The Canterville Ghost

In this first chapter, Wilde not only sets the stage for a newcomer at Canterville Chase, and for the events surrounding the home’s haunting, but also weaves cultural commentary into the dialogue and observations about the characters. The story takes place in the late 1800s, when the British aristocracy faced a cash problem. The peerage of England had plenty of land, but not enough money to maintain it. The solution for many British aristocrats was to marry into American money. For Lord Canterville, his problem isn’t money, but a ghost. Lord Canterville and his family fear the ghost, and their superstition, which represents their traditional values, is counteracted by Hiram’s American focus on what’s real, what’s modern.

Hiram and Lucretia do not believe in ghosts, as Hiram wittily shows in this chapter. He tells Lord Canterville that if there were ghosts, they would have been brought from Europe to America and displayed in a museum or on a road show. When Lord Canterville says that the ghost always appears before a member of his family dies, Hiram responds, “Well, so does the family doctor for that matter, Lord Canterville” (2). Though Canterville is not swayed by Hiram’s comments, and insists on warning him, he’s still happy to sell Canterville Chase to Hiram, believing that Hiram is the answer to his prayers. Lord Canterville is getting cash when cash is hard to come by, and he is also freeing himself and his family of living with the ghost, the fear of superstition, and the traditions of the past when he sells the Chase to the modern Hiram. In this way, Lord Canterville represents the peerage, England, the Old World, tradition, and superstition; Hiram represents America, the New World, modernity, and science.

Wilde takes steps to emphasize that Hiram is not the only bastion of American modernity. Not only are all of Hiram’s children given names that evoke independence, they also embody that sense of independence. Wilde offers a brief anecdote about how Virginia won a horse race, which impressed a Duke. The Duke asked her to marry him, but she refused, sending him home in tears. The children’s names are specifically inspired by America’s independence: Washington is named after George Washington, the general, founding father, and first president of the United States; Virginia is named after the colony-turned-state, and George Washington’s home; and the Stars and Stripes are nicknamed after the American flag. Lucretia, Hiram’s wife, does not fall ill, as European ladies are expected to do; she is strong and healthy. All of these character traits are traits held to characterize the nations from which the characters originate. In this way, in his first chapter, Wilde comments on the health of the Old World and the New World, and contrasts them.