This book is a document of mass hysteria and trauma. First published in a collection in 1861, I love this Penguin Archive edition.
Set in 17th century Salem, you know it’s not going to be a good time…
Lois is an orphan, young, beautiful, and vulnerable. She’s come from England to live with an uncle, but her welcome into his New England family is less than enthusiastic. How do these people across the ocean feel about Lois and everything she represents (the old country, the old religion, monarchy)? What will Lois find in this zealous and wild land, this hotbed of religious dissent and moralising? The two girls and a boy, almost a young man, have an uneasy relationship with the charming Lois.
Lois is beautifully imagined by Gaskell who steers away from gruesome details or sentimentalism. This is a relatable and believable narrative, and I love how Gaskell shows the paranoia of witchcraft accusations: did I really welcome Satan into my heart just then? What if this cold or hot flash I suddenly feel is actually a devil?
The subtle foreshadowing and hints of what’s to come are masterful; Gaskell really builds intensity over this relatively short novella. Those first few “danger moments” are so vivid and almost titillating. How quickly interest and desire can turn…
The indignities visited on the indigenous women who are the first victims are horrifying and tell the tale of nascent and implicit racist hierarchies.
I also appreciate the ways in which Gaskell shows how male desire both protects, but ultimately also condemns, women.
One word: horrifying.
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