Time Windows Literary Elements

Fiction

Set in Hard Scrabble in the 19th century, a small town in Massachusetts. The events of the novel take place inside a Victorian house.

Third-person narrative

The tone is impartial, and the mood is idyllic.

The novel's protagonist is Miranda, and the antagonist is Dorrie.

The conflict is between Dorrie and her stepdaughter, Abby, who dies in mysterious circumstances after the ritual goes out of kilter.

The climax comes when Miranda is driven to the past by the time window to free the spirit of Abby from the dollhouse. As a result, Miranda breaks the curse that haunts the Victorian house.

The death of Abby is foreshadowed by her grandmother’s inability to take charge of her witchcraft practices.

The author downplays the haunting cycle in the Victorian house when saying it will subside in a moment.

The novel alludes to Laura Van Den Berg's story on the haunting spirits in "The Third Hotel."

The description of the raindrops Miranda watches depicts a sense of sight. The narrator says, “Two fat raindrops race each other down the pane. The one on the right seemed to be winning, but as Miranda watched, a gust of wind blew the drop on the left into its path."

The paradox is when Miranda, her mother, and her stepfather relocate into the Victorian house with optimism. Ironically, the Victorian House is worse because dark spirits haunt it.

N/A

N/A

The spirits are personified when Miranda says they are disastrous and never give peace to the living.