There is no proof for the existence of universal truths, but in the era of post-truth, it is not more ridiculous to trust “Haunted House” by Virginia Woolf than to trust public discourse.
Ghosts “existed” in Ancient Greece, in Rome and still exist. They are an integral part of our heritage, they represent the supernatural. Authors across the centuries have used them in their works but at the same time ridiculed supernatural phenomena. Lord Dunsay in his book entitled “The Ghost” challenges its existence using rational argument.
The narrator of Dunsay’s short story is not sure whether what he saw were ghosts. He began to contemplate mathematical formulas, which, returned him to reality. But let’s take Witches in Shakespeare’s books. In “Macbeth”, they stand as much for supernatural forces as our inner desires. They reveal what Macbeth really craved for. The writer Philip Ball is of the opinion that ghosts can be described as social conservatives who enforce norms. They serve as morality tales.
In “Haunted House" Virginia Woolf used ghosts to show the value of love. According to the short story, love is something eternal that lasts forever. In her stories houses have souls. According to our market-driven culture - houses can be built, bought, sold, and nothing more. Woolf could be considered naïve but the question is: Are you really more naive when you say that your house has a soul, rather than saying that it has a market value? In fact, the market value of your house is also about forces. It depends on mechanisms and political decisions, thus political forces. What is more, the volatility of house prices taught us that market value is relative.
Oh well, still unsure of what is sure and who is trustworthy? The humanistic perspective, stupid! Thanks to the humanistic perspective you can be sure that haunting houses can exist, but in a person's consciousness.
text AK, cor. and insp. D. (my F. &/or F. but C., m.m.)
op. or ss. /sod.
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