Mamama

Do you support the idea that Jennet is evil, or a victim of evil?

In the novel “The Woman in Black,” we discover that Jennet Humfrye was the mysterious figure lurking around Eel Marsh House, haunting Arthur Kipps. At first we see her as an evil spirit, hurting and harming anyone around Crythin Gifford, especially children, as she seeks her revenge on her own chid Nathaniel Drablow, who was fostered by her sister Alice (owner of Eel Marsh House), after Jennet was sent away to Scotland. The child however dies in the marshes, days before Jennet was due to move away from Crythin Gifford with her son. This changed Jennet, making her insane, and her death from wasting disease was shortly after the tragedy. Therefore is our point of view altered, because is Jennet really evil, or is she just a victim of evil?

When Kipps first sees Jennet Humfrye, or rather the Woman in Black at this point, he feels sorry for her, as he sees her disease, and the effect it was having (had) on her, he also feels sorry for her when he sees that she is alone. We also feel sorry for Jennet, because we view her through Kipps, so we feel sorry for the woman as well.

In the same chapter, Kipps also notices a school yard of children; however his companion, Mr Jerome did not. This again is the effect of the Woman in Black in Crythin Gifford, because what we find out later in the novel is that the children; were all the children whose parents were haunted by the Woman in Black, who then proceeded to kill the children, in spite, jealousy, and revenge for her own son. This again makes us feel like she is not a victim, but is in-fact evil, and only seeks revenge, making us not feel sympathetic towards her.

In the next chapter, chapter 5, we again feel the presence of Jennet Humfrye, due to the change in the weather (pathetic fallacy) and the fact that just before he sees her, he catches sight of an “ugly, satanic-looking thing,” which increases and builds up the tension. This is the first sign that...