attention to the supposedly haunted Red Room.
The setting of 'The Red Room', 'Lorraine Castle', is extremely typical
of the Gothic genre. Within the castle H.G Wells employs conventions
of the first Gothic story ever written, i.e. 'The Castle of Otranto',
by Horace Walpole (1764), such as 'subterranean' passageways, echoes
and draughts. Castles are generally large, dark place, and the reader
knows the Red Room to be situated in a castle like this, as the
narrator is given a rather long list of directions before he
encounters the Red Room. The passageways almost seem to lead him
underground, so far into isolation that even if he were to need help,
it would not be available. Used in 'The Red Room', the setting creates
a foundation of mystery and the possibility of ghosts, or a
supernatural presence.
The passages leading to the Red Room seem similar to those described
in 'The Castle of Otranto', when one of the main characters flees
through dark halls. The 'darkness' of these empty corridors seems to
make the idea of a haunting seem feasible, and real.
As the initial room the narrator finds himself in is not described in
great detail, much emphasis is put on the Room itself. The description
of the interior of the Red Room uses the conventions of a typical
Victorian room that could be used in a ghost story. Firstly, there are
many niches and 'black corners' that create a feeling of mystery.
There are 'sconces' and a 'mantelshelf', that often feature in stories
of this genre. H.G Wells' 'The Red Room' is in fact slightly similar
to another red room, that is used in Charlotte Brontë's 'Jane Eyre'
(1847). Again, this room is also known to be haunted, and completely
isolated from the rest of the large house in which it is situated.
The narrator is the main character in 'The Red Room'. This is typical
of Gothic novels in particular, although the male characters are
usually male heroes. Also, 'The Red Room' strays from the usual
convention that a female usually suffers some distress in the course
of the plot, e.g. a supernatural encounter. This is not the case as
the narrator has to enter the Red Room himself, and not for the
purpose of rescuing anyone. Instead, he is facing up to a challenge as
he claims not to have seen a ghost 'as yet'. H.G Wells uses the
narrator's arrogance at the beginning to increase tension, and these
words set the character up for a frightening a frightening encounter.
His character is overly confident, as despite recurrent warnings from
the caretakers, he insists that he has 'an open mind'. His logical
reasoning becomes ironic as he enters the Red Room, and we see his
previous attitude diminish as he asks: 'What's up?' in hysterical
panic. By the end of the story, his character has changed
considerably, and he seems much wiser than in the beginning. He now
speaks of 'Fear' as a real entity, rather than denying he could be
touched by Fear as before. A similar effect occurs to the main
character of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' (1843).
There are few living characters in 'The Red Room', primarily on
account of it being a short story. However, other characters from the
past are mentioned, such as the 'young duke' or the 'timid wife'.
These characters exist to tell the history of the fateful Red Room,
and make the possibility of ghostly presences seem credible. The main
details about the non-living characters are that they are dead, and
that they are known to haunt the Red Room. This is typical of Gothic
stories, as mysterious deaths often occur, such as in the 'Castle of
Otranto', when the young prince dies a tragic, gruesome death.
However, in traditional stories of this genre, the 'ghosts' may be
more generally significant to the story.
The characterisations of the caretakers of Lorraine Castle are also
conventional of Gothic stories. This is such that the details given
about them make them seem sinister and strange at the beginning of the
story, such as 'the man with the withered arm', a phrase used
repetitively to describe one of the caretakers. By using these words
to identify this character, the writer is creating a mysterious
atmosphere and tension. Not only this, but the caretakers' dialogue is
used to heighten the sense of eeriness. 'It is your own choosing' is a
particular set of words that are used for this purpose. This implies
that the caretakers know something about the Red Room that the
narrator does not, again causing tension. However, there is a marked
change in the attitudes and descriptions of the caretakers by the end
of 'The Red Room', as they are now merely curious, and 'no longer
abstracted'. This shows that their strangeness was really used
previously to ensure the build-up of tension before the narrator
entered the Red Room.
It seems to be significant that the caretakers are not present during
the climax of 'The Red Room', as this would surely take the focus off
the fear of the narrator, who is informed that he must 'go alone' to
the Red Room. It is typical of Victorian ghost stories for the main
character to have to experience a supernatural event alone, although
it is usually a woman in distress who is reduced to hysterics as a
result. In 'A Christmas Carol', Ebenezer Scrooge also faces three
spirits alone.
H.G Wells uses many devices typical of Victorian ghost stories to
create atmosphere and tension. The delay of information is typical of
stories of this genre, such as the fact that the reader does not know
what is so terrible and frightening about the Red Room until they are
further into the story. Instead, tantalising hints are used, and the
main character is told many times that 'it is [his] own choosing', as
if he would not ordinarily be persuaded to go there at all. This gives
the impression that the Red Room holds something fearful or horrible,
and the reader does not find out what until the narrator himself has
entered the Red Room. This delay of information is also used
effectively in the prologue of Henry James' 'The Turn of The Screw',
as the character named Douglas holds back information of an eerie
event in the presence of others.
Another method that the writer employs the increase tension is rich
description, which regularly creates a feeling of mystery. During the
first setting of the story, where the narrator converses with the
caretakers, description is used to convey them as strange and
frightening - Lorraine Castle also. They are deemed as 'grotesque' and
'spectral', making the possibility of a supernatural or ghostly
occurrence seem perfectly plausible. This use of language seems to
form questions for the reader, as they do not know what, if anything,
has caused the caretakers to be in such a state; their
'unfriendliness' is evident. They seem almost surreal, as if there is
more to them than there seems, a disconcerting effect.
As 'The Red Room' is told in the first person, the reader is able to
emphasise with him, increasing the tension further. The reader seems
to go on a journey to the Red Room along with the narrator, and his
emotions make it all the more chilling. On entering the Red Room, the
narrator becomes in a state of 'nervous tension', and this fear is
expressed to the reader, implying that there is a presence, or a
'ghost', as is feared by the narrator, lurking in the shadows. As the
main character becomes increasingly hysterical leading to the crisis
point of the story, the reader is even surer that something
frightening is going to happen.
In conclusion, I think that 'The Red Room' is not entirely typical of
Victorian ghost stories. There are many elements and conventions that
are commonly used in stories of this genre, such as the structure and
pace. These are typical of Victorian ghost stories, i.e. the mystery
of the Red Room is not solved until the epilogue.
However 'The Red Room' strays from these in some respects. The fact
that by the end of the story, there has not been a spectral presence
at all is rather unconventional of Gothic stories. There is generally
a supernatural event of experience by the end of the novel, and yet
the only frightening thing the narrator encounters is 'Fear'. It is
possible that Fear could be a character in itself of a fearful sort,
as it had certainly terrified the caretakers, judging by their
dialogue and actions at the end of the story, and the narrator
himself. If so, it would be even more terrible than conventional
ghosts, as it is said to be there 'even in the daytime', and not just
at night, when most ghosts exist. This being true, the ending of 'The
Red Room' seems to mock conventional gothic novels by teaching the
characters and the reader about Fear, almost as a warning, as well as
concluding the story properly.
In its context, 'The Red Room' is a ghost story reminiscent of Gothic
novels, in with the author has effectively used tension to sustain an
audience. I think that in the time it was written, it would have been
seen by Victorians as an entertaining short story that was much in
line with many other Victorian ghost stories of the time. H.G. Wells
was a popular and imaginative writer of the Victorian era.
