Hangsaman is a 1951 gothic novel by American author Shirley Jackson. The second of Jackson's published novels, Hangsaman is a bildungsroman centering on lonely college freshman Natalie Waite, who descends into madness after enrolling in a liberal arts college.

Aug 8, 2013 · Jackson’s Wikipedia entry suggests that she based Hangsaman on a locally notorious missing-persons case, a Bennington student who disappeared into the dark woods in 1946, never to...

Mar 31, 2021 · This analysis of Hangsaman, Shirley Jackson's chilling and thought-provoking 1951 novel, is excerpted from Girls in Bloom by Francis Booth.

Hangsaman focuses on Natalie Waite, a troubling young woman whose intolerance towards others makes her retreat into a series of disturbing fantasies. The narrative chronicles Natalie’s attempts to navigate the murky waters of adulthood.

Jul 12, 2013 · Hangsaman is a crash and burn example of free indirect discourse—or what might be better called infected narration— which combines direct discourse (a character’s direct speech) and indirect discourse, such as a narrator’s commentary.

What is Hangsaman about? This novel explores the life of Natalie Waite, a seventeen-year-old girl struggling to understand her identity. Her complex relationships with her family and peers shape a vivid yet unsettling coming-of-age story.