Date

8-18-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The Haunting of Wright Manor explores the fear of the unknown, and more specifically, the hereditary nature of evil. “The phrase ‘nature versus nurture’ was first coined in the mid-1800s by the English Victorian polymath Francis Galton in discussion about the influence of heredity and environment on social advancement”(Serpell 2013), writes Mick Serpell in the British Journal of Pain. Essentially, “Nature versus Nurture” boils down to a debate of which character traits are inherited and which are the result of external environmental factors. Wright Manor’s protagonist, Victoria Mariano, finds herself struggling with the aforementioned debate. At the age of 12, Victoria witnessed her mother kill her father before turning the gun on herself, and for the duration of The Haunting of Wright Manor, she is left wondering if her mother’s actions can be seen as a predictor of Victoria’s own future. Many times, Victoria indirectly asks herself if her mother’s genetic makeup is what turned her into a killer or if she was pushed by other circumstances in her life. If it was nature that caused Victoria’s mother to kill, then Victoria runs the risk of having inherited that same murderous gene. On the other hand, if Victoria’s mother was driven to kill by external factors, then could Victoria also turn into a killer by witnessing such a traumatic event at a young and developmentally crucial age?

Department

English

Thesis Comittee

Prof. John Mulrooney, Thesis Advisor
Dr. Ann M. Brunjes, Committee Member
Prof. Bruce D. Machart, Committee Member

Copyright and Permissions

Original document was submitted as an Honors Program requirement. Copyright is held by the author.

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