State of the Mother's Mind in “the Monkey's Paw”

To a mother, nothing can break her heart terribly than losing her children forever. Mrs. White, the mother in the story “The Monkey’s Paw” has experienced this sorrow even more badly because her curiosity and greediness are the factors contributing to the death of her son. By using short sentences, the technique foreshadowing, the author not only makes his readers palpitate with fear but also leads them to Mrs. White’s state of mind to understand and sympathize with her in such pain. This horrified story happens when a monkey's paw which has magical power is given to a family, granting them three wishes. The father in this family wishes for two hundred pounds. The next day, an employee of the son's company comes to the family's home and tells the parents that their son has died in an accident and they will receive some money two hundred pounds - the exact amount they wished for - as compensation. A week has gone by but the mother still doesn’t accept the truth. She forces her husband to wish that their dead son would return home alive. Hearing someone knocking at the door, the mother tries her best to open it. However, the father has used the last wish before. The knocking stops, and when the door is opened, before the mother’s eyes, no one is there.

The beginning of the story sees two contradictory images “Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlor of Laburnum villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly”. The mother – Mrs. White – appears in the house “knitting placidly by the fire”, watching her husband – Mr. White – and her son – Herbert – at chess”. It is a typical setting of a happy family, peaceful and comfortable. The White lives in a small parlor, “of all the beastly, slushy, out of the way places to live in, this is the worst.” Just by few details, W.W. Jacobs evokes to the readers the condition of Mrs. White’s family – a not much well-to-do one. However, that cannot prevent them from enjoying themselves. After having