The Hollow of Three Hills

Nathanial Hawthorne

Narrative Standpoint
● The writer and narrator may not be the same
● The 3rd person narrative style allows for an open perspective
● A 3rd person narrator is not necessarily objective, we see this one to be very engaged
and invested- clearly feels sympathy for the woman and anger at the crone
● The story is set in a hollow between three hills- this desolate place could be an
allegorical setting and may be symbolic of the inside of the woman’s head
● madmens reveries’ - further cements the idea that the setting is an imaginary place
● The writer establishes the setting of the story immediately
● ‘strange old times’- the time in which the story takes place is left vague, allows the
setting to be anywhere, even in a timeless dimension (ie. the imagination)
● The hollow is the fragile and vulnerable place where the two planes meet and thus in this
neutral area it is important that the women depict the planes that they exist on
● There is a non-linear presentation of time in the story and the hollow is seen as a place
separate from any concepts of time
● "In those strange old times, when fantastic dreams and madmen's reveries were realized
among the actual circumstances of life,", hints to the reader that the story is between the
border of subjectivity, the inner world of the psyche, and objectivity, the outer world of
nature.

Genre/Form/Structure
● The ending of the story is an artistically satisfying one wherein everything comes full
circle. The disturbing ending is striking and impactful
● The story is descriptive and verbose- it was written in the Victorian era during which
most stories were rich with description
● The introduction is full of contrast between the two women (‘fullest bloom’ vs ‘ill flavour’)-
this presents the two characters in a different light and emphasises the existence of two
distinct sides (good and bad), it also provides further proof that the two may belong to
separate planes.
● The symbolism of the title is that the hollow may lie in the human mind, the three hills are
also representative of the three visions
● The form of the story is short and limited prose
● The story follows a clear demarcation and sequence- it is written in an episodic structure
with each vision being a separate episode
● The story is also descriptive and interspersed with dialogue which gives insight into the
characters. The dialogue is especially interesting and important in this story considering
that gothic literature is so focused on the external effects of everything that alluding to
the internal impacts provides a stark change. Moreover, it breaks the monotony of the
long narrative.
 ● Several compound sentences one after another- this creates a dense narrative and an
almost claustrophobic ambience and diction.
● Story is like a labrynth- going around and not seeming to find a way out
● A poise ending adds to the discomfort of the story as it creates the impression that
nothing is truly over
● The ending shows the woman succumbing to her guilt
●

Themes:
● Soul: The lady has a soul (Which she trades for forbidden knowledge) but the woman
/witch does not possess one
● Madness, Moral Sickness
● Sin / Salvation
● Some psychological themes: Freudian concepts of memory and the subconscious
● Salvation and Damnation: Voice of Reason vs Supernatural
● Allegorical representation of concepts

Literary Devices and Figurative Language

● The internal conflict of the woman guilt feeds the external conflict of the story. The
reason that the woman approaches the crone is because of the guilt that she feels.
● The younger woman is a person, while the older woman may be a symbolic
representation of her guilt
● The two women belong to two separate planes- the young one is representative of
reality while the older one is representative of the imagination. They also belong to two
separate times.
● The old woman is an anagorical representation of the younger woman’s guilt
● The aura and ambience (which is apart of the visual imagery) is that of a gothic narrative
with a dark, shadowy, twilight effect being created
● There author also creates auditory imagery through his use of words like ‘screams’,
‘shrieks’, ‘thunder’, ‘lightening’
● The witching hour in England is the appointed hour, its a transitioning time when forces
of both light and dark are present and it represents supernatural forces within the story
● Several biblical concepts and references are brought up within the story
● —> lust and adultery
● —> retribution
● —> repentance
● ‘not meant to be accepted in heaven’, ‘forbidden realm’, ‘baptismal right’
● The repetition of the number 3 may also be mocking the biblical triad
● There is a sustained reference to a green pool of water which is described to be dense
and saturated with moss- this pool shows the death, decay, and overall lack of
movement. The vivid and vibrant language used makes this concept even more tangible
● The last vision is he noisiest and has the most auditory imagery
 ● The woman seeks to view a forbidden vision in an attempt to punish herself and a desire
to set things right, but none of the visions cause her satisfaction (they don't give her the
closure or sense of repentance that she desires).
● The woman is experiencing moribund, she is at the point of death by the end of the
story. Her guilt has consumed her.
● The different speech patterns used by the young and old woman draws further contrast
between the two and emphasises their being from different planes
● The older woman is a metaphor of the past and the younger one of the present
● The older woman is not conceived at a human level but rather is the carrier of secrets-
perhaps she is the humans unconscious
● The psychological journey into the woman guilt universalises her experience
● The crone is almost like the distorted form of a priest- she takes the woman’s confession
—> this shows the idea that good and evil are intertwined:
● —> further represented through the fact that gothic literature has several biblical
references
● —> repentance as an act cannot exists without sin
● —> mingling of harsh and sweet sounds- ‘shrieks pierced through’ vs ‘singing of sweet
female voices’
● The witch gloats in the woman torment, almost as if she devours her soul
● Sweet love songs, provide a sense of innocence
● ‘sweet hours sport’- the pain and guilt of the young woman is a game to the crone
● Mirror effect between the old and young women, the past is reflected in the present
● "Sepulchre" indicates the young lady is near death in the presence of the witch.
● The "darkness" of the covering cloak symbolizes and foreshadows what the young lady's
afterlife will be like without repentance of her sins. The "darkness" represents that she
will not be reborn into life, but into death, physically and spiritually, and therefore both
lives, her mortal and spiritual, will be claimed by damnation of sin.
● The bells at the end of the story make the reader aware, as if the bells were an alarm,
that the story is a warning that the fate of the woman could happen to anyone.
● Identify Gothic Objects: October is a cursed month, Triple Effects in the title,
Doppelganger, Anti-Thesis/ Contrasts, Pathetic Fallacy, Grotesque: German Grotto
● Effects of: Pathos, Dread, Fear, Relief, Anticipation, Mystery, Grief, Sympathy
● A meticulously recorded journey of emotions that the writer takes the reader through
● Impressionistic approach

Literary Influences
● Similar concept to that brought about later by Freud- that dreams stem from guilt
● Biblical presence- adultery is one of the seven deadly sins, this is the punishment she is
facing for it?
● —> biblical presence would be unsurprising considering the era that the story was
written in, strength of christianity at that time
● Biblical presence is most striking because of its subtlety, uses the technique of subtle
nuances to create a discreet effect and thus make it more appealing to the discerning
reader.
● Story is of the horror genre and has gothic bases that can be seen in the idea of past
sins and mistakes haunting characters, death and decay, morbidity and ominousness,
and the ideas of curses and prophecies and omens
● The themes of adultery and abandoned children add to the German gothic style of the
story
● In gothic stories, death is never treated as a release and thus the end is made to be
emotionally unsatisfying.
● Linguistics of the witches is similar to the linguistics of the witches in Macbeth
● Real life themes and ideas (lust, adultery, guilt, repentance, regret) are brought into an
imaginary plane)
● The writer is addressing the discomfort of human existence and thus wants the reader to
feel uncomfortable
● Hawthorne is linked to the Salem witch trials- his ancestor was a judge, could explain his
fascination with the supernatural
● Gothic literature tends to end on a poise (the possibility of an opening) and with a certain
sense of ambiguity - it is the responsibility of a gothic writer to remind the reader that evil
never dies
● Biblically- her messing with the occult caused her death- creates the narrative that
meddling with wrong and evil inevitably ends badly
● ‘baptismal’- paradoxical because it is meant to be holy
● Hawthorne's aspect of American Romanticism exemplified the desire to explicate the
qualities of human nature, such as its individuality, imagination, and intuition.