1922

The novella opens as a letter, framing the rest of the story as a flashback to eight years before. Retrospective narration is a common convention of Gothic horror stories, seen in works like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. This technique blurs the line between past and present, reality and memory. Because it is a first-person narrator recalling the events, they often implore the reader to believe their story, raise questions about their own reliability, and encourage the reader to question how much of the “horror” exists outside the narrator’s mind—and how much is the manifestation of guilt or fear. In 1922, Wilf insists that the story he is going to tell is true, which, ironically, causes the reader to question it.

Contributing to his unreliability, Wilf’s narration is littered with notes of regret, despair, and sorrow over what happened. As he recalls the events, he inserts narrative asides like “this is a ghost story” (15) and “but I was wrong” (22) when asked by Henry if Arlette will haunt them. These moments establish the dark mood of the novella, building narrative tension as the reader waits for the horrific events about which Wilf hints to unfold. The framing of the story introduces the theme of The Psychological Consequences of Evil. Even eight years after what happened, Wilf continues to struggle with the events he relays, underscoring the psychological impact of his decision to kill Arlette. His narration foreshadows the physical and psychological decay that will occur throughout the novella as his mental and financial states deteriorate.

Wilf is characterized as a patriarch in the opening pages of the novella, which represented the pinnacle of American masculinity at that time. He is a landowner, with his farm emblematic of his perceived happiness and success, despite the fact that he financially struggles to maintain it. His attitude toward and description of Arlette thematically introduce The Violence of Patriarchal Control. Even though Arlette inherits the land and suggests selling her portion so that she can open a store, Wilf is still adamant that her unwillingness to give him the land is the deepest form of betrayal. When he discusses his wife with his son, he encourages Henry to team up with him against Arlette, insisting that she is somehow “evil” for seeking out a new and potentially better life for them. In one interaction, Wilf pushes the idea that Arlette is trying to separate them and make them miserable in the city. In response, Henry starts, “Why does she have to be such a… such a…” and Wilf encourages him to call her a “bitch,” insisting that “the truth is never cussing” (4). The sexism and emotional manipulation of his son emphasize both the deep-seated hate Wilf has for his wife and his strong desire to remain the patriarch of his domain.

In contrast, Henry is characterized as hesitant, initially wanting to leave the farm or allow his mother to go. However, he is slowly corrupted by Wilf, convinced that the only practical solution to the 100 acres is to kill his mother. The normalization of murder in this way further underscores the violence of Wilf’s need for control, influencing even his young, innocent son. Although Henry decides to go through with helping his father kill Arlette, his reactions stand in stark contrast to Wilf’s. Henry cries, faints twice, and bursts into tears and screams by the well, all while Wilf completes the murder with force and brutality. Ultimately, Wilf’s actions represent the generational corruption that frequently undergirds Gothic horror narratives, serving as the catalyst for the change that Henry will undergo throughout the novella.

In addition to Wilf’s narration, King’s diction highlights the brutality and horror of Arlette’s death, further emphasizing the novella’s dark mood. Although Wilf expects the murder to be quick and simple, it is instead drawn out and messy, partially due to Henry’s inability to help. After Wilf fails to kill her with the first stroke:

“[h]er hands came up and beat the air. […] She pulled at the gushing bag with her hands and I slashed at them, cutting three of her fingers to the bone. She shrieked again—a sound as thin and sharp as a sliver of ice—and the hand fell away to twitch on the counterpane. I slashed another bleeding slit in the burlap, and another, and another” (16).

The unravelling horror of these events dispels Wilf’s hopes for how the murder would go. He believed it would be easy and efficient, yet he needs to stab Arlette multiple times as she thrashes. This clash between what Wilf expects and what actually happens foreshadows the disturbing events that follow. What Wilf sees as an easy solution to keeping his farm and his “Heaven” instead leads to years of hellish haunting and unhappiness.

Similarly, when Wilf puts Arlette’s body in the well, the process is more difficult and gruesome than he anticipated. First, there is no water in the well to cover her, forcing him to dispose of the mattress, her clothing, and her suitcase on top of her. Then, when he returns, he is horrified to see that her body has refused to be covered. He notes,

“[t]he mattress had shunted aside. My first thought was that she had pushed it away before trying to climb out. Because she was still alive. She was breathing. Or so it seemed at first. Then, […] her jaw began to move, as if she were struggling to talk. It was not words that emerged from her greatly enlarged mouth, however, but the rat” (26).

King’s diction emphasizes the grotesque nature of what Wilf has done, while again underscoring the complexities of Wilf’s act of murder. In particular, the rats that are introduced after Arlette’s murder serve as an important symbol in the novella to convey the horror of what Wilf has done. These descriptions create a dark, foreboding atmosphere that foreshadows the complications that lie ahead for Wilf.