The Hollow of the Three Hills - Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Remember the really killer idea: We are manipulated by Hawthorne because of our expectations based on his use of the conventions of the horror genre. We expect the hag to be evil and the lady to be good. Therefore we prejudge them. The Lady's apparent fall from grace is therefore more shocking and repugnant (link to society etc). However, there is no actual evil perpetuated in the story - only the horror of our own intolerance and prejudice.
Key theory: feminism. Women's roles in patriarchal society and how they are damned if they try to break from these. Enigma.
Summarise the story in ONE paragraph - What elements of language and structure are used in the first 3 paragraphs to suggest that there is some supernatural power at work?
- How is a mood of fear and foreboding created?
- What images are used to convey decay and suffering?
- How is the natural moral order of things inverted in this story?
7. How effective is the end of this story?