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A Haunting House “A Haunted House” by Virginia Woolf is a story that reveals the immortality of love. Both the title and the story are ironic because in most cases, ghosts are portrayed as something to be feared. In this story, the ghosts are protagonists and so is the living couple. With these four static characters, the personified house stands out as the most crucial character and is used to characterize the two couples. The conflict of this story is the quest for the buried treasure, later revealed to be love. This quest is told in a stream of consciousness format that creates an overwhelming sense of ambiguity, when it comes to the dialogue and the timeline of the story, which enthralls the reader in the quest. The grandest bit of irony comes as it is discovered that neither the ghost couple nor the living couple is upset with each other, but rather need one another to complete their respected quests. The course of this paper will analyze all the moving parts of the character, conflict, format, irony and ambiguity revealing an overall theme that love is something worth searching for, as it can last eternally. The ghost couple is haunted by the splendor of their love and despite death, attempt to relive and share it. Due to the modern horror film, the word haunted has a very negative connotation. Traditionally, to be haunted is described as a frightening experience. Upon reading the title, a picture of a fearsome ghost who is unhappy with the current occupants of his or her former house, appears in the reader’s head. The spirits in this story however are not threatening; in fact, both ghosts are protagonist. Haunting has multiple definitions, and within this piece it has to do more with the persistent, nagging nature of the quest that takes place. The story, and its title, is
ironic because the presence of the ghost couple would lead the reader to believe that the traditional definition of haunting is appropriate, but this quest for the “buried treasure” haunts the living couple, overtakes their thought process, and becomes their purpose. The title is also ironic in how it portrays the house itself. The title lends the reader to believe that the house is insecure, but in fact it is a very safe location. This is shown through the weather surrounding the house being described as harsh (Woolf), but inside and around the house the weather is calm and soothing. Also, security is blatantly shown with the personification of the house, giving it a pulse that beats “Safe, safe, safe,” (Woolf). The conflict of this story is the quest that the ghost couple is on to find the treasure that is buried. This quest leads them into all the different rooms of the house. They do their best to be quiet so they don’t wake the living couple, but in their excitement they leave doors open and objects displaced that clue the living couple in on the fact that they are there. This quest eventually begins to haunt the living couple, as they too feel the need to find the treasure. As the story progresses all four of the characters are communicating in a stream of consciousness narrative that lumps together all of the dialogue (Woolf). The stream of consciousness narrative blurs the lines of whose quest this has become. Woolf lumps together all of the point of views to show the reader that the living couple is just as involved in the quest as the ghostly couple. As the pacing quickens, it becomes difficult to decipher exactly who is speaking. Other than the pulse of the house, pronouns such as he and she are almost exclusively used. The timeline becomes distorted as the memories of the characters begin to overlap. The
couple knows that this security can be attributed to the house and subsequently the ghostly occupants. This allows them to feel comfortable around the ghost couple and even become involved in their quest. The ambiguity of the story serves involve the reader is the mystery of the quest. Very few images are concrete throughout the story. The narrative jumps from one location to the next instantly, never allowing the reader to fully picture the scene. The dialogue is lumped together and the timeline is in disarray. The only thread that holds the story together is the consistency of the quest for the “buried treasure”. The same quest that haunts the two couples haunts the reader. The ambiguity creates a mystery that feeds the imagination, as the reader tries to piece together what the buried treasure is, based on the limited ideas presented. This unclearness is used in a way that when the mystery is solved the theme is revealed. The theme of this story is that love is worth searching for because of its immortality. Even in the afterlife, the ghost couple is trying to relive the memories of their love and share it with a new couple. Despite their deaths, the spirits are still haunted by the love they shared. The image of two ghosts attempting to experience, once again, the earthly pleasures of their love is one that will haunt the minds of this story’s readers. These once believed to be frightening characters have served a significant, soothing purpose. Perhaps the biggest piece of irony within the story is that the living couple and the ghost couple are not displeased with each other, but rather they need each other. The ghost couple is not trying to scare away the people who moved into their old house. They are just trying to relive their love, vicariously through the living
couple. By sharing their memories, they are helping the living couple create ones of their own. Upstairs, in the garden, in the drawing room, in the bedroom, kisses without number, from room to room they went hand in hand, reading, laughing, rolling apples in the loft (Woolf)—The ghost couple not only gets to relive their greatest memories, but these memories are recycled onto the living couple. The living couple is not frightened by the ghost couple’s presence, but instead is unified by it. As divorce rates increase, this story becomes more and more relevant. Marriage is difficult and learning from those who made it work cannot be undervalued. The living couple uses this quest to become closer together, create life long memories, and intensify their love. Eventually, something that the couple’s discovery of the “buried treasure” successfully completes. The buried treasure is love. The love of the ghost couple is an immortal treasure that lives on within the house. The different locations in the house that are described during this quest are not a place where the treasure might be, but are simply locations where the ghost couple’s most loving memories took place. Upstairs, in the garden, in the drawing room, in the bedroom all of these locations housed a unique memory of their lives together, before death (Woolf). The quest for the treasure is a quest for love. The ghost couple is trying to relive it, and the living couple is trying to intensify it. Works Cited
