The Little Stranger - Essay Qs

How does Waters use the theme of the supernatural to reflect class tensions within her novel?

Waters uses the theme of the supernatural to reflect class tensions within her novel, by choo choosing the setting of an uncertain post-war Britain and having the story revolve around the formerly prestigious, now dilapidated “Hundreds Hall” and its inhabitants - who are struggling with the financial difficulties of their decaying estate & attepting to cope within a collapsing class system. Within the novel, the supernatural occurrences can be seen as being manifestations resulting from societal issues caused by post-war class tensions. Waters uses the supernatural elements as a means to dive into the rise of socialism in Britain and simultaneously depict how the declining upper classes coped with losing their inheritances. This is represented through the haunting of Hundreds Hall by a ‘little stranger', which could be interpreted as revealing of the effects of history on British aristocracy as part of the aftermath of the Second World War. The hauntings or ‘The Little Stranger’ are symbolic of the historical, political, and social changes that are leading to the extinction of the ‘old-money' aristocracy and the transition towards the working class. Showing that use of the theme of the supernatural in Waters' novel is not only to create suspense, but is syncronously representative of class tensions, serving as a metaphor for the societal changes and struggles of the time.