Guilt and Retribution

Where it surfaces

• The Drunkard's Dream

  Pat Connell's dream of damnation and his subsequent death underscore themes of guilt, punishment, and the consequences of past sins.

• Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess

  The suspicion of murder hanging over Sir Arthur, his eventual escape, and the 'terrible, tremendous retribution' that overtakes him and his son.

• A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family

  The family's history is marked by guilt and eventual supernatural retribution.

• An Adventure of Hardress Fitzgerald, a Royalist Captain

  Fitzgerald reflects on 'deeds of necessary but dire severity' that troubled him, hinting at guilt and the potential for retribution.

• Spalatro

  The narrator's past indulgences and moral decay are punished through supernatural torment, reflecting guilt and retribution.

• The Mysterious Lodger

  The narrator's guilt over his child's death and his anger at God suggest a theme of perceived divine retribution.

• The Village Bully

  Larkin's brutal beating of Ned Moran leads to a supernatural retribution, leaving him paralyzed and destitute, tormented by guilt.

• The Sexton’s Adventure

  The suicide of Philip Slaney and the supernatural temptation of Bob Martin as a consequence of his past intemperance.

• An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street

  The haunting may be tied to past sins or crimes, as suggested by the house's history and the sinister figure in the portrait.

• V: The Man with the Claret Mark

  Ultor De Lacy speaks of a 'horrible feud' and a curse that haunts his family, suggesting past sins demanding retribution.

• VIII: Sister Agnes and the Portrait

  Walter De Lacy's execution of O'Donnell, seen as cruel, leads to a curse that seeks retribution against the family.

• IX: The Funeral Visitation

  Aunt Margaret's unaccountable antipathy and the men's flight suggest a hidden guilt or retribution theme.

• Wicked Captain Walshawe, of Wauling

  The captain's cruelty in life leads to his restless spirit, suggesting a moral reckoning beyond death.

• III: My Uncle Watson Visits Wauling

  Captain Walshawe's unrepentant life and grotesque death suggest a moral reckoning, though delayed.

• VI: The Extinguisher Is Lifted

  The ghostly figure appears in 'unspeakable despair,' hinting at a past transgression and a haunting that may be tied to guilt.

• VII: The Visitation Culminates

  The spectral figure's actions—retrieving papers and winking maliciously—suggest a hidden crime or secret, hinting at themes of guilt and impending judgment.

• Conclusion

  The discovery of the hidden papers and the haunting suggest retribution for the Captain's past misdeeds.

• Squire Toby's Will

  Charles's guilt over suppressing the deed manifests in terrifying nightmares and supernatural visitations, culminating in his death.

• Green Tea

  Jennings' torment may be interpreted as a manifestation of guilt or divine punishment for his secret doubts and sins.

• VI: How Mr. Jennings Met His Companion

  Mr. Jennings's obsessive study of pagan metaphysics is presented as a degrading fascination that brings a nemesis, suggesting a moral retribution.

• VII: The Journey: First Stage

  The narrator's torment by the monkey suggests a punishment for past sins or a guilty conscience.

• VIII: The Second Stage

  Jennings's torment suggests a hidden guilt or moral failing, with the monkey as an agent of retribution drawing him 'interiorly into hell.'

• X: Home

  Mr. Jennings's sense of being delivered over to spiritual reprobation and his eventual suicide imply a theme of guilt and self-inflicted retribution.

• The White Cat of Drumgunniol

  Con Donovan's secret guilt over Ellen Coleman leads to his haunting and death, suggesting retribution.

• The Magician Earl

  The Earl and his household are punished for his dabbling in forbidden magic and his wife's curiosity, remaining enchanted until the silver shoes wear through.

• The Vision of Tom Chuff

  Tom's vision warns him of divine judgment, and his eventual death in the bog fulfills that retribution.

• Madam Crowl's Ghost

  Dame Crowl's presumed murder of the boy and her subsequent haunting suggest a theme of guilt and supernatural retribution.

• VII: Descending

  The narrator's morbid reserve and refusal to seek help, hinting at an internalized guilt or complicity in her own decline.

• X: Bereaved

  The General speaks of subserving 'the vengeance of Heaven' and plans to unearth the Karnstein tombs to rid the earth of 'monsters,' indicating a quest for retribution.

• XIII: The Woodman

  General Spielsdorf's quest to decapitate the vampire reflects a personal vendetta and a desire for retribution against the supernatural predator.

• Ordeal and Execution

  The execution of the vampire serves as a form of retribution for the centuries of plague and suffering inflicted on the region.

• The Dead Sexton

  Crooke's past as a scamp and his sudden reformation hint at hidden guilt; his violent death suggests retribution.

• Mr. Justice Harbottle

  Judge Harbottle's guilt over Pyneweck's execution manifests in a supernatural trial and execution, emphasizing inescapable moral justice.

• I: The Judge’s House

  The ghostly visitation and the house's haunted reputation suggest a lingering guilt or retribution tied to Judge Harbottle's evil deeds.

• III: Lewis Pyneweck

  The Judge's past wrong against Pyneweck haunts him through the attempted trick, yet he feels no guilt; the theme of retribution is inverted as the guilty judge seeks to punish the victim.

• IV: Interruption in Court

  Judge Harbottle is haunted by a vision of the executed Lewis Pyneweck, suggesting supernatural retribution for his role in the man's death.

• V: Caleb Searcher

  Judge Harbottle is confronted with a supernatural indictment for his judicial corruption, embodying the theme of inescapable moral justice.

• VI: Arrested

  The Judge's abduction and the appearance of the dead footman and the gallows suggest a supernatural retribution for his past misdeeds.

• VII: Chief Justice Twofold

  Judge Harbottle's nightmare serves as a supernatural punishment for his earthly misdeeds, culminating in a grotesque trial and physical torment.

• VIII: Somebody Has Got Into the House

  Judge Harbottle is consumed by guilt and fear over his prophetic dream of execution, which he interprets as a sign of impending retribution for his past misdeeds.

• IX: The Judge Leaves His House

  The Judge's violent death and the ghostly visions suggest a supernatural reckoning for his past sins.

• The Familiar

  The haunting suggests a past transgression and a looming punishment for the protagonist.

• II: The Watcher

  Barton's past life, which he hates to remember, is vaguely connected to the persecution, suggesting guilt and impending retribution.

• III: An Advertisement

  Barton's extreme anxiety and his cryptic questions about death and disease suggest a hidden guilt or fear of retribution, possibly linked to his past as a ship captain.

• IV: He Talks with a Clergyman

  Barton's belief that retribution follows guilt through mysterious and terrible agencies.

• V: Mr. Barton States His Case

  Barton's sense of being charged with 'hideous crimes' and threatened with 'eternal misery' suggests a deep-seated guilt and fear of retribution.

• VI: Seen Again

  Barton's torment suggests a hidden guilt or past sin that manifests as a supernatural pursuer, hinting at retributive justice.

• VII: Flight

  Barton's despair and sense of doomed fate suggest an underlying guilt or retribution driving his haunting.

• VIII: Softened

  Barton's torment is framed as divine punishment for past sins, with the 'Watcher' acting as an agent of retribution. His vision of forgiveness suggests a possible end to his suffering.

• IX: Requiescat

  Barton's past sin—a guilty attachment and harsh punishment of a sailor—is implied to be the cause of his supernatural persecution and death.

• Sir Dominick's Bargain

  Sir Dominick's growing guilt and fear of damnation, his attempts at repentance, and the looming retribution as the seven-year bargain nears its end.