Tradition and Development : The Theme of Revenge in Two Ghost Stories

Abstract: This essay is a literary analysis of two ghost stories, Elizabeth Gaskell’s “The Old Nurse’s Story” (1852) and Susan Hill’s The Man in the Picture (2007). The main focus of the essay is the theme of revenge, which is explored on the basis of similarities and differences in the mentioned ghost stories. It is shown that, in spite of many similarities, The Man in the Picture is a more developed and less conventional ghost story than “The Old Nurse’s Story”. This development is seen in the setting, the narrators and the structure of the story, all of which contain more layers in Susan Hill’s story. The essay also includes a didactic chapter which shows how a teacher can use the two ghost stories in the classroom to teach students in upper secondary school about literary analysis and the Gothic genre.