“Childhood Memories” In “The Lost Ghost,” by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, readers are introduced to the character known as Rhoda Meserve. Meserve shows herself in a precarious way. She knows people, in the new town she lives in, will look at her differently if she reveals her past, but she decides to trust her closest friend, Mrs.Emmerson. Through the story of her past we learn more about the character of Mr.Meserve. Mary Wilkins shows us how precariously Meserve reveals her dynamic growth in fear, discovery of a ghost and deplorable loss.
Mary Freeman shows Rhoda Meserve’s fear through reaction. In “The Lost Ghost,” Rhoda Meserve seems to have fear as her first step of growth, in a not so habitual meeting with a ghost. “I saw my coat first. The thing that held it was so small… ‘Who are you?’(young Rhoda Meserve asks)... ‘I can’t find my mother’ (the ghost replies)... Well I thought for a moment I should fade away. The room darkened and I heard a singing in my ears” (Freeman 2). In seconds after discovering the ghost holding her jacket Meserve feels like she is going to faint. Freeman shows this character’s fear through this unnatural meeting in a faint reaction, minutes later Meserve is calling for her hostesses to come and give her an explanation. …show more content…
“It was an awful thing. That child had lived in the house… two years before Mrs.Bird and her sister (Mrs.Dennison) moved in… Well there was this house shut up, and the man and woman missing and the child… the townsfolk entered and found the child dead, locked in one of the rooms.” (Freeman 12) Though one might think to leave after discovering the horrendous events that happened in that house, Meserve stays. Staying, Meserve will have to, not only, endure the ghosts relentless haunting, but also a tragic
Mary Freeman shows Rhoda Meserve’s fear through reaction. In “The Lost Ghost,” Rhoda Meserve seems to have fear as her first step of growth, in a not so habitual meeting with a ghost. “I saw my coat first. The thing that held it was so small… ‘Who are you?’(young Rhoda Meserve asks)... ‘I can’t find my mother’ (the ghost replies)... Well I thought for a moment I should fade away. The room darkened and I heard a singing in my ears” (Freeman 2). In seconds after discovering the ghost holding her jacket Meserve feels like she is going to faint. Freeman shows this character’s fear through this unnatural meeting in a faint reaction, minutes later Meserve is calling for her hostesses to come and give her an explanation. …show more content…
“It was an awful thing. That child had lived in the house… two years before Mrs.Bird and her sister (Mrs.Dennison) moved in… Well there was this house shut up, and the man and woman missing and the child… the townsfolk entered and found the child dead, locked in one of the rooms.” (Freeman 12) Though one might think to leave after discovering the horrendous events that happened in that house, Meserve stays. Staying, Meserve will have to, not only, endure the ghosts relentless haunting, but also a tragic