Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House

The theme of confinement plays a unique role in this novel. Irony lies in the fact that the one place Eleanor finds freedom is within a house that will not let her out alive. Eleanor has spent her life in the confinement of her mother, especially during the time when she was forced to solely look after her mother when she was ill. She has never been able to explore the world or live on her own. When she is finally able to break free from the confinements of her family, she begins to be able to fantasize about life outside of her sister’s home. While making her way to Hill House, Eleanor sees different houses and thinks about what life would be like if she could live there. She finds a cottage and thinks, “ I could live there all alone” (Jackson 15).  She thinks about the life she could live in that tiny cottage and how content she would be. It is no surprise then that Eleanor takes to Hill House, because it becomes a concrete place for her to escape her family instead of just a fantasy in her head. Hill House becomes a type of freedom for Eleanor; she is able to truly be herself without having to worry about taking care of anyone else. Eleanor’s confinement comes in the form of her mental state, which has been morphed and weakened by the years of caring for her mother with little social interaction with the rest of the outside world. This makes her more desirable to the hauntings of Hill House, because she is so drawn to this place that is letting her get away from a life she finds miserable. The houses reels her in and makes her feel free, all the while it is actually restricting her more. Eleanor’s suicide is not necessarily a freeing act; it has been driven by her attachment to Hill House and need to stay there forever. Before she runs into the tree she says, “Hill House belongs to me” (Jackson 181). This only confirms her confinement to house; her need to stay in the place that has made her feel liberated is actually the one thing that will lead her to ultimate confinement in Hill House.