Critique of The Visitor by Patricia Cresswell

The Visitor is an interesting read as there are many interpretations of the characters throughout the text. There are also several features to suggest mystery and imaginative features.

The short story opens with the semantic field of cold suggesting that the setting is winter. The omniscient author uses the words “bleak”, “black”, “brittle”, “pale”, “hard” and “dry” ( lines two- four) to convey this feeling. By using these lexis the author creates a setting in which the reader is already querying about the scene. Coupled with the fact that they describe the cottage as being “the only sign of civilization for miles around” (line six- seven) it creates an air of mystery and makes the reader want to move on.

The omniscient author then describes McGill. The characterisation of him is fascinating as he is seen as polite, sexual and plagued with issues. The author describes McGill as feeling “ashamed” (line thirty five). This can be for several reasons. One reason is that he has taken an interest to the young girl sexually and he “secretly” smiled “to himself” (line forty one) as he saw what she wore, and that her bare “toes twitched with the warmth of the fire” (line thirty three/four). This then created a bond and “he grew to love her” (forty nine/fifty). This makes the reader question McGill and make them wonder why he is spending time with her and why he could not wait for the time she arrived. It gives the reader a feel that this man is strange and that they are supposed to succumb to the idea that he can be polite on one hand and a mystery on the other.

Cresswell is also very descriptive and mysterious about the other character, the girl. The fact that she is given no name bar one, “fairy child” (line fifty), distances the reader to start with. This makes them question her as a character and also why she is