The Haunting of Hill House: The Heterosexual Horror of the Home

Abstract: The female gothic as a genre, with its emergence in the 19th century, has a history of critiquing women’s place in the domestic sphere by showcasing the horrors of the home. When The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson was first published in 1959, it did so with both this historical genre background, as well as with a resurgence of traditional gender roles as an ideal. With the help of this context, this paper will do a queer reading of Jackson’s novel, highlighting the main character Eleanor’s queer longing for her friend Theodora. It will furthermore take into consideration Eleanor’s gender and the restrictions put on it during the time, especially concerning heteronormativity. To closer examine the relation between Eleanor and her desires, Hill House as a force will be analyzed. Although previous scholars have differing conclusions regarding Hill House, the most common one is Hill House as a patriarchal presence. However, Eleanor is also shown to be merging with Hill House during the narrative. To be able to combine these readings, as well as a queer reading, Sandra Lee Bartky’s reworking of Michel Foucault’s theories of internalization and self-surveillance will be used. This results in a queer reading of the novel where Hill House reflects Eleanor’s patriarchal internalization and acts as a self-surveilling force, disciplining her queer desires and finally resulting in her suicide. Ultimately, this essay argues that the character of Eleanor in The Haunting of Hill House has internalized patriarchal oppression and acts out disciplinary acts onto her own gender and sexuality through Hill House itself, which results in an overall textual critique of heteronormative ideals.