A Haunted House

by

Virginia Woolf

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The Narrator Character Analysis

The narrator, who is given no name or gender, is one half of the living couple who now live in the "haunted house." The narrator seems to be the only living person able to perceive the ghostly couple, at first hearing them and, finally, at the end of the story, catching a glimpse of the ghosts in the light of a lamp. In the story, the narrator leads a leisurely life, reading in the garden, and "rolling apples in the loft." The narrator seems likely to be well-off, based on the size of his or her house, while the narrator’s tone and vocabulary suggest a significant degree of education. The narrator is deeply curious about the ghosts, searching through the house for them and attempting to find out what they themselves are searching for. The narrator also clearly has a deep love for his or her spouse, and it is this love that seems to allow the narrator to realize that "the light in the heart" of a loving couple is what the dead couple are searching for.

The Narrator Quotes in A Haunted House

The A Haunted House quotes below are all either spoken by The Narrator or refer to The Narrator. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Love Theme Icon
).
A Haunted House Quotes

Whatever hour you woke there was a door shutting. From room to room they went, hand in hand, lifting here, opening there, making sure—a ghostly couple.

"Here we left it," she said. And he added, "Oh, but here too!" "It's upstairs," she murmured. "And in the garden," he whispered. "Quietly," they said, "or we shall wake them."

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), The Husband (speaker), The Wife (speaker)
Related Symbols: The House
Page Number: 1
Explanation and Analysis:

"They're looking for it; they're drawing the curtain," one might say, and so read on a page or two. "Now they've found it," one would be certain [...] And then, tired of reading, one might rise and see for oneself, the house all empty, the doors standing open, only the wood pigeons bubbling with content and the hum of the threshing machine sounding from the farm.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), The Husband, The Wife
Related Symbols: The House
Page Number: 1
Explanation and Analysis:

So fine, so rare, coolly sunk beneath the surface the beam I sought always burnt behind the glass. Death was the glass; death was between us; coming to the woman first, hundreds of years ago, leaving the house, sealing all the windows; the rooms were darkened. He left it, left her, went North, went East, saw the stars turned in the Southern sky; sought the house, found it dropped beneath the Downs.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), The Husband, The Wife
Related Symbols: Light and Darkness, The House
Page Number: 2
Explanation and Analysis:

The wind roars up the avenue. Trees stoop and bend this way and that. Moonbeams splash and spill wildly in the rain. But the beam of the lamp falls straight from the window. The candle burns stiff and still. Wandering through the house, opening the windows, whispering not to wake us, the ghostly couple seek their joy.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), The Husband, The Wife
Related Symbols: Light and Darkness, The House
Page Number: 2
Explanation and Analysis:

"Safe, safe, safe," the heart of the house beats proudly. "Long years—" he sighs. "Again you found me." "Here," she murmurs, "sleeping; in the garden reading; laughing, rolling apples in the loft. Here we left our treasure—" Stooping, their light lifts the lids upon my eyes. "Safe! safe! safe!" the pulse of the house beats wildly. Waking, I cry "Oh, is this your buried treasure? The light in the heart."

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), The Husband (speaker), The Wife (speaker)
Related Symbols: Light and Darkness, The House
Page Number: 2
Explanation and Analysis:
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A Haunted House PDF

The Narrator Quotes in A Haunted House

The A Haunted House quotes below are all either spoken by The Narrator or refer to The Narrator. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Love Theme Icon
).
A Haunted House Quotes

Whatever hour you woke there was a door shutting. From room to room they went, hand in hand, lifting here, opening there, making sure—a ghostly couple.

"Here we left it," she said. And he added, "Oh, but here too!" "It's upstairs," she murmured. "And in the garden," he whispered. "Quietly," they said, "or we shall wake them."

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), The Husband (speaker), The Wife (speaker)
Related Symbols: The House
Page Number: 1
Explanation and Analysis:

"They're looking for it; they're drawing the curtain," one might say, and so read on a page or two. "Now they've found it," one would be certain [...] And then, tired of reading, one might rise and see for oneself, the house all empty, the doors standing open, only the wood pigeons bubbling with content and the hum of the threshing machine sounding from the farm.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), The Husband, The Wife
Related Symbols: The House
Page Number: 1
Explanation and Analysis:

So fine, so rare, coolly sunk beneath the surface the beam I sought always burnt behind the glass. Death was the glass; death was between us; coming to the woman first, hundreds of years ago, leaving the house, sealing all the windows; the rooms were darkened. He left it, left her, went North, went East, saw the stars turned in the Southern sky; sought the house, found it dropped beneath the Downs.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), The Husband, The Wife
Related Symbols: Light and Darkness, The House
Page Number: 2
Explanation and Analysis:

The wind roars up the avenue. Trees stoop and bend this way and that. Moonbeams splash and spill wildly in the rain. But the beam of the lamp falls straight from the window. The candle burns stiff and still. Wandering through the house, opening the windows, whispering not to wake us, the ghostly couple seek their joy.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), The Husband, The Wife
Related Symbols: Light and Darkness, The House
Page Number: 2
Explanation and Analysis:

"Safe, safe, safe," the heart of the house beats proudly. "Long years—" he sighs. "Again you found me." "Here," she murmurs, "sleeping; in the garden reading; laughing, rolling apples in the loft. Here we left our treasure—" Stooping, their light lifts the lids upon my eyes. "Safe! safe! safe!" the pulse of the house beats wildly. Waking, I cry "Oh, is this your buried treasure? The light in the heart."

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), The Husband (speaker), The Wife (speaker)
Related Symbols: Light and Darkness, The House
Page Number: 2
Explanation and Analysis: