Maybe I'm the only one (because personally I'm a baby when it comes to scary things), but I genuinely found Romance of the Forest scary! Radcliffe has a definite talent for building suspense, and dropping hints about hauntingly gruesome things that may have happened in the abbey, for example, is a trick that modern writers use even when writing actual horror movies. The novel even has a bit of a flow in this sense (but not much): suspense builds, builds more, oh no what could be happening?!, and then poof! everything is fine or eek! something terrifying happens, then everything is fine. However, despite the repetitiveness of the cycle, Radcliffe keeps my fear nice and uncomfortably high by her use of language. Her repetition of gloomy, dark words such as dreadful, guilt, and anguish both set the tone for the novel and show that the gloominess of the place affects the characters as much as the readers. Ironically, the one way in which Romance of the Forest strays from the likes of a typical horror movie is the actions of the characters: instead of staying together, everyone breaks away in utter distrust or disgust of one another. Pierre La Motte in particular is the worst offender, as his mysterious desire for solitude, his restlessness, and his overt anger at those who try to converse with him drive Madame La Motte to distrust Adeline and his quest for solitude leads him through the labyrinthine abbey to find more terrifying details within its walls. Adeline's experiences, through which most things are seen, are some of the most rewarding moments of fright. The startling appearance of the mysterious man in the woods leads to the discovery of Theodore, the apparent hero. In addition, the twist of fate in which Adeline finds she is not being led to safety by Peter but rather being led to the dastardly Marquis' own home (which genuinely surprised me!) leads to the triumphant scene in which Theodore appears to rescue her. Even though that one doesn't turn out so well in the end, the fact that I'm swept off my feet for a second makes it much more rewarding-- and the story isn't over yet. So while this may be a very scary horror story, I have some hope for a happy ending!
I found Romance in the Forest a very enjoyable read for a lot of the reasons you mentioned. I think the suspense comes off the page and creeps up on you but like you hinted at, Radcliffe keeps a consistent mood of darkness with her diction. Each character finds his or her own path in the novel, and the uncertainty of where they could end up and the unexpected twists that follow kept me engaged.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the constant twists and turns make it hard to put down. Even when she is safe, Adeline is uneasy and can't help feeling that she'll be in danger again soon. I'm glad I wasn't the only one freaking out as I was reading, but that made me want to continue just to make sure Adeline ends up okay.
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting that there is such a strong contrast between Radcliffe’s beautiful descriptions and the more contrived way she included scary elements. I think this adds to the suspense you are all talking about. Radcliffe spends a significant amount of time setting different scenes, then suddenly throws in something grotesque or frightening. For example, when La Motte is descending into the tunnel for the first time, I really love Radcliffe’s vivid portrayal of the scene: “The stairs were steep, and in many places trembled beneath his weight…the damp vapours curled round him and extinguished the light” (53). Shortly after this well thought-out, artfully painted scene, La Motte stumbles upon “a large chest, which he went forward to examine, and, lifting the lid, he saw the remains of a human skeleton” (53-54)…What?! That is so unexpected, especially because Radcliffe had been so careful to draw out her scene earlier on that same page. Such contrasts kept me interested in reading, and they also ramped up the suspense since we’re not even safe when it seems Radcliffe is simply indulging in elaborate description!
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