The Red Room
The Red Room – H.G.Wells
How does H.G.Wells successfully use elements of the gothic genre in his short story “The Red Room”?
Let’s start by defining the gothic genre. Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror, it is a genre of literature that combines elements of both Horror and romance. It is believed to have been first developed by English author Horace Walpole, with his novel “The Castle of Otranto” that he wrote in 1764. The effect of gothic fiction is a pleasing variation of terror and romance, romantic literacy was relatively new at the time of Walpole's novel.
Gothic novels are most likely to be set in an isolated castle, and usually
Start the story late at night. For example “The Red Room” which is set
In the Lorraine castle. The story is told by the un-named leading figure
who is narrating the story in the first person. The main character usually ventures off into
the dark depths of the castle alone. In “The Red Room” the leading character
just does the very same thing.
“The Red Room” is written in first person and by the main character. The description of all that the main character encounters on his journey is both clear and emotive. The detail given captures my imagination in such a way that I feel like I am in the room myself. For example Wells writes “an invisible hand seemed to sweep out the candles on the table”. He also mentions that “the steady process of extinction went on, and the shadows I feared and fought against returned” this really sets the scene for me. Even though this story is told in the first person we have good descriptions of the other individuals which I feel is accurate as most of the descriptions are actually from a challenging perspective. The narrator clearly doubts the existence of ghosts and is keen to prove the other characters wrong.
The writer’s style of language appears to change when he leaves the room and occupied by the three pensioners and he remarks that it has “affected me in...
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