Little White Souls (Continued)
Ethel Dunstan, a British officer's wife stationed in India, is staying at the remote hill castle of Mandalinati with her young daughter Katie, having gone there for the child's health. Her husband Colonel Charlie Dunstan remains at Mudlianah on the plains, unable to join her. Ethel has been experiencing troubling behaviour from her Indian servants, who appear frightened and are attempting to unsettle her into leaving the castle and returning to the plains. Ethel harbours deep jealousy regarding Mrs Cissy Lawless, the young and attractive wife of Jack Lawless, a colleague of her husband's. She suspects Cissy of carrying on a flirtation with Colonel Dunstan, and interprets every interaction between them as evidence of treachery. When Cissy's husband and Colonel Dunstan travel north together on business, Cissy arrives unexpectedly at Mandalinati, claiming she has come to keep Ethel company in the men's absence. Ethel accepts her visit with mixed feelings, glad to keep the woman away from her husband but suspicious of her true motives. Cissy Lawless, being a capable linguist, speaks with the native servants and discovers the true source of their terror. The castle was originally built by the cruel Rajah Mati Singh as a harem. He abducted an English soldier's daughter, confined her there for years, and when she attempted to contact her own people, had her and her child murdered. After establishing a native harem in the castle, he found that no infant born there ever survived. According to local legend, the spirit of the murdered Englishwoman returns to take the souls of children born under the castle's roof in place of her own slaughtered child. The servants believe she is specifically waiting for a white child, and that Ethel's unborn baby is in danger. Ethel dismisses this account as superstitious nonsense fabricated by servants wishing to force her departure, and refuses to leave. When Cissy announces she too must leave, citing her nerves and her inability to sleep, Ethel erupts into open accusation, charging Cissy with using the ghost story as a pretext to return to Mudlianah and resume her flirtation with Colonel Dunstan. Cissy is outraged and departs in anger. Left alone, distressed and exhausted by the quarrel and her fears, Ethel goes into premature labour during the night. Her only attendant is her frightened Dye, and a frail, premature baby boy is born. Ethel sends a desperate message to her husband and then tries to rest, clasping the infant to her. She falls into an exhausted sleep. She is drawn back to consciousness by a gentle pressure, as though someone is attempting to lift the baby from her arms. Opening her eyes, she sees not her nurse but a tall, fair woman with golden hair and wild blue eyes, silently and deliberately removing the child. Ethel cries out and calls for the Dye. At the sound, the apparition draws the infant against her and wraps her white robes around it, then slowly fades away with an expression of triumph, as the nurse rushes in. When a lamp is brought, the baby appears to be lying safely on the pillow. But Ethel immediately senses something is terribly wrong. The infant is rigid and cold. The baby is dead. The spirit of the murdered Englishwoman has taken its soul, leaving only the lifeless body behind. Ethel collapses in shock. She recovers to find Colonel Dunstan at her bedside, and Cissy Lawless nursing her devotedly. Cissy explains the truth she had concealed: her private meetings and correspondence with Colonel Dunstan were not romantic in nature but were part of a joint effort to rescue Jack Lawless from a serious gambling scandal that had nearly cost him his military commission. The colonel had helped arrange the matter discreetly, and Cissy had worked alongside him in secret to protect her husband's reputation and career. Ethel acknowledges her jealousy was entirely unfounded and that she has suffered gravely for her pride and disbelief. The colonel reflects that the experience should teach them never to believe what has not been proved. Ethel adds that it equally teaches never to disbelieve what has not been disproved, acknowledging that her scepticism and stubborn refusal to heed warnings cost her the life of her child. The narrative closes with an insistence that the events described are strictly true.
By Florence Marryat · First published 1873 · Genre: Spiritualism, Gothic Fiction, Paranormal Romance · 4,355 words
First lines
Ethel calls the woman some opprobrious epithet, but walks away nevertheless, and lets her do as she will; only the next day she writes a full account to Charlie of what she has gone through, and tells him she thinks all the servants are going mad. In which opinion he entirely agrees with her.
What this Textopian page supports
Little White Souls (Continued) is listed on Textopian as a short story by Florence Marryat, dated 1873 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Florence Marryat
- Date: 1873 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Spiritualism, Gothic Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Victorian Fiction, Psychological Fiction
- Length: 4,355 words
- Structure: 1 section, 66 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Little White Souls (Continued) by Florence Marryat
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Genres
- Spiritualism — The title 'Little White Souls' and Marryat's known interest in spiritualist themes suggest this work explores supernatural or spiritual phenomena, likely involving communication with spirits or the afterlife.
- Gothic Fiction — The ethereal and mysterious nature of 'white souls' combined with Marryat's Victorian-era writing aligns with gothic literary conventions involving the supernatural and otherworldly.
- Paranormal Romance — Marryat's works often blend romantic elements with supernatural occurrences, suggesting this continuation likely maintains such thematic elements.
- Victorian Fiction — As a work by Florence Marryat, a 19th-century author, this title reflects the stylistic and thematic conventions of Victorian literature.
Tags
Victorian fiction · supernatural fiction · spiritualism · ghost story · romance · domestic drama · family relationships · motherhood · childhood · death and mourning · afterlife · moral conflict