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CraftyRole4567 t1_ixuvmpr wrote

Reply to comment by Tayreads608 in The haunting of hill house was so good by AxidentalMe

I don’t know how to do a spoiler alert! I keep seeing them but I don’t know how to do that… Then again, it’s the first paragraph. “whatever walked there, walked alone” certainly implies that whatever is haunting Hill House may seduce Eleanor to thinking she’s joining it but that she hasn’t at the end of it, that there are no trapped spirits and Hill House, there’s just the malevolence of the house itself. It actually makes for a much bleaker ending.

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Tayreads608 t1_ixuyxke wrote

Yeah, I pretty much agree with that I just haven’t seen it put that way. I’ve recently been reading it as a sort of exploration of the beginning of a bad marriage. The house spends most of its time isolating Eleanor and making her feel wanted/needed (hence using her mothers voice), but even when she joins the house it will only be the same isolation and loneliness she felt when she was with her mother.

I just so genuinely love that you really never read the book the same way and it doesn’t matter how many times I read it or how many times I talk to people about it there’s always some new layer to be revealed.

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CraftyRole4567 t1_ixwqepr wrote

Oh I LOVE that take on the story! I’ll think about it next time I read it :)

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