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Internalized Trauma In Shirley Jackson's The Haunting Of Hill House

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In Shirley Jackson’s gothic horror novel The Haunting of Hill House (1959), Eleanor Vance stands as a testament to emotional repression as defined by Sigmund Freud. Haunted by her past, her guilt and shame from the relationship between her and her invalid mother and desperation for approval, she quickly becomes a target inside of Hill House. As Eleanor's mental state deteriorates, Jackson masterfully explores how internalized trauma and the search for validation can lead to psychological unraveling, with Hill House symbolizing the dark, hidden recesses of the human mind. According to Sigmund Freud, repression is an act of the unconscious brain. In The Haunting of Hill House, Eleanor Vance shows a prime example of this. Eleanor holds intense …show more content…

The Haunting of Hill House delves into the reality of anxiety and what makes us truly uncomfortable. The haunting behind this story is the house itself. The house symbolizes the inner fears of the inhabitants, and projects their psychological trauma. There is never a ghost, it’s simply the house that is a malevolent force dominating and controlling those around it. Hill House becomes more familiar as the story goes on, never normal, but an understanding of the darkness. Eleanor’s descent into madness shows just how powerful Hill House is, and its ability to destroy those inside of it. Hill House strips Eleanor’s sanity bit by bit, until she’s left with nothing but isolation. The house encapsulates every insecurity and trauma, and turns it against themselves. At the brink of Eleanor’s insanity, “but I won’t go, she thought, and laughed aloud to herself; Hill House is not as easy as they are” (181). She feels chosen by Hill House, protected by it, and special. Eleanor creates a bond with the house, “go away Eleanor, you can’t stay here; but we can” (181). Her fear of rejection and abandonment is apparent throughout the book, but in this particular scene, we see a shift in Eleanor that resembles almost a different person taking over her body, someone loud, confident and not

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Eleanor was finally able to do whatever she desires. Dr. Montague then sends an invitation to Eleanor with step by step directions leading her to Hill House. The death of her mother and the directions were actually invitations to Eleanors freedom. The author mentions a car in the novel that symbolizes her freedom. With the car, Eleanor had a choice to go to Hill House.

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Shirley focuses a large part of the introduction of the house on describing its odd design and initial impressions. Dr. Montague describes the house as being on a “slight slant… that may be why the doors slam shut” and notes how “every angle is slightly wrong” (Jackson 77). This causes an uneasy feeling for the reader as they question the effect this will have on the characters throughout the novel. Also, Eleanor’s initial impressions of the house cause her to hesitate and question whether she has made the correct decision.

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