According to John Parks, “Most of Jackson's protagonists are emotionally violated and must struggle desperately to overcome their estrangement and dislocation. And most of them fail” (16). This feeling of estrangement and dislocation is a direct effect of the undervalued role of the wife in the home, the very home that serves as a prison for the wife. The story “The Haunting of Hill House” tells the story of a woman in her thirties who devoted her youth to selflessly caring for her elderly and ailing mother. This dedication brought little or no fruit or appreciation for his service. Giving relentlessly has made Eleanor, the protagonist, tired and discouraged. Eleanor dreams of being free and living the youth she had, in a sense, lost. When invited to stay at the immense but slightly formidable Hill House mansion, Eleanor eagerly accepts. Taking the car, despite the opposition of her sister and mother, she leaves for Hill House, driving for what seems like an eternity and finally enjoying her freedom. When she stops at a restaurant to eat, she overhears a family conversation. It centers around a young child who insistently asks for his “cup of stars” whose mother explains to the waiter that it is a cup with stars at the bottom (Haunting 22). Eventually, the child is told to stop asking since his mother is unable to give him the cup that was left at home. Eleanor, hearing all this, leans towards the child and says: “Don't do that...Insist on your star cup. Once they trick you into being like everyone else, you'll never see your star cup again. Don’t do it” (Haunting 22). Eleonore