Michela Nardini
The Red Room
H.G.Wells was a writer with several identities. Most of Wells' short
stories were written about the marvels of science, but the genre of
this one, is based on a gothic mystery. A gothic story is a romantic
fiction with its setting usually in a ruined gothic castle or abbey.
It emphasised mystery and horror and was filled with ghost haunted
rooms, underground passages, and secret stairways. The scene in the
red room is set in an old, derelict castle - Lorraine Castle in which
a young duke had died. This very setting suggests a mystery and
immediately contributes to suspense in the story. The tension is also
created by the old woman when she states `and eight-and-twenty years
you have lived and never seen the likes of this house.' The mounting
tension begins with the journey towards the red room. There is a
passage, a spiral staircase and a very long corridor. The passage is
described, by the anonymous narrator as a chilling, echoing passage.'
Again as the tension is built up, he refers to the passage, as `the
long, draughty subterranean passage was chilly and dusty.' The tension
is once again created by the sounds on the spiral staircase `the
echoes rang up and down the spiral staircase' The `subterranean' too,
suggests darkness, an enclosure, a tomb, ominous and frightening. On
entering the dreaded haunted room, the narrator is faced with a
surprise: `for the moonlight coming in by the great window on the
grand staircase picked out everything in vivid black shadow or silvery
illumination.' The use of light and dark, traditional symbols of good
and evil engage the reader by suggesting a supernatural presence in
the ...
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is once again created by the sounds on the spiral staircase `the
echoes rang up and down the spiral staircase' The `subterranean' too,
suggests darkness, an enclosure, a tomb, ominous and frightening. On
entering the dreaded haunted room, the narrator is faced with a
surprise: `for the moonlight coming in by the great window on the
grand staircase picked out everything in vivid black shadow or silvery
illumination.' The use of light and dark, traditional symbols of good
and evil engage the reader by suggesting a supernatural presence in
the red room.
The structure of the story also creates and sustains suspense. In the
opening of the story, the characters are vividly described; The old
woman for example who sat staring with her pale eyes wide open, the
man with the withered arm, and the old man walking with a crutch and
decaying teeth. One can see the narrator is not at ease, he calls
them, `old pensioners' and `grotesque custodians'. He is made to feel
uncomfortable - `The three of them made me feel uncomfortable, with
their gaunt silences, their bent carriage, their evident
unfriendliness to me and to one another.' The story is also told in
first person, an anonymous narrator. The effect on the reader is that
he is alone, no one to turn to and now; from being confident his whole
demeanour deteriorates and becomes a very lonely person. When the
haunted room is mentioned, it engages an interest in the narrator,
however his confidence introduces conflict in the room. The story is
structured so that there is alternating tension and cheeriness of the
narrator in the red room. He tries to dispel his anxiety by reciting
some rhymes, by singing, and by speaking to himself, trying to
convince himself there were no ghosts `. I began to string some rhymes
together.' This puts the reader at ease, yet at the same time the
reader knows that tension is being created.
On entry to the red room, he checks the room thoroughly and locks the
door `...satisfying myself of the fastening of the door.' The tension
is built up to where he lights the candles. It is here that panic sets
in, when the narrator reacts badly to the candles being extinguished.
Again, there is the use of light and dark. He is wary of the darkness,
afraid and alone in a room, which was known to many as being haunted.
His insecurity when the candles go out is very evident `. I did not
see the candle go out. ...turned and saw the darkness was there.' In
contrast with the darkness the story ends in daylight-normality, away
from the deep, dark, chilly passageways and the power of darkness in
the room. Yet the narrator still feels the fear and although the
images of sunshine console him, the fear still presses against him.
The atmosphere created by H.G.Wells is that of oppression and neglect.
The author's choice of language creates the atmosphere of suspense. In
the description of the people: `withered arm', the `pale eyes', and
`monstrous shadow'. The description of the house adds to the creating
of atmosphere `the queer old mirror' and `the door creaked'. The
repetitive uses of certain sentences `this night of all nights.'
enhance this atmosphere and sustain the suspense. Also the repeated
reference to the old peoples' fear, darkness and shadows is a subtle
way by the author to maintain a certain tension in the story.
The depth of the novel ultimately surfaces with H.G.Wells' use of
imagery. The use of similes, metaphors and personification of
darkness, light and fear all add doubt, mystery and suspense to the
short story. The `little tongue of light' is one such example. He
describes the darkness, and the effect it has on the narrator as
`....closed upon me like the shutting of an eye.' And `...sealed my
vision.' He is using sight as a major sensory object when it comes to
darkness and fear.
In order to preserve and sustain suspense and tension in the red room,
H.G.Wells has used a variety of ways of maintaining this throughout
the story. The type of genre, the structure of the story, its opening
and ending. The setting which created the atmosphere of oppression and
neglect, his choice of language and use of imagery. All these factors
contributed to the creation of tension and suspense in the red room.
References
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