Like ‘A Terribly Strange Bed’ two of the characters, Shifty Dick and Jerry, in ‘The Black Cottage’ are depicted as being unpleasant. Furthermore they are seen as being untrustworthy; “bad character”, “wicked”. There is a great sense of mystery surrounding their visit to the cottage, as they give no real reason for being there and Jerry’s “leering eyes” give the reader the impression that they have bad intentions. A contrast with ‘A Terribly Strange Bed’ is the description of another of the main characters in this story, Bessie. She is the heroine of the story and is described as a brave young woman; “you cowardly villains”. The reader is given the impression that she is extremely confident because she stands up to Shifty Dick and Jerry and it would appear that they have found their match in her, which would be most uncommon in the era in which the story was written.
‘The Ostler’ is the same in that a sense of mystery is built up in the description of the characters, Isaac Scatchard and Rebecca Murdock. Isaac is depicted as being an ugly looking man; “withered woe-begone”. He is also very unlucky, which is often repeated in the text. This gives the impression that he is the bad character, which contrasts with the other stories, as he is in fact the good character. Rebecca on the other hand is described as; “delicate”, “flaxen hair with a golden streak”. She is described as being immensely pretty and is the model woman of the era. Therefore she appears to be innocent to the reader, although she is actually evil. This contrasts with the description of Bessie in ‘The Black Cottage’. Rebecca is not totally perfect, however; “droop in the left eyelid”. It can be seen that her imperfections reflect her inner character, which increases the mystery and suspense.
The sentence structure in all the poems is similar. All three use long sentences to relax the reader prior to dramatic events and to set the scene and introduce the main characters. For example in ‘A Terribly Strange Bed’ there are long sentences of elaborate description;
“There was, first, the bed I was lying in; a four-post bed, of all the things in the world to meet with in Paris – yes, a thoroughly clumsy British four-poster, with a regular top lined with chintz – …”
This gives the reader a sense of setting and lulls them into a false sense of security.
In ‘The Black Cottage’ the long sentences at the beginning of the story set the scene;
“The nearest habitation to ours was situated about a mile and a half off, where a strip of fertile land stretched out into the waste, like a tongue.”
Although here there are also paragraphs to report;
“I was just getting the tea caddy when I heard footsteps in the passage…”
Here there is a sense of drama and mystery with added mundane facts, which under normal circumstances the reader would not need to know. However this cunning device retains the mystery and so tension is built up.
Like ‘A Terribly Strange Bed’, ‘The Ostler’ uses long sentences to set the scene and introduce the main character;
There is also a common use of short sentences and punctuation in al
“Some years ago, there lived in the suburbs of a large seaport town, on the west coast of England, a man in humble circumstances, by the name of Isaac Scatchard.”
As I have previously mentioned, the reader is made aware of Isaac’s ill luck and this could give a hint to what may occur later in the plot.
There is also a common use of short sentences and punctuation in all three stories. In all three cases this is to increase tension. For example in ‘A Terribly Strange Bed’ the use of short sentences and punctuation speeds up the section, increasing suspense by involving the reader; “I was wide awake, and high with fever.” The reader begins to feel the narrators anxiety and panic and the tension in the story increases.
Another technique used in ‘A Terribly Strange Bed’ is the use of questions; “Was I mad? drunk? dreaming?” This builds up a sense of confusion and panic and suggests the frantic state of mind of the narrator.
In ‘The Black Cottage’ the sections of long mundane sentences are followed by sections of short dramatic sentences;
“The last sounds that I heard before I fairly dozed off to sleep were the cheerful crackling of the fire… I started up, with my heart in my mouth,”
Like ‘A Terribly Strange Bed’ the longer sentences build up a false sense of security for the reader, however the action that follows is always more dramatic and tense because of this.
‘The Ostler’ is also similar in that Wilkie Collins has used short sentences to build tension. There is a lot of mystery looming around the dream sequence and the short sentences compliment this; “His brain grew confused – his heart beat wildly…” The frantic action described here, builds up suspense, because the reader is drawn into the story as well.
‘The Black Cottage’ and ‘The Ostler’ are similar to ‘A Terribly Strange Bed’ because there are also a lot of questions asked. For example in ‘The Black Cottage’ when Bessie can no longer hear the voices of Shifty Dick and Jerry trying to break into the cottage she is unsure where they are;
“Were they retreating from the house altogether? Had they given up the idea of effecting an entrance in despair?”
For Bessie to remain feeling secure in her own home these questions need to be answered and because she does not know the answer there is a great deal of suspense.
‘The Ostler’ ends by asking a question and as I will later examine creates a very good cliffhanger. The reader is kept in suspense beyond the end of the story; “Who can tell?” and it is therefore left to the imagination of the reader to come to a conclusion.
Another device used by Wilkie Collins in his short stories is the use of tenses. In all three of the stories that I have studied, he uses direct speech that was said in the past tense. This allows the reader to hear the speech as it is being spoken. For example in ‘A Terribly Strange Bed’; “’Listen my dear, sir’ said he, in mysteriously confidential tones”. The reader becomes weary of the old soldier and his “inveterate civility”, because he befriended a stranger so obstinately. In contrast to ‘A Terribly Strange Bed’ and ‘The Ostler’ I think that in ‘The Black Cottage’ Wilkie Collins has created a poor ending to his story by ending it in the present tense. The mysteries created at the beginning of the story and continued through with excellent devices are concluded at the end by the imprisonment of Shifty Dick and Jerry and Bessie living ‘happily ever after’ with her husband who she married as a result of her experience at the cottage.
A more appropriate use of the present tense is depicted in ‘The Ostler’. The story begins in the present tense immediately involving the reader; “I find” and creating a sense of mystery, which is later, revealed.
In general the three short stories that I have studied, ‘A Terribly Strange Bed’, ‘The Black Cottage’ and ‘The Ostler’ all contain similar devices to create a sense of mystery and suspense. This can especially be seen in the language and characterisation, as Wilkie Collins has created lonely, isolated and even unpleasant atmospheres that all involve a sense of foreboding in all three. He also describes many of his characters as untrustworthy, suspicious or imperfect. This is of course excluding Bessie from ‘The Black Cottage’ who is described as a heroine, which is very unusual for the era in which these short stories were written.
There are also many similarities between the sentence structure of the stories as all contain sections of long sentences, to relax the reader and lull them into a false sense of security followed by sections of short sentences with lots of punctuation, to create very tense pieces of drama, which are extremely effective as they have been delayed by the mundane descriptions.
One of the main contrasts between these stories is their ending. In ‘A Terribly Strange Bed’ and ‘The Ostler’ the reader is left on a cliffhanger with an unresolved plot. However, on the other hand in ‘The Black Cottage’ the mystery and suspense created throughout the main plot is set aside for a rather duller ending, where the thieves are caught and everyone lives happily ever after. In my opinion this ending could be improved greatly, for example by not catching the villains. This could also be true for ‘A Terribly Strange Bed’ although there is still a mystery behind how many people have been killed in the scandal.
