Compare the treatment of the theme of fear in Gothic literature
Fear is a distinctive characteristic of Gothic literature; there are many types of fear. The fear represented in The Red Room is terror, a fear of darkness and the unknown. In the story The Terrible Old Man the idea of ‘the other’ or ‘the outsider’ is used. In One Summer Night the type of fear represented in horror.
The fear in the story The Red Room is terror, the main character is afraid of the darkness of the room and what may be in it. The characters of the old people at the beginning add to the tension by expressing their horror at the thought of the main character staying in the room “This night of all nights!” this shows that they are afraid of what is in the room and leads the reader to believe that there is something terrible in the room. However, the characters are mysterious as to what is actually in the room “eight-and-twenty years you have lived and never seen the likes of this house,” this lets the readers imagine what could be in the room, making it more terrifying than simply saying what it is that is there. Despite the man insisting that he is unafraid, he seems nervous before going into the room, “a sudden twinge of apprehension” this shows that he is suddenly nervous but the word ‘twinge’ suggests he pushes the feeling aside and reassures himself. When in the room, the main character, although maintaining that he believes there is nothing there, seems to be somewhat afraid of what he can’t see in the darkness “odd suggestion of a lurking of a lurking, living thing,” this shows that he is slightly scared, but he keeps checking to reassure himself. The man speaks aloud to himself “‘By Jove!’ said I aloud ‘that draught’s a strong one’” the fact that he says this aloud shows that he is trying to convince himself by saying it, he is also making reasonable explanations for what is happening. The main character appears to be scared of being scared by constantly having to check the darkness and reassure himself. He is also scared of what may or may not be in the darkness where he cannot see.