Aura (3)

The reading, Aura, for this week was incredibly entertaining in a way that I felt as though I was Felipe Montero himself, partly because the entire story was told in a second person point of view. This novel completely gave me chills as I couldn't help but notice the strange connection between Senora Consuelo and Aura. In fact, as the story line progressed on I became aware that Aura was the mirror younger image of Senora Consuelo. In addition, as Felipe continued on with the job he too appeared to be projection of deceased General Llorente. Thus, I believed the goal behind the job offering was to find a replacement for Senora's dead husband. For, as Felipe continued putting the memoirs in order for Senora Consuelo he starts believing that he is the General, that there's no doubt about it (137). As a result, at the very end of the story, Felipe believes that he has come back to Consuelo at last and that he loves her (145). Thus, from this story I have come to believe that Senora Consuelo had implanted the idea of Felipe being General Llorente in his head, however besides this thought, I was also debating whether Felipe could of been the reincarnation of General Llorente, so to speak, that has once again come back for her. 

Aura(Blog #3)

I appreciated the fact that Aura written by Carlos Fuentes was originally published in Spanish then later translated into English. I definitely feel that this book should be enjoyed by all because the reader experiences a sort of personal haunting from the story. The reason I say this is because the entire novel is written in the second person as if you, the reader, plays out the character Felipe Montero himself. The novel dives deep into the gothic eeriness as he obtains the job and enters the dark house in which he has to be lead by a strange voice. The job advertisement asks that "you" be a young historian, fluent in French, and to be a live-in assistant. Upon arriving, Felipe immediately starts his task of completing Señora Consuelo's deceased husbands Will. What I found particularly interesting in the novel was that as Felipe began to read the General's Will more and more, the more he resembled the General himself. He then starts to have this infatuation with Señora Consuelo's niece, Aura, who creepily mirrors the young Señora depicted in General Llorente's Will. As the story progresses, Felipe sees what appears to be faulty aging in Aura. First she's young looking, then gradually approaches the middle-age. Interesting enough, the end scene cuts off with Felipe lying in bed with Aura who then magically transforms into the old Señora Consuelo. I'd like to say that Fuentes work in Aura relates a lot to Poe's common writings about the "double." This character usually undermines its own-self and the unity of its personal identity. The idea of the doppelganger or double is very evident here, and what makes it more intriguing is that the notion of time is involved.

The Sandman

The Sandman was very well written.  The story fluttered between the supernatural and the fantastic.  The events witnessed in the beginning of the story when Nathanial snuck into his fathers roomed seemed far into the Supernatural.  However, after witnessing his father and Copelius, Nathanial wakes up with the comfort of his mother and you are left to wonder if it was all just a child's nightmare.  As the story progresses however, and his father is killed, you are brought yet again to believe the story is supernatural.  Yet again it is clarified and explained, this time by Klara in her letter response.  I think this is an excellent writers choice.  It is often difficult to build suspense and relatable fears when a story is strictly supernatural.  By pulling the story back into the fantastic time after time again, a whole new layer of suspense and wonder is developed.  I also found the possible interpretation of the Sandman as Satan quite interesting.  Nathanial's father was forever indebted to Copelius, and when he refused to give his child's eyes, he paid for it with his life.  Although religion to most is supernatural, the parallelism with the devil adds a sense of realism to the story.  It draws upon the fears and knowledge of an already well developed horrifying figure and injects these details into the figure of Copelius.  It forces the reader to wonder if their is a religious message within the piece.  Ultimately, I enjoyed jumping between three possible explanations within the story as I read it: fully supernatural, a child's nightmare and an alchemy explosion, and a religious tale.

HHH - The Family in the Garden

One section of The Haunting of Hill House that particularly caught my attention was the scene where Eleanor and Theodora find themselves (briefly) in a garden with a family having a picnic. This passage is both more surreal and more mysterious than almost anything else in the book; the nature of the illusion is never explained, nor do we ever find out what exactly Theo saw when she looked back. On a simple level, it's common for horror stories to rely on mystery to enhance creepiness; however, this trope does not account for the bizarre choice of illusions Eleanor and Theo are presented with.

Essentially, the two women are presented with a cheerful, safe family scene; it seems implied that whatever was chasing them created this illusion in order to lull them into a false sense of security. I think this could be read as yet another Gothic commentary on family: the family in this case appears calm and inviting, but in fact conceals a terrible, sinister evil of some sort. This would fit in with the portrayals in the rest of the book of (literal) families being ultimately dysfunctional and generally creepy.

Personification In Jackson's Haunting of Hill House

One thing I found very interesting about Shirley Jackson’s Haunting of Hill House was how frequently Jackson uses personification in describing inanimate objects.  In describing nearly all aspects of Hill house and its surrounding vicinity, almost everything is personified.  For example, upon arriving at Hill House, Eleanor uses key adjectives and verbs in personifying the house as evil. She describes the house as, “arrogant and hating, never off guard…seemed to have formed itself, flying together into its own powerful pattern under the hands of its builders, fitting itself into its own construction of lines and angles, reared its great head back against the sky without concession to humanity.” Using this rhetorical device, Jackson effectively portrays the house as truly sinister.

"The Haunting of Hill House" The House as A Mother Figure

In The Haunting of Hill House the house is very motherly. The house, like many mothers, seems comforting with all its pillows and all the comforts of home but upon its bringing you inside you find it is not as soft as you believed it to be and there are ulterior motives behind it's invitation. This motherly aura is detected by those with mother difficulties like Luke and Eleanor who are comforted by this 'second chance' for a mother. This comfort can be seen when Eleanor wakes in the night to believe herself to be home and in the way Luke steadily uses the term "mine" when referring to the house. Eleanor becomes somewhat entranced because of this sensation and ultimately decides that she cannot leave the house as one might decide they cannot leave their family. Luke was also close to being taken completely by the house's mother-like qualities and I find it very possible that he also succumbed to the house's mystical motherly ways after Eleanor's example.

"The Yellow Wallpaper"

I do not view "The Yellow Wallpaper" as a ghost story. Though Gothic,  I believe the passage provides more evidence of a descent into madness than supernatural activity. I believe a descent into madness is easy to see from the various journal entries how Jane changes her point of view and state of mind. In the beginning, Jane clearly has opinions and desires past being forced to stay in bed all day, and wishes for more in life. Jane also finds the house "queer" and repeatedly speaks of her disdain for the yellow wallpaper in the room in which she is forced to stay. As time passes and Jane receives practically no stimulus she begins to become entranced with the wallpaper. Soon she becomes obsessed with the vary thing she couldn't stand. This first radical shift in Jane's opinion reflects a shift in her state of mind. Jane's opinion of her husband John also changes. In the beginning of the piece she sees him as a loving, caring, if not overbearing, husband. As she descends into madness, however, Jane believes John only "pretended to be very loving and kind". Finally, Jane's opinion of the woman creeping behind the pattern changes as well. Originally, Jane found the woman's appearances behind the wallpaper unsettling and wishes to leave, but as time progresses Jane sympathizes with another woman trapped against her will, and ultimately, as Jane finally succumbs to madness, Jane believes she is the woman from behind the wallpaper and behaves accordingly.