Open Prompt Sun. Oct. 14th

1972. In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel or the opening scene of a drama introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about the opening scene of a drama or the first chapter of a novel in which you explain how it functions in this way.


     "I have to leave the curtains in the lounge and in the dining room, by the balcony, open to exactly the right width every day or I can't come back in the flat again. There are sixteen panes in each of the patio doors; the curtains have to be open so that I can see just eight panes of each door...If I can see a sliver of the dining room through the other panes...then I'll have to go back up to the flat and start again" (Haynes, 13).
     Elizabeth Haynes' novel, Into the Darkest Corner, depicts the horrifying memories of a woman named Cathy, who was in two separate abusive relationships in her life. That's what the back of the book says. However, neither the back of the book nor the inside flap say much of anything about how Cathy has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (as seen in the above quote). You begin the book expecting the plot line that was written on the back, the one that drew you in to buying it, but are not aware of the twists in the characters and the overall themes. Beginning with quotes that tell how she's usually late for work because she checks her flat before leaving several times, how she forces herself to take a different path home every night from work or from being out, and how she is so paranoid about not having anyone in her flat or going into anyone elses' flat makes the reader begin to see more into the reasoning behind the abusive relationships. Does her disease attract her to dangerous people in some sort of way? Did her OCD develop long before or shortly after the physical abuse?
     The format of the book isn't exactly in chapters, but in sections. Within the sections, each short narration of the small things in her life day to day are written underneath the dates in which they happened (ex. Thursday 1 November 2007). All of the sudden, a few pages later, the date will switch from 2007 to 2003, and there will be a different man in that passage. To me, that brought home the detail of Cathy's OCD, with the switching back and forth between the years. You aren't starting the book after she's been abused or while it's happening, but you begin with her regular life, with her working and going out to bars with friends at night. The first chapter (section) of Into the Darkest Corner introduces the reader to the deeper personal problems Cathy is dealing with, while foreshadowing what is to come.