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   pmiranda2857 Teacher
   High School - 10th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   Helen seeks out the help of Sherlock Holmes because her life at home with her stepfather is frightening and cruel; he has physically abused her.  She needs help outside her family, which now is only Dr. Roylott. Ever since Julia died, two years ago, Helen has felt insecure. Now, she fears for her life.  She is haunted by her dying sister's last words, "the speckled band," that she said as she dropped to the floor, dead. 

   Now engaged, her stepfather has demanded that she begin sleeping in her dead sister's bedroom.  Since she has been sleeping in this room, she has been hearing noises and feeling terrified.  The house is falling apart.

   She is terrified at home, and the fiance is not mentioned in the story. She relies on him to help her understand how her sister died and to assist her in understanding the noises and uncomfortable feeling she experiences in her sister's bedroom.

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   Posted by pmiranda2857 on Friday December 19, 2008 at 4:56 PM