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Sorry I'm a couple days late. Let's dive into what happened in our second reading section.
This part tricked me (even though I've read it before) into almost believing that Florence was making up Daniel Belasco. Then Barrett is attacked in the steam room. How could he still not believe there is more than just "energy" in that house? Stubborn man. Poor Edith being sexualized by the house. Fischer finally opened up to the forces of the house. But his fear made him close off again, and in his anger and fear, he accuses Florence of manifesting Daniel herself, but I don't think he truly believes it. The entry of Daniel's birth in the Bible in the chapel...does this prove his existence, or is it yet another trick?
Manipulation is the key. It was the vehicle when Belasco (the father) was alive, and it's the vehicle driving everything that is happening in the house in the present. So, when Florence finally gives in to Daniel, is it really Daniel, or did Belasco (the elder) create him in order to vanquish Florence...or is it Belasco himself? What happens to Florence is horrific!
For the life of me, I cannot remember if we finally get answers by the end of the book. I remember one detail, but it may be from the film, not the book, but I will wait to see if it plays out the way I remember.
Our final discussion will be on October 30th. If you need to refresh your memory on our reading schedule, check out this post.
I'm still hoping to post more by the end of the month. Time has been getting away from me, and work for my job has increased of late, so I feel like I'm juggling at times. In case you missed it, check out my Banned Books Week post about Stephen King.
I got ahead of myself and finished rereading Hell House in September; this week I've read [in two days) We Have Always Lived In the Castle, which I adore and want to reread every month! And rereading The Haunting of Hill House, through which I am delightfully tiptoeing while inevitably comparing Hill House to Hell House.
ReplyDeleteRegrettably, I did not enjoy Hell House as much this time around. The eroticism was off-putting, in that I found it sexist, too much like reading Richard Laymon; and I remembered some sub-reddit comments on 70's-80's Science Fiction to the point that publishers pushed their authors to suffuse SF with overloads of sex, presumably to overcome the negatives of a niche trope (I'm assuming). Perhaps that is so here (although I also see it present in the work of Richard Matheson's son, Richard Christian Matheson).
At any rate, as you, I think, emphasize "Manipulation," for me the takeaway is "Deception." Just about everyone here is Deceptive; though perhaps with Edith and Florence (so reminiscent to me of Hill House's naif Eleanor), their Deception is only practised on themselves.
I'm also noticing not enjoying it as much as I did the first time...and this one of my favorite horror novels. Just proves how perceptions and attitudes change over time. Good insight on deception. I think deception and manipulation fit together nicely in this book. Perhaps the house's manipulation is more effective as it feeds off of each person's deception.
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