The Haunting of Hill House Discussion Questions
1) What sort of protagonist is Eleanor? Think about what youve read about typical gothic heroes and the female heroes of the female gothic. How would you characterize her?
2) When Eleanor stops at the diner on her way to Hill House, she sees a child refusing to drink from anything but her cup of stars (14). Later, Eleanor tells Theodora that she has a cup of stars in her own apartment, which we know doesnt exist. What, then, is the significance of the cup of stars?
3) What do you make of Hill House? Think through the various descriptions we get, particularly Dr. Montagues description of both the houses architecture and its previous inhabitants. How do they compare with the narrators descriptions? How does Hill House compare with other gothic spaces weve seen (Crimson Peak, The Yellow Wallpaper)?
4) How does the author build a particular mood throughout the novel? Think about the difference between the narrator & those moments when we hear Eleanors thoughts. What is the overlap? Is the house affecting them? How so?
Haunting of hill house:
http://themiltondoddreaders.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/8/1/10819822/jackson_-_the_haunting_of_hill_house.pdf
video version is fine
the yellow wallpaper:
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/theliteratureofprescription/exhibitionAssets/digitalDocs/The-Yellow-Wall-Paper.pdf
