Wish You Weren’t Here: The Woman in Black and Unwelcome Guests
Arthur Kipps, like all lawyers, got what he deserved
In The Woman in Black, solicitor Arthur Kipps is sent to the remote English village of Crythin Gifford, where he is charged with closing the affairs of a recently deceased resident. But after repeatedly ignoring the warnings of the locals, he attracts the ire of a mysterious and malevolent woman.
But first, let’s talk about Dracula.
In her essay Welcome the Coming, Speed the Parting Guest: Hospitality and the Gothic, Joanne Watkiss makes the case that Jonathan Harker is the true parasite of Dracula, the Count his hostage. Jonathan repeatedly ignores his host’s requests to avoid certain parts of the castle. Jonathan makes no effort to speak to his host in the local language. Jonathan has control over Dracula’s estates, allowing him to come and go as he pleases — while Dracula may only enter homes by invitation.
Above all, Jonathan is a lawyer.
“Jonathan’s role as guest is complicated by his occupation as solicitor,” writes Watkiss. “Although Jonathan has a service to bestow upon Dracula (just as Dracula serves him as a guest), that service is fraught with benefits for Jonathan.” In my recent re-reading and re-watching of The Woman in Black, I couldn’t ignore the similarities.
Arthur, like Jonathan, will likely profit financially from his visit. Arthur, like Jonathan, expects his star to rise with its conclusion. Arthur, like Jonathan, should have listened to the locals.
Of course, Arthur isn’t Eel Marsh House’s only unwelcome guest.
In his storytelling guide The Anatomy of Story, John Truby notes that the opponent is “always some form of double of the hero.” Ideally, he states, they should inhabit the same space, even want the same things. In the case of The Woman in Black, both Arthur Kipps and the ghost of Jennet Humfrye want to control the fate of the house. In the film, they share other similarities — both have suffered losses; both maintain strained relationships with reality; both wish to be reunited with their children.
Just as Watkiss reads Jonathan as the villain of Dracula, allow me to read Arthur as the villain of The Woman in Black. Arthur repeatedly ignores warnings from the locals. Arthur makes no effort to respect their beliefs or customs. Arthur wields his control of Eel Marsh House against the ghost of Jennet Humfrye, going so far beyond mere meddling that he and Samuel Daily exhume her body. He may not have received the warmest welcome, but Arthur Kipps broke the laws of hospitality at every turn. He’s the real intruder.
You, on the other hand, are very welcome to stick around — simply follow for more.
