The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson Book Review

“The Haunting of Hill House,” written by Shirley Jackson, is a novel centered around the protagonist, Eleanor Vance, who is invited to live in the Hill House as an experiment to test Dr. Montague’s claims of the paranormal activities that supposedly take place at the Hill House. Eleanor Vance reveals more of her true self as she lives at the Hill House. As the story progresses, it is revealed that Eleanor is a self-centered individual with a child-like personality throughout her interactions with the occupants of the Hill House.

Eleanor Vance, a thirty-two-year-old female, decides to embark on her first-ever journey after spending the last eleven years of her life taking care of her sick mother. She seems rather excited to travel for the first time in her life after her mother has passed away. Eleanor had some disagreement with her sister and brother-in-law over Eleanor taking the family car. Her sister asked, “But suppose poor little Linnie got sick or something? And we needed a car to get her to a doctor” (6). Eleanor insists that she will take the car and does not care whether if her family will urgently need to use the car or not. Her relationship with her family is dysfunctional as she says that she dislikes “her brother-in-law and her five-year-old niece, and she had no friends” (5). Eleanor’s decision is shown with persistence and firmness as she does not bother to care about her broken family. She is also very self-opinionated which is shown as she converses with Mrs. Dudley, the housekeeper of the Hill House. She repeatedly asks Eleanor about whether she really intended to come to the Hill House but Eleanor insists, “My name is Eleanor Vance. I am expected in Hill House. Unlock those gates at once” (19). Her choice of words, “unlock those gates at once,” signifies her determination and commanding nature. This also demonstrates that she doesn't like to listen to other people’s opinions and suggests that she has a child-like stubbornness attribute to her personality. 

As Eleanor starts to live at the Hill House along with Dr. Montague, the coordinator of this experiment, Luke and Theodora, Eleanor reveals more of her true personality. She becomes self-conscious as she socializes with Theodora who is noticeably more affluent than her. Eleanor shows signs of jealousy, insecureness, and other child-like attributes throughout her interactions with the occupants of the Hill House. When Theodora asks Eleanor where she lives, she lies about having an apartment that has “little stone lions on each corner of the mantel...books and records and pictures” (58). She lies to impress others for something that she does not have. Additionally, when Eleanor gets accused of writing a haunted message by Theodora, she starts to feel jealous of Theodora for drawing the attention of the Hill House occupants. Eleanor even says, “I would like to hit her with a stick, Eleanor thought, looking down on Theodora’s head beside her chair; I would like to batter her with rocks” (103). Eleanor even says that she would like to see Theodora die, which is extreme for just a single alleged accusation. Even the people around her begin to notice that Eleanor has the tendency to wanting to be the center of attention such as Dr. Montague who says, “Stop trying to be the center of attention” (105) to Eleanor. This shows how child-like Eleanor is as she starves for attention which is a result of not going through a normal childhood. Her childhood consisted solely of taking care of her mother which explains why she may be childish at times.

Even though Eleanor is childish, she is quite blunt. Eleanor reveals that she is afraid of being alone (104). As Eleanor mentioned, she says that she is afraid of being alone by herself which explains why she reluctantly accepted the invitation to live at the Hill House immediately after her mother passed away. Her sense of security comes from having a home to go to which she did not have after her mother has passed away. Therefore, it was natural for her to be attracted to the Hill House. Eleanor also mentions that she constantly questions herself which suggests that she is an overthinking person. The constant doubts that Eleanor has are a result of the lack of social interactions that she has had in her life. Another example suggests that Eleanor is underdeveloped which she says that she is “no good at talking to people and saying things” to others (114). She possesses social skills that are inferior compared to others because she has spent the majority of her life taking care of her sick mother. That explains why she says that she is not good at talking to strangers as all she did on a daily basis was to take the role of a caretaker for her broken family. Eleanor’s choice of words are alarming at times where she says, “I know I’m not really going to be hurt and yet time is so long and even a second goes on and on and I could stand any of it if I could only surrender” (105). The word “surrender” has a denotation of committing suicide which is very alarming. Eleanor thinks that the only way to solve a conflict is “surrender” which shows the lack of development she has with her coping abilities. Eleanor’s character is important in the novel as she portrays how it is like to cope, think, and perceive as an individual who did not have the opportunity to go through the normal developmental stages of a child.

In conclusion, the novel, “The Haunting of Hill House,” written by Shirley Jackson is about the supernatural yet horrific activities that the main characters, Eleanor, Theodora, Dr. Montague, and Luke experience as they live at the dreaded Hill House. Eleanor Vance, a thirty-two-year-old woman who is the protagonist of the novel, reveals more of herself throughout the novel from being a reserved person to a self-conscious and child-like person. This revealing in character happens as she breaks away from her family and as she starts to live at the Hill House. Eleanor is a persistent individual that tries to impress others even if that involves some fabrication in the process.