Summary: The Canterville Ghost
‘The Canterville Ghost’ begins with the sale of an old British mansion called Canterville
Chase to Horace B Otis, an American. Though the former owner, Lord Canterville, warns Mr
Otis that the mansion is haunted, Mr Otis is not worried and replies that ghosts do not exist.
Soon after, Mr Otis moves into the Chase with the rest of his family: his wife, Lucretia; his
eldest son, Washington; his fifteen-year-old daughter, Virginia; and his two young twin boys.
Upon moving in, Mrs Otis notices a dull red stain on the floor and requests that it be
cleaned. Their housekeeper reveals that it is a bloodstain from the murder of Lady Eleanore
de Canterville, who was killed in 1575 by her husband, Sir Simon de Canterville, and that it
cannot be removed. She warns Mrs Otis that Sir Simon’s guilty ghost still haunts Canterville
Chase. Dismissing the housekeeper’s story as nonsense, Washington quickly pulls a stick of
stain remover and scrubs it onto the spot until the stain is gone. As soon as the stain is
removed, lightning flashes and a peal of thunder rocks the house. The housekeeper faints in
terror.
The next morning, the Otises find that the stain has mysteriously returned. A few nights
later, Mr Otis is awakened in the middle of the night by a clanking noise. Venturing into the
hallway, he encounters the ghost of Sir Simon. Rather than being frightened by Sir Simon’s
glowing red eyes, matted hair and rusty chains, Mr Otis politely insists that the ghost oil his
chains and gives him a bottle of oil for this purpose. Utterly humiliated, Sir Simon retreats
down the hallway until he encounters the twins, who throw pillows at his head. Returning to
his chamber, Sir Simon remembers his long and successful career as a ghost, fuming that
never in three hundred years of haunting maids and guests has he been so insulted.
Determined to scare modern Americans, Sir Simon stays up all night plotting his revenge.
The contradiction between cultures of the New World and the Old World is seen throughout
the play. The old-fashioned British do not understand the Americans’ careless attitude
about things that matter so much to the British. However, the humour in the story is gentle,
not sarcastic. The author mocks the stereotypes of both the British and American families in
a kind way.
UNIT 3 THE CANTERVILLE GHOST
Warm Up
Suggested answer (Accept any logical answer).
2. a strange woman or man who is there to warn or trap the main characters
3. a tragedy that happened in the past that still affects people today
4. scary noises and happenings that usually happen in the dark
Embedded Questions 1
● Lord Canterville and Mr Otis are discussing the sale of Canterville Chase. They are also talking
about the Canterville family ghost that is supposed to haunt the mansion.
● Something terrible had happened to the Dowager Duchess of Bolton and it probably had
something to do with the ghost.
Embedded Questions 2
● They seem to think that it is complete nonsense.
● I think she does. She seems to be truly terrified of the ghost and is doing her best to convince the
Otis family to believe in it too.
Embedded Questions 3
● Yes it but. But unfortunately it didn’t.
● Free Response
Embedded Questions 4
● Goodness me! My dear sir, you cannot go creaking about like this. I insist that you oil your chains.
And now, good night, sir.
● Lewis: We will trap him here. You sleep by the door. And I’ll sleep on the desk so I can jump on top
of him.
Clark: Let’s come here with our pillows tonight.
Twins: Caught you!
Comprehension
A. 1. Lord Canterville, the former owner of Canterville Chase, and Mrs Umney the housekeeper, believe
that the ghost exists.
2. Mr Otis and his family—Mrs Otis, his son Washington, daughter Virginia and the twins do not
believe in the ghost.
3. It does not seem as though Mrs Umney really fainted. She might have very frightened and her
mind might have gone blank. But she recovered too quickly for it to have been an actual fainting
spell.
4. The twins decide to camp out in the library at night and wait for ghost. Clark would sleep by the
door and Lewis would sleep on the desk so that he could jump on the ghost and trap him.
5. Mr Otis offers oil for the ghost’s chains.
6. The ghost feels insulted because no one is frightened by his appearance. Mr Otis offers him oil for
his chains and the twins throw a pillow at him. This had never happened to him before. This angers
the ghost and he swears revenge.
B. 1. a. Mr Otis offers the oil because he cannot sleep. The creaking of the chains disturbs him.
b. The oil would make the rings of the chain move smoothly and so Mr Otis would not be
disturbed by its clanking sound.
c. The chains were creaking because they were rusty and old. At the same time, the ghost made
sure that they clanked more, so as to frighten the Otis family and announce his arrival.
2. a. The ghost was angry because he felt insulted. Mr. Otis offered him oil and the twins threw a
pillow at him. People had always been frightened of him. It was an exceptional situation with
the Otis family because they did not believe in ghosts.
b. The ghost thinks that the Otis family is ignorant and unaware of the furore that he can create.
He has always created chaos with his fearful appearances. The Otis family has seen none of that.
c. The ghost was treated with fear and reverence by the Canterville family. No one in the
Canterville mansion had ever dared mock his appearance or presence.
C. 1. The Duchess of Bolton, Lord Canterville’s grand-aunt, is terrified at the Canterville Ghost’s
appearance. She is seen being lead to a chair by the butler and the housekeeper. They give her a
drink of water. The duchess narrates that she has felt the icy touch of bony hands on herself. At first
she dismissed it as cold draught. But then she noticed a pair of skeleton hands.
2. The Otis family is not frightened by the bloodstain. Mrs Otis wants it removed because it looks
ugly. Washington takes out a small stick and rubs it over the stain. On the other hand, Mrs
Umney regards the blood satin with fear and speaks about it in a hushed tone. She tells the Otis
family that it is the blood of Lady Eleanore de Canterville, who was murdered by her husband,
Sir Simon de Canterville. Sir Canterville disappeared for nine years and his body was never
found.
3. The atmosphere is calm before the ghost arrives. The arrival of the ghost is heard along with
the clanking sound of metals. The ghost casts a green light about him and fills the air with
groans after he leaves. But after Mr Otis goes back to his room, the ghost is very angry. He
plans to take revenge at the end. Till now, the ghost was only trying to make his presence felt
and was trying to scare the newcomers but now, in his rage he plans to truly terrify them and
disrupt their lives.
D. d. to contrast and make fun of British and American cultures
E. 1. Showing interest in new traditions and customs.
2. Pointing out that they do not pronounce words in the same way you do, and laughing.
3. Showing little interest in understanding their country or customs.
4. Being respectful even if you do not fully understand what they are telling you.
5. Being friendly and introducing them to your own country and culture.
Grammar
A. 2. P 3. P 4. C 5. C 6. P
B. 2. AVP 3. PP 4. AP 5. AVP 6. PP
C. 1. My aunt and uncle have a beautiful garden. noun phrase
2. I could not go out with my friends because I was with my mother. adverb phrase
3. The lady in the green sari is my aunt. adjective phrase
4. She sings like a bird. adverb phrase
5. I found my shoes under the bed. prepositional phrase
Vocabulary
1. protagonist 2. costumes 3. make-up 4. audience 5. green room
Writing
Ghost: Foolish woman, be quiet! Don’t you know that I am the ghost of Sir Canterville? I do
not take anyone’s orders.
Mrs Umney: Oh Lord! Save me! Do not come near me, sir. Your looks scare me to death.
Ghost: You better be scared. How dare that American family come to stay here? Huh! I will
drive them away.
Mrs Umney: But they are not afraid of you sir. When I told them about you, they called laughed
at me.
Ghost: Not afraid of me! Has there been a single soul ever that was not afraid of me? I will
show them what a real ghost can do.
Mrs Umney: I beg you, sir. Please…
Ghost: Silence, woman! I will have my way. This is MY house!
THE CANTERVILLE GHOST
A. Answer in brief.
1. Who was the Duchess? Why did she faint?
Ans: Lord Canterville while warning Mr. Otis of the presence of a ghost in the house recalled what
had happened to his grand aunt who was the Dowager Duchess of Bolton. Once, during her stay
in the Canterville Mansion, she fainted out of fear on being touched by the cold bony hands of a
ghost.
2. What did Mr. Otis think of ghosts? What was his reaction to Lord Canterville’s warning?
Ans: Mr. Otis, a wealthy American, was least disturbed by Lord Canterville’s tale. He was a man
with modern views and did not believe in the existence of ghosts. When Lord Canterville warned
him about ghosts in the mansion he just guffawed at the story and went ahead with his plan of
buying the mansion.
B. Answer in detail.
1. What was Mrs. Umney’s explanation for the blood stain that was noticed in the library? What did
the family do on hearing her story?
Ans: Mrs. Otis noticed something that looked like a blood stain and wanted that to be removed
when Mrs. Umney informed Mrs. Otis in a hushed voice that it was the blood of Lady Eleanore
de Canterville. Mrs Umney went on to say that she was murdered on that very spot by her own
husband, Sir Simon de Canterville in the year 1575. None of the members of the Otis family
believed even a word of the story. Mr. Otis rubbished the whole story and took a small stick from
his bag and rubbed and cleaned the stain.
2. Give examples from the text to show that the family was least frightened by the presence of a
ghost in the mansion.
Ans: Mrs. Otis was least alarmed when she was told that the stain she noticed was a blood stain.
When the twins found the blood stain again in the same spot, they concluded that the ghost
must have visited again. Instead of getting scared, they decided to wait for him in the night.
Mr. Otis too guffawed at the very mention of the word ghost. Late in the same night when he
was disturbed apparently by a chained ghost, he offered a bottle of oil to the ghost asking it to
apply on the chains so that it would make less noise and he could have a peaceful sleep. The
twins threw a pillow at the ghost when it made an appearance.
C. Read the lines and answer the questions.
1. “Well, so does the family doctor, Lord Canterville!”
a. Who speaks the above line?
b. Why does he make the above statement?
c. What do you understand about the person?
Ans: a. The above line is spoken by Mr. Otis.
b. He remarks so in answer to Lord Canterville’s warning that the ghost in the house makes
its appearance before the death of a family member.
c. Mr. Otis is least affected by Lord Canterville’s warning about the presence of a ghost in
the mansion.
2. “We will corner him here. You sleep by the door. And I’ll sleep on the desk so I can jump on top of him.”
a. Who do the twins want to corner?
b. Why do they want to do that?
c. What does this tell us about the speaker?
Ans: a. The twins want to corner the Canterville Ghost.
b. He probably wants to catch him so that it would not disturb them anymore.
c. This tells us that the speaker is least perturbed by the appearance of a ghost.
D. Answer in brief. (Think and answer)
1. How did the youngest members of the family prove that they were as brave as the older
members?
Ans: The twins, Lewis and Clark, realised that the ghost had actually visited the library in the
night. But they were least perturbed and waited for the ghost in the night. When they really
saw one in the night, they threw the pillow at the ghost and scared the ghost away much to its
disgust!
2. Bring out the humour in the appearance of the ghost in the mansion.
Ans: Every act contradicts with the fear linked to ghosts. While Mrs. Otis is annoyed on seeing a
blood stain, Mr. Otis presents a bottle of oil to the ghost to mend his chains. The twins want to
play hide and seek with the ghost and chase it away instead of being scared.
E. Answer in detail.
Do you believe in ghosts? Why? Why not? Is there any change in your perception of ghosts after
reading the story? Elaborate.
[Free response]
Comments
Post a Comment