Creating Tension throughout Red Room by Nicci French

Creating Tension throughout Red Room by Nicci French

This gothic story is about an arrogant man who has heard of the “Red

Room” and believes he is above the caretakers. He makes his way

through the house, commenting on his surroundings.

When he arrives at the room he is less confident than he was before.

He sits waiting with his revolver at the ready, expecting something

solid to attack him. When the candles start to extinguish, he is

suddenly unnerved. He panics and falls unconscious and awakes to find

himself in the presence of the caretakers with several injuries.

A gothic story is a type of romantic fiction that predominated in

English Literature in the 1800’s, the setting for which usually a

ruined gothic castle or abbey. The gothic novel, or romance,

emphasized mystery and horror and was filled with ghost-haunted rooms,

underground passages and secret stairways.

The “Red Room” conforms to the gothic genre because it is about an

ancient castle under the ruling of some elderly people who are

terrified and have not yet visited the “Red Room”

In this particular story the narrator seems to speak with an air of

superiority

“‘I can assure you,” said I, “that it will take a very tangible ghost

to frighten me’”.

He believes he is above the caretakers and is sneering at them.

“‘And I stood up before the fire with my glass in my hand’”

The narrator feels the elderly are beneath him and speaks

condescendingly to them. There is tension between the narrator and the

elderly:

“If I see anything tonight I will be so much the wiser”

He is unbelieving of the caretaker’s theory of a ghost’s presence and

does not care to show them kindness.

The narrator is scathing towards the caretakers and refers to them

ruthlessly.

“More bent, more wrinkled”

It shows his lack of respect towards the caretakers and that he sees

them as hideous monsters.

The narrator is assertive and speaks to the caretakers with

pomposity, “it is my owns choosing,”

The elderly caretakers are hostile to one another from the beginning

of the story, such words as “positive dislike” and “took no notice of

his arrival” suggest this. The narrator is distant with the caretakers

and is unfavorable, “wrinkled”, “bent” and “withered” illustrates

this. The narrator sees the custodians as monsters showing them little

respect. When the narrator tries to ask for directions to the room he

is ignored many times by the elderly; this implies that there is

tension between the custodians and the narrator.

As he begins his journey he becomes startled and paranoid along with

the feeling of fear towards the house “I stood rigid for half a minute