Both of the stories contain some elements that are typical of the “ghost story” genre. They are both set mainly at night with all of the scary parts happening at night (the young mans experiences in the Red Room and when the woman sees the ghost)
06-10-02 Comparative essay Pg.2 James Smith
There are, naturally, dead people in each (those who died in the Red Room and the young girl in Farthing House). There is a particular “spooky” room in each of the books the Red Room of the title and the Cedar room in Farthing House. Old people are also present in both books although they are very different in appearance and the roles they play in the story. In The Red Room there are the three elderly caretakers of the Castle and are described as “grotesque” and “inhuman” by the young man. Their role is quite important as they know the most about the background of the Castle and it is them who find the young man after he is knocked out and bandage him up. In Farthing House there is a whole bunch of old people including the narrators “Aunt Addy”. They are much friendlier than the ones in the Red Room but are much less significant to the story as we are told virtually nothing about them. Out of the two Farthing house is a less traditional type of ghost story as it does not have the same spooky setting as the old Castle in The Red Room. However, it is only in Farthing House that we actually see a ghost (when it is moving across the floor of the woman’s bedroom). In The Red Room we know the ghost is there through the consequences of its actions (the candles blowing out etc.) but we don’t actually get to see it.
The setting of “The Red Room” is entirely in an old “haunted” Castle complete with antique furniture some “grotesque” caretakers and a subterranean passageway. We are not told anything about the outside world such as where the Castle is or the young mans journey to it. The writer instead concentrates on describing the Castle itself in great detail with particular attention being paid to the Red Room of the title where most of the action takes place:
“There were two big mirrors in the room, each with a pair of sconces bearing candles, and on the mantelshelf, too were more candles in china candlesticks.”
The writer of Farthing House takes the opposite approach. Although most of the story takes place inside the old people’s home of the title some important parts of it are set outside and we are told quite a bit about the woman’s journey to the home. The house itself doesn’t have the same gloomy atmosphere as the Castle in The Red Room and its description is not nearly as detailed for the most part: “Farthing House was well run warm and comfortable”. The two stories are also set differently in terms of time. The Red Room is set in around 1896 and exclusively at night whereas Farthing House occurs in 1992 and takes place both at night and in the daytime.
06-10-02 Comparative Essay Pg.3 James Smith
Creating a gloomy or spooky environment is one way to build up the atmosphere in a “ghost story” both for the characters in it and for the readers. This method is used extensively in The Red Room where we are given a graphic description of the narrators’ eerie journey to the room.
“The long draughty subterranean passage was chilly and dusty and my candle flared and made the shadows cower and quiver”
Every flicker of the candles and shadows is mentioned and the young mans own feelings are also comprehensively described. His sense of fear is slowly but surely increased, in conjunction with our own:
“I resolved to make a systematic examination of the place at once and dispel the fanciful suggestions of its obscurity”
Although he is yet to admit that he is scared the fact that he decides to inspect the room to calm his mind shows us that he is. This also puts us on edge as we are expecting something to happen during his inspection. This technique of linking our fear with his used throughout the story as the young man becomes ever more scared until he reaches a pinnacle of terror just before he is knocked out. Afterwards when he wakes up he has calmed down slightly but still feels deeply disturbed by what has happened and we feel equally chilled.
Farthing House on the other hand is quite different both in terms of how tension is built up and how it is used to scare us as readers. Unlike The Red Room tension and fear are not present from the beginning. In fact when the narrator first arrives the house seems quite welcoming
“…there was a good home cooked dinner….and an excellent Lemon meringue pie”
This feeling of well being is then gradually eroded as we get further into the story. A spooky atmosphere is slowly built up through a description of the narrators’ emotions and senses rather than by the surroundings -in this aspect it very different from Wells’ story. She imagines she can hear babies crying dreams of when she had her own child and senses there is someone else in her room, someone in need of help.
“I felt oppressed again by the profound melancholy of spirit.”
06-10-02 Comparative Essay Pg.4 James Smith
These descriptions built up a general feeling of unease and nervousness in us readers. Unlike The Red Room there is no high point of terror just this unknown sense of discomfort. Another difference in Farthing House is that the narrator is not scared of the ghost, even when she sees it she remains calm and actually gives pursuit. The young man in the Red Room is not nearly as level headed and becomes terrified at the mere sight of the candles going out. This and the fact that he brought a revolver with him show he is not nearly as brave as is initially made out.
Both of the stories are told in the first person narrative that is we see them from the characters own perspective. However there are still a number of differences between them. The Red Rooms narrator is a young man telling the story as it happened whereas Farthing House is narrated by a middle aged woman who is looking back on the events. The young man is telling the story for anyone who wants to hear it, whereas the narrator in Farthing House is writing the story specifically for her daughter who she feels needs to hear it. This has the effect of making us more part of the story like we are being let in on a family secret. Another difference between the narrators is how they deal with emotions. The young man concentrates solely on his own feelings and doesn’t care about those of others. For example when he first encounters the old people he describes them as “grotesque custodians” without considering their feelings or what they might think of him. In contrast, the woman in Farthing House is very sensitive of the emotions and the reactions of those around her:
“Did she just…smile a little to eagerly, was there a touch of relief in her voice when she next spoke?”
In fact it may be this sensitivity to what is going on around her that allows her to see the ghost.
Naturally, since they were written in separate centuries the language in the stories is very different both in terms of structure and vocabulary. The Red Room being typical of the time it was written uses words and phrases which are either no longer in use today such as “atavistic” and “sconce” or words which have a different meaning today like “carriage”. The syntax used is also quite distinctive with sentences being very long and winding full of commas and dashes. This combined with the somewhat archaic vocabulary makes The Red Room quite laborious to read at times with some lines needing to be re-read in order for you to understand them.
06-10-02 Comparative Essay James Smith
Farthing House was written a mere decade ago in 1992 and therefore uses a modern vocabulary with modern meanings. The syntax is alternated between long and short sentences and has much simpler punctuation. This serves two purposes; firstly it is much easier to read and secondly it is a more effective method of building up tension. After all it is difficult to create a feeling of unease in someone if they are struggling to understand what you’re writing.
The endings of the stories are very different as well, in terms of how final they are. In The Red Room things are fairly much wrapped up whereas Farthing House is much more open ended with the twist at the end giving us an impression that there is still more to happen.
The Final thing the stories have in common is that by modern standards neither is very scary and there are different reasons for this. The Red Room was written in 1896 when people were much easier to scare due to a lack of things such as television and cinema and the fact that the existence of ghosts was much more credible in those days. Farthing House on the other hand is probably aimed at younger readers who are more easily frightened (Susan Hill mainly writes for children).
