HANGSAMAN is Jackson's second novel, written in 1951. It was partially influenced by the story of Paula Jean Welden's disappearance in 1946 from Bennington College in Vermont.
On the surface the novel at first appears to be a coming-of-age story about a seventeen-year-old girl, Natalie Waite, who is about to leave home for the first time and go to college but as the story progresses, it is apparent that all is not as it seems. The first part of the novel takes place at her home before leaving for school and focuses on her parents including her overbearing father who is a writer. The father likes to invite people over to the house on Sunday afternoons to discuss literature among other things. He also criticizes and encourages Natalie's writing. Most of the first section of the book describes a cocktail party where Natalie helps her mother serve the guests. But little odd things occur in Natalie's mind such as seeming to discuss things with a detective and then there is a rather shocking occurrence at the end of the first section. The second part of the book has Natalie at college where she is really scared and a fish out of water. She makes friends with the wife of her English professor and ends up often visiting the couple along with two other college girls where cocktails flow freely. Then the third part of the novel really gets quirky with Natalie obviously descending into a sort of mental hell.
This again was another novel by Jackson where she describes the pains and pressures of life in the middle classes, this time going into the mind of a sensitive young woman going away from home for the first time. There were many aspects of the novel where Jackson leaves it to the reader to determine what was really happening especially in the third section. Overall, another well-written and thought-provoking story.
On the surface the novel at first appears to be a coming-of-age story about a seventeen-year-old girl, Natalie Waite, who is about to leave home for the first time and go to college but as the story progresses, it is apparent that all is not as it seems. The first part of the novel takes place at her home before leaving for school and focuses on her parents including her overbearing father who is a writer. The father likes to invite people over to the house on Sunday afternoons to discuss literature among other things. He also criticizes and encourages Natalie's writing. Most of the first section of the book describes a cocktail party where Natalie helps her mother serve the guests. But little odd things occur in Natalie's mind such as seeming to discuss things with a detective and then there is a rather shocking occurrence at the end of the first section. The second part of the book has Natalie at college where she is really scared and a fish out of water. She makes friends with the wife of her English professor and ends up often visiting the couple along with two other college girls where cocktails flow freely. Then the third part of the novel really gets quirky with Natalie obviously descending into a sort of mental hell.
This again was another novel by Jackson where she describes the pains and pressures of life in the middle classes, this time going into the mind of a sensitive young woman going away from home for the first time. There were many aspects of the novel where Jackson leaves it to the reader to determine what was really happening especially in the third section. Overall, another well-written and thought-provoking story.
