Thursday, July 12, 2012

In "The Canterville Ghost" by Oscar Wilde, what does Mrs. Otis want Mrs. Umney to do about the bloodstain?

Mrs. Otis wants Mrs. Umney to clean up and get rid of the bloodstain. 


In the first part of the story, Mrs. Umney is taking the Otis family on a brief tour of the Canterville Chase.  She leads them into the library, where tea has been set out for everybody to enjoy.  While taking the tea break, Mrs. Otis discovers the bloodstain on the floor and demands that it be cleaned up immediately.



"How horrid!" cried Mrs. Otis; "I don't at all care for blood-stains in a sitting-room. It must be removed at once."



Mrs. Umney explains that the bloodstain belongs to the former Lady Eleanore de Canterville, who was murdered by her husband.  The bloodstain has been on the floor for more than 300 years, and nobody can get rid of it. 


Washington Otis thinks that is all nonsense and pulls out some special cleaner.  Why he carries around special cleaning agents is beyond me, but I digress.  Washington drops to his knees and scrubs the floor clean.  No more bloodstain.  



"That is all nonsense," cried Washington Otis; "Pinkerton's Champion Stain Remover and Paragon Detergent will clean it up in no time," and before the terrified housekeeper could interfere, he had fallen upon his knees, and was rapidly scouring the floor with a small stick of what looked like a black cosmetic. In a few moments no trace of the blood-stain could be seen.



Unfortunately, Washington's extreme cleaning only works for that one day, because the bloodstain is back again by the following morning.  

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