A Haunted House

by

Virginia Woolf

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Light and Darkness Symbol Analysis

Light and Darkness Symbol Icon

In "A Haunted House," light symbolizes the joy that can be found in love and human connection. Throughout the story, “light” is connected to the ghosts’s search for their “treasure.” When the ghosts are moving together through the house, reminiscing about their life together, "the beam of the lamp falls straight from the window. The candle burns stiff and still." At the same time, the narrator seeks to understand the ghosts, and envisions this understanding as being like light "behind [...] glass." Finally, at the end of the story, when the narrator is for the first time able to see the ghosts, the narrator sees the ghosts holding a lantern and also understands that the ghost’s “treasure” is “The light in the heart." In other words, the ghost couple's "treasure," the "light in the heart," is revealed to be the love of the living couple—the warmth and joy that "burns" within them. Throughout the story, light represents both connection and love.

In contrast, darkness symbolizes isolation and the painful loss of love and connection in the story. Recalling the death of the ghostly man’s wife many centuries ago, the narrator describes the woman as “leaving the house, sealing all the windows; the rooms were darkened.” With the loss of love due to the death of the wife, the “light” left the house, and darkness reigned.

Light and Darkness Quotes in A Haunted House

The A Haunted House quotes below all refer to the symbol of Light and Darkness. 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

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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Light and Darkness Symbol Timeline in A Haunted House

The timeline below shows where the symbol Light and Darkness appears in A Haunted House. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
A Haunted House
Love Theme Icon
Happiness and the Home Theme Icon
Death Theme Icon
...stops, and the narrator asks, "Was that the buried treasure?" However, "a moment later the light had faded"—the ghosts have still not found what they are looking for and continue the... (full context)
Love Theme Icon
Happiness and the Home Theme Icon
Death Theme Icon
In the garden, the narrator sees the trees "[spinning] darkness for a wandering beam of sun," and reflects that "the beam I sought always burnt... (full context)
Love Theme Icon
Happiness and the Home Theme Icon
...“Moonbeams splash and spill wildly in the rain." In the house, though, a beam of light from a lamp "falls straight from the window," and the flame from “The candle burns... (full context)
Love Theme Icon
Happiness and the Home Theme Icon
Death Theme Icon
...no lady spread her ghostly cloak." The ghostly man tries to block some of the light from the lantern with his hands and whispers, "Look. Sound asleep. Love upon their lips." (full context)
Love Theme Icon
Happiness and the Home Theme Icon
Death Theme Icon
"Holding their silver lamp above us," the dead couple gazes down at the narrator and the narrator’s partner as... (full context)
Love Theme Icon
Happiness and the Home Theme Icon
Death Theme Icon
At that moment, the light of the ghostly man’s lamp "lifts the lids" of the narrator's eyes. Suddenly, the house’s... (full context)