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The Woman in Black - Themes

This GCSE quiz on The Woman in Black explores themes of grief, revenge, memory and the past, helping you revise how Hill links them across the narrative.

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Fascinating Fact:

The theme of the past haunting the present is clear, as old secrets, letters and tragedies continue to affect people who were not involved in the original events.

In GCSE English Literature, you need to explain how Susan Hill presents themes in The Woman in Black. The novel links grief, revenge and memory to the idea that the past never fully disappears.

Key Terms

Theme: An important idea or message that runs through a text, such as grief, revenge or the past haunting the present.
Revenge: A character’s wish to punish others for a wrong, often causing further harm instead of bringing justice or peace.
Grief: Deep sadness after loss, which can shape a character’s choices, memories and view of the world.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What are the main themes in The Woman in Black for GCSE?

Key themes include grief, revenge, the past haunting the present, isolation, fear and the conflict between rational explanation and the supernatural. These ideas appear repeatedly through characters, setting and plot.

How is the theme of the past haunting the present shown in the novel?

The past haunts the present through old letters, the locked nursery, local stories and repeated child deaths. Arthur’s life is changed by events that began long before he arrived at Crythin Gifford.

How should I write about themes in The Woman in Black in my exam?

Choose one clear theme, select a short quotation, identify a method such as symbolism or setting and explain how it develops the theme and affects the reader at that point in the story.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Which of the following is correct?

The ghost of Jennet Humfrye haunts the house and island, but not the town

Arthur is too rational to be haunted by his experiences at Eel Marsh House

The townspeople are haunted by their past losses and fear of future grief, as well as by the Woman in Black

Mrs Drablow was not haunted at all by the ghost of her dead sister

Mr Daily believes Mrs Drablow lived for decades with the terror inflicted by the Woman in Black's malevolence

2 .

Arthur always tries to find a rational explanation for his experiences. Which of the following events has such an explanation?

The appearance and disappearance of the Woman in Black at the burial ground

The sudden mist in which Arthur nearly loses the causeway path as he attempts to cross to the mainland

The opening of the nursery door which had previously been locked

The panicked neighing of a pony, cries of a child, and sucking sounds of the mud which Arthur hears repeatedly out on the marsh

The mist is eerie but entirely explicable. Arthur struggles to explain the other events

3 .

How is nature presented in the novel?

Always a comfort to human beings

Always malevolent to human beings, like the ghost of Jennet Humfrye

Always beautiful and peaceful

As indifferent to human beings

The open sky, fields, sea and marshes around Eel Marsh House make Arthur feel insignificant. Sometimes he finds this feeling comforting, as at the novel's opening when he is gazing at the stars while knowing that his family is safely indoors ready to continue their Christmas festivities

4 .

How does Arthur react when he is joined in the train compartment by Mr Daily?

He is excited to have another person to talk to during his tedious journey

He is glad to be able to question Mr Daily intensively about Mrs Drablow and her affairs

He is rude and angry at Mr Daily for expecting conversation

He is polite, but avoids discussing his business with Mr Daily

As narrator, Arthur admits to having been snobbish towards the signs of Mr Daily's newly acquired wealth. Mr Daily's companionship and generosity later becomes essential to Arthur

5 .

How do the residents of Crythin Gifford deal with fear?

They tease Arthur for his fears

They prefer not to talk openly about their fear

The people of the town try to persuade Arthur to be cautious, explaining why he should be afraid, but he ignores their warnings

The people of the town are so familiar with the Woman in Black that they no longer fear her

Arthur dismisses even those fears which the villagers only hint at. Nevertheless, he collapses from overwhelming fear on several occasions while alone in Eel Marsh House

6 .

"Lined up along the iron railings that surrounded the small asphalt yard of the school were twenty or so children, one to a gap. They presented a row of pale, solemn faces with great, round eyes, that had watched who knew how much of the mournful proceedings, and their little hands held the railings tight, and they were all of them quite silent, quite motionless. It was an oddly grave and touching sight, they looked so unlike children generally do, animated and carefree." Why does this sight seem so odd to Arthur?

The children are behaving unnaturally

Arthur thinks it odd that the children mourn Mrs Drablow

Arthur thinks the children are actually hungry orphans

Arthur worries that the children are actually ghosts

The children's young lives are haunted by the ghost of Jennet Humfrye and her grief at the loss of her own child. The terrible events of the past have the power to affect their young lives in the present. They are not carefree, as young children should be

7 .

"I took one last look at the frosty darkness, sighed contentedly, called to the dogs, and went in, anticipating nothing more than a pipe and a glass of good malt whisky beside the crackling fire, in the happy company of my family. As I crossed the hall and entered the drawing room, I felt an uprush of well-being, of the kind I have experienced regularly during my life at Monk's Piece, a sensation that leads on naturally to another, of heartfelt thankfulness." To which of the following themes does this passage relate?

Isolation

Domesticity

Vengeance

The reality of the supernatural

This little description expresses Arthur's idea of domestic bliss. It is spoiled in short time by the request for him to tell a ghost story

8 .

What type of vengeance does the Woman in Black seek?

She wishes to cause random strangers intense grief such as she experienced

She attempts to cause travellers to drown in the marsh as her son drowned

She wishes to kill parents, out of jealousy at their happiness

She wishes to make parents suffer grief such as her own by causing the unexpected deaths of their children

The Woman in Black's vengeance takes a very specific form. As narrator, Arthur still suffers his own grief at the loss of his first wife and child; many of the townspeople in Crythin Gifford suffer grief after losing children to accident or disease

9 .

Isolation is experienced in many forms in the novel. Which of the following is NOT an example of this?

Arthur is widowed at a young age, losing his child in the same accident

Crythin Gifford is geographically isolated, being located vaguely up "North", at the end of a minor branch line and barely worthy of being called a town, rather than a village

Samuel Daily lives a life isolated from the rest of the town

Eel Marsh House, where Mrs Drablow lived alone for many years, is cut off twice daily by the tides

Isolation in the novel is experienced both physically and emotionally. Mr Daily's home is not particularly isolated

10 .

The Woman in Black is structured as a story, within a story, within another story. At the heart is the history of Jennet Humfrye and her dead son. How does storytelling relate to Arthur?

Arthur makes a living as an author, or professional storyteller

Arthur writes the experiences of his younger days in response to his step-children's demands for a Christmas ghost story

Arthur repeats Jennet Humfrye's story to everyone he meets

Arthur distrusts storytelling and never takes part

The novel opens with Arthur choosing to write the story he refused to tell. The final words of the novel are "They asked for my story. I have told it. Enough." These closing words imply that storytelling is a form of exorcism and that Arthur believes he might now be rid of the ghosts of the past

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Themes

Author: Sheri Smith (PhD English Literature, English Teacher & Quiz Writer)