RED = To be completed
Background and Basic Synopsis
Written by Susan Hill in 1970, the author of "The Woman in Black", "I'm the King in
the Castle" (ITKOTC) circulates primarily around Warings, an old and isolated
Victorian house that has been passed down through generations of the Hooper
family. The conflict begins after the arrival of the young Charles Kingshaw and his
mother, Helena Kingshaw, who attempt to assimilate into society at Warings, living
alongside Mr Joseph Hooper and his son, Edmund Hooper.
The novel follows the events that ensue, highlighting the disparity between boys
Edmund and Charles whilst also reflecting the ignorance of Joseph and Helena, the
supposed voices of reason and maturity.
Chapter Summaries- to be refined and expanded
One- Three months prior to current day, the grandmother of the Hooper household
passes away, prompting the son, Joseph Hooper, to decide that he will not live there
"until it belongs to me" irrespective of the current resident, his father, "giving no
trouble", highlighting their fraught relationship. The grandfather dies and Joseph
merely remarks upon "acquiring a dynastic sense", referring to his dead father as
"old man". Edmund Hooper, Joseph's pre-teenage son, shares his father's
indifference, comparing his lepidopterist grandfather to "one of his dead old moths".
Joseph Hooper, spurred on by his own loneliness, reveals plans to invite tenants to
live at Warings, the house, alongside Edmund and himself before reminding Edmund
not to go into the "Red Room" without his permission. Edmund scorns the idea of
sharing Warings with others and we then learnt that his mother,Joseph's wife, Ellen
Hooper, had died six years previously- "The marriage had not been happy".
We learn the history of Warings, built by Edmund's great-grandfather, the first Joseph
Hooper, "some distance from any other house" in a time of prosperity. Joseph "hoped
to grow into it, as a child grows into overly-large shoes". Derne, the local village, has
since been abandoned and "had shrunk, people had left...there had been few
newcomers, few new buildings...deserted by the sea". Edmund views Warings as
"ordinary...ugly...nothing to boast of" but welcomes "the idea that it was his, the idea
of a family history". Warings is further described as "ugly...entirely graceless...and
badly angled...without any tree or flower-bed to relieve the bald greenness [of the
lawn adjacent to the front on both sides]...bunched between the yew trees, great
bushes of rhododendron".
Further narrative explains "Warings had been built around them [the yew
trees]...Joseph Hooper had admired their solidity and denseness...they grew so
slowly...the longest lived of trees". Nature's part is emphasised by
"rhododendrons...dark green, leathery leaves and toughness of stem...substantial
look... gathered shapes". "Everything was predictable, the high-ceilinged rooms, with
heavy, sashed windows, the massive furniture. Little had been changed since the
beginning". It is subsequently revealed that the current Joseph Hooper "did not like it,
he had unhappy memories of Warings...he had come to admire the solidity and the
gloom...a prepossessing house", before reflecting upon his own inadequacy- "He
knew himself to be an ineffectual man, without any strength or imposing
qualities...little regarded, a man who had failed...a dull man, man who got by...I know
myself and am depressed by what I know".
Joseph Hooper exploits Warings for its expression of strength and provides him with
relative compensation for his own failings- "It would make up for a good deal".
Edmund's room is described as being "high up at the back...narrow...with a tall
window", highlighting his isolation. Warings again- "too dark...it smells unlived-in...like
a museum". Edmund makes a nighttime trip to the red room- "like a room of a
museum...no carpet..display cases stood in two long rows...trays of
insects...recesses in walls". Edmund "hated it violently"- the insect collection and red
room.
Edmund's manipulative nature is elucidated by "feigning interest, acquring
knowledge, disguising his fear". Joseph's continues his self-inspection with "I am not
a hard man...I have more regret about my own son than he had about me...he knew
that he had failed from the very beginning, to ingratiate himself with Edmund".
"Old, stale-smelling air"- Edmund picks up the largest moth but it "disintegrated,
collapsing into a soft, formless heap of dark dust"
Two- Joseph tells Edmund of the imminent arrival of the Kingshaws. Widowed 37
year-old Helena Kingshaw is to bcome an "informal housekeeper". Her son Charles
is almost 11 years old. "Raining hard...great, bruise-coloured clouds hung low".
Edmund ponders the loss of his mother- "He had wondered if he ought to feel his
own mother's absence...he remembered nothing". Edmund thinks "It is my house...it
is private...I got here first. Nobody should come here". "He would not give anything
of himself away. The other boy could be ignored, or evaded, or warned off". "looking
down into the drive without being seen himself". Mrs Kingshaw thinks "He is very
uncertain of himself". Helena- "We cannot leave everything to Mr Hooper...Mrs
Helena Kingshaw wore a jade green suit and worried about it, lest it should be
thought too smart". Helena- "She was anxious that he should like it here, should very
soon feel at home" Kingshaw- "I didn't want to come, I didn't want to come, it is one
more strange house in which we do not properly belong". Note- "I DIDN'T WANT
YOU TO COME HERE". "We live here, it is ours, we belong. Kingshaw has
nowhere". "When my father dies...this house will belong to me, I shall be master. It'll
be all mine". Edmund telles Kingshaw "my grandfather died in this room...this was
not true". Kingshaw "wanted to put his fists up at Hooper"- first face-to-face meeting.
Kingshaw previously tenant in other person's house. Interogation of Kinghsaw about
father and their habitation- evident sense of competition as to who wins debate=
and extent H drove him to. "He could pull him over, grab him behind the knees and
overbalance him, so that he would topple through the well of the staircase. He was
terrified of he thought". Hooper walks off. "For a long time he went on sitting"- K on
stairs after H stops mucking around and running through house when he should be
giving K a tour.
Characters and Relationships
Charles Kingshaw- The immediate victim of Edmund Hooper's bullying. Father killed
sometime after fighting in the Battle of Britain. A shy, reserved boy, becoming more
isolated and introvert as the story progresses and losing his human capacity for
empathy and communication. Eventually alienated from his mother and ultimately
rejects Warings as a home.
Key Quotes- "He liked being alone, because he was used to it"
"I hate them, I hate all of them"
"He was afraid all the time"
"He felt known and judged, surrounded by eyes"
"He had to defend himself against all of them"
"People are no good. People can never help me"
"There is nobody at all"
Relationship with...
Helena Kingshaw (Mother)- Initially very close. Single parent and single child
relationship, so complete reliability and affection. Charles does not confide in his
mother about his torment and suffering at Edmund Hooper's hands and scorns her
growing relationship with Joseph Hooper, ultimately viewing his mother as
possession. Mother and son become almost entirely detached by the end of the
novel.
Key Quotes- "He wanted to go to his mother...but he never did go"
"He hated the way she waved her arm about, showing it off"
"He knew what he ought to care about was his mother, but he did not
care"
"She had never known anything about him, he had never wanted it"
"She is my mother...mine"
"There seemed no point at all in trying to talk to her"
Edmund Hooper- Tension builds from the offset. Charles resents Edmund's apparent
grip over his mother and fears him throughout. Sees Edmund as constant, inexorable
threat after multiple failed attempts to escape. Charles reacts to death with
apprehension and disgust while Edmund's response is stoic and indifferent. Edmund
provokes Charles' most truculent and violent qualities, drawing out the worst in his
character.
Key Quotes- "He feared Hooper more than anything in the world"
"Hooper would come, hunting him down"
Hang Wood
Red Rooms
Fielding
Warings
Themes
Power- Evident power struggle between Edmund and Charles. This extends to the
territorial presence of Warings and gaining the favour of the parents and Fielding.
Examples most prolific in Hang Wood.
Key Quotes- "Kingshaw knew that he had won, but he did not feel the winner. Hooper
had conceded him nothing"
"I'm the King of the Castle"
"He [Charles] knew he would go on, losing and losing"
"Irritated that the other boy [Charles] had somehow slipped through his
[Edmund] fingers, had
taken a little of the initiative"
"He [Charles] had so suddenly taken over, walking in front of him
[Edmund] and saying what to do"
"He [Charles] was angry with himself for acknowledging Hooper's
leadership"
"Tried to think of how he could get in front again"
"He [Edmund] won't be able to frighten me [Charles], he won't be leader
anymore"
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Evil- Edmund Hooper is the vessel of evil throughout the book but Hill also deploys
symbols in the form of the crow to reinforce the presence of evil and death. Charles
also finds evil with himself but he reacts with shock and disgust, distrusting himself.
This reaction contrasts Edmund's indulgence and inclination towards evil,
highlighting the fundamental differences between their characters.
Key Quotes- "I [Charles] wished he was dead"
"A spurt of triumph went through him [Edmund- after Charles's suicide]"
"All he looks like...is one of his dead moths [Edmund speaking of his
dying grandfather]"
"He [Charles] could pull him [Edmund] over so that he would
topple...the thought terrified him [Charles]"
"He [Charles] could have bashed him [Edmund] with that stick, bashed
and bashed his head in"
"His [Edmund] voice rang with mockery"
"He [Charles] broke into a cold sweat at his own wickedness"
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