How does H.G Wells create, maintain and release tension in The Red Room?

Authors Avatar

How does H.G Wells create, maintain and release tension in The Red Room?

By Verity Treverton-Jones

    H G Wells wrote the Red Room in 1896. He was famous for writing science fiction and gothic fiction. The story is typically gothic because it was written during the Victorian period and around this time the fashion was gothic mainly because it was an escape from repressed society. Others writers in this genre were Mary Shelley, Brain Stoker and Radcliff, Herbert George Wells was an English man and he also wrote a famous book called ‘The Time Machine’.

The title “The Red Room “immediately attracts the reader ; it is symbolic but leaves unanswered questions. “What is the red room?” “Why is it red?” We associate red with fear and danger. Is this room dangerous? Overall the title rises so much curiosity that it has an overwhelming effect, wanting us to read on find answers to our question.

    The story begins in a quiet room with many old aged people whom all seem silenced. None have names they are all known as “the man with…” or “the woman with…” Only one man speaks, yet no one replies.

 “I can assure you” said I, “that it will take every tangible ghost to frighten me”

From this first line, the reader can assume two pieces of information. Firstly that this story involves a ghost, and secondly that the character is an educated and well-read man. I think the writer is using first person narrative to make the reader feel and believe realism within the story. H G Wells also uses short sentences at the beginning, I believe he does this to set a slow pace to the start but this seems only to the first paragraph maybe indicating the old people being more fragile to being slow. The young man is sceptical about the red room being haunted the three elder people believe that it is haunted and dare not even go there. The location is critical to the short story. The writer needs to give his story a carefully considered and appropriate backdrop. A short story works through its location, characters, and setting in time and language. These are the ingredients that tie it together and make the mixture complete. In this story, the location is very important. The story is set in a castle. A ghost story in a castle is not a new idea and although it is a rather unoriginal location, it is very appropriate.

    The reader gets a sense that this castle that the old folk are watching could be haunted. I feel this as the writer says “spiritual terrors of their house” terrors making the reader feel that there is many aspects of this house not just the red room that makes the narrator feel terrified, also gives a impression of old and derelict castle is haunted. Also releases suspense, as there is the urge to find out whom and what haunts them. In the same paragraph it has no full stops it is one of the longest sentences in the play and makes it one of most important. The writer has used commas to lengthen it out. He could have done this to show that it is long and descriptive.

    Onto page 206 the writer talks about the elderly people and describes what they do. He says “clumsily” this tells the reader that the old man is fragile or could be because he is too busy thinking about the red room. H G Wells did this as it helps the reader understand the old people more then what we know, it gives a feeling that we know the character more and how he looks being clumsily and old maybe he has scruffy hair, glasses and a quiet way about him. he uses verbs and adjectives to do this such as “clumsily”.

    A use of repetition is on page two where the old woman keeps on repeating, “This night of all nights.” We never find out why that night is important but it gives reader a ‘red herring’ question. Although we are going to find out when we read on; we want to have the answers and this continues our interest into- “why was that night important?” I believe it could have had something to do with the duke’s death, although I believe that his death was not to do with the red room but maybe the escape from it.

Join now!

Through- out page 206 action is being released mainly again using short sentences, the writer is constantly using short then long this gives the sense of pace, as if the tension is rising and lowering. I feel this as it is like the way the young against the old which symbolises the inexperienced against the wise and relates to the tension within the story just like the sentences are longer and shorter.  

The old Lady seems to be in a mind of her own in most parts especially when it says “with her eyes fixed steadily on the ...

This is a preview of the whole essay