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Analysis of From: WS written by L.P.Hartley

The extract under consideration tells mysterious story of writer, Walter Streeter, who was
receiving strange postcards from anonymous addresser. These postcards didnt content any explicated
threat, but the tone was criticizing and ironical, which made Walter feel uneasy. He consulted his
friend, who supposed that this could be a woman-lunatic, and finally went to police, but this didnt
help him to disclose a secret.
This third-persona narration is interlaced with psychological and logical reflections of the main
character.
The extract is divided into four parts, according to the number of received post cards. There isnt
any introduction; the author involves readers straight into action from the very beginning.
Hartley make us follow the main character, watch his actions and share his emotions and
psychological state. This state is changing from letter to letter, what is shown by mean of extended
gradation. At first the main character was uninterested in received postcard and tore up the photograph.
However this post card pushed him to further thinking. Walter is reflecting on the characters he had
created whether they are realistic or not and compare these character with his own personality.
Throughout his doubts we can make a conclusion, that he is sensitive, self-criticizing and irresolute
person. The second postcard made him feel more anxious. Walter wondered about the sender and felt,
that these postcards offend his writing abilities, what is described with simile as though someone had
taken hold of his personality and was pulling it apart. Here is possible to observe some features of the
split personality of the main character. There is no direct mentioning of this fact, but readers are able to
understand, that the change in the manner of Walters writing reflects the change in his psychic state.
The author employs such epithet as the faint string of curiosity to describe his state and
employs a range of short, exclamatory and interrogative sentences to make the inner dialogue of the
main character more vivid. The third postcard brought Walter to idea, that he was probably writing
those postcards to himself. The author employs parallel constructions to show the struggle of doubts of
Walter: He tried to put the though away from him; he tried to destroy postcard as he had the others.
But we understand, that he loosed in this struggle, as he found himself putting it behind the clock on
the chimney-piece. The last postcard was something he was looking forward to receive. Hartley
employs epithet a wave of panic to help for better understanding of emotional state of the character.
The main purpose of this detailed description of changing state of Walter is to force readers to
think further about his fate. Probably he was a person with split personality, a kind of lunatic, who
sends postcards to himself. The fact, that postcards reflected inner thought of Walter Streeter (for

example the suspicion, that he probably had megalomania, which is mental disorder of other kind) and
antitheses, which are employed to show contradictoriness of his state (me and not me, flattered and
unsure) proves the statement, that the main character was probably insane. Anyway, whether he was
writing these postcards to himself or was it his admirer, or, if try and think about more mysterious
explanation, this was done by in flesh incarnation of character created by him, we will never know. But
the thing is that the author raises a question on which we will be able to find an answer. This is the
problem of process of creation, a problem of being responsible for what you gave life to. This may be
applied not only to creative personalities such as writers, painters, film directors or scholars and
inventors. The problem of being responsible for your creation appears in everyday life as well. To
begin with such things as creating a new family or giving life to a baby, or something more usual and
less important as spreading rumors or producing lies. The authors message tells us to be responsible
for all things, which we are creating. Since, even small lie or rumor which we give birth to can develop
into a horrible monster, which will be able to hurt or even to kill his creator.