oaks expressions were hiding a million things. “I felt, as it were, the throb of a strange excitement n this woman, almost as if I had been holding her pulse” (Lee, 151). The two passages are related to each other to the extent that they portray almost the same situation throughout the paragraphs. Starting from the very point when the author felt that Alice Oke was unusually happy or cheerful, to the point when she tried to make her husband jealous about her imaginary ghostly lover, Lockhart. The passages also depict as to how the behavior of his wife bothered Mr. Oke and how her constant mentioning of her ancestral stories and Mr. Lockhart made him feel inferior to her. But it was Mrs. Oak who was the devil at play. She made her husband purposefully jealous so that she would get some sort of reaction from him. She thought that she was possessed by her cousin Alice Oak and was caught up in a whirlwind to complete the prophecy that was told by her forefathers. But in spite of continuous tries when the author tried to fix the husband wife relationship, it finally came to an end as was laid down by the prophecy. The author has kept the element of mystery throughout his story. It seems as if the novel might come to an end that very instance but it ends when the reader least expects. The book gives goose bumps to the reader and is certainly a good read for those who are more inclined towards horror stories. Works Cited Lee, Vernon. Hauntings; Fantastic Stories. Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1971. Print. Read More