The Woman in Black

The pony and trap symbolize a passage between worlds, whether that be from civilization to isolation or between the living and the dead. Keckwick takes Kipps in a horse-drawn cart to Eel Marsh House, where he will have to spend significant time alone and which pulls him further from civilization. The points in the novel where the characters endure the loss of a child occur in a horse-drawn cart, reflecting a transition between life and death.

Part of the suspense around the pony and trap on the Nine Lives Causeway exists in its ability to be heard and not seen. Kipps claims that the sounds coming from the incident with the horse-drawn cart are “terrifying because [the cart] had been only heard not seen” (99). Hill crafts the symbol to be a mysterious force, igniting fear due to its ability to remain unseen and, therefore, unknown. This mirrors the mystery behind death and the unknown that comes with transitioning between one state to the next. Furthermore, the loss of Stella and Joseph forces Kipps into another stage of life and grief, which also occurs in a horse-drawn cart. In this way, the pony and trap symbolize the past as well because it mirrors the death of Nathaniel and his nurse.