I chose to close read page sixty-five. In this passage Hindley uses denial to cope with the impending death of his beloved wife Frances. Throughout this page, Nelly speaks with both Hindley and Frances about their perspectives on the future state of things. While Hindley is both in denial about Frances’ fate, he is simultaneously inconsolable over the loss of Frances before she has even died. In contrary to this, Frances laughs at Hindley’s heart going as far as to state that she almost laughed at him for crying. In this passage, the reader is shown a side of Hindley that they had not been shown before. In this particular passage, the reader is shown in great emotion just how deeply Hindley’s love and devotion to his wife goes. This aspect of Hindley not only adds another layer to all of Hindley’s relationships but also shows the human side of Hindley and the other characters in the midst of a novel full of the suppernatural.
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This was an interesting page to close read. I agree on page 65 we begin to see a new side of Hindley’s characterization, where his denial and stubbornness come to light in a different context. Frances’ death becomes a turning point for Hindley, due to the intense emotion he feels for her before and after her death. Throughout the novel, he is depicted as physically aggressive to just about everyone around him, but on this page Hindley’s stubbornness, denial, and aggression consume him and becomes the crazed drunk we see later on.