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This is what makes the reader fear the setting and makes this a gothic novel. The adverb boldly is used to describe the rocks this personifies the rocks and portrays them as having no fear. Dracula was read and made for a Victorian audience this was during the British Empire, during this time in Victorian Britain, there was a fear of invasion and collapse. This is reflected in the Unknowingness of Stoker’s use of setting. The isolation and ambiguity of Transylvania create a sense of fear due to the setting. Comparatively Waters also similarly uses the setting in her gothic novel to create a sense of fear and isolation and the setting portrays a sense of unwelcomeness. The use of the gothic trope isolation is shown when Waters uses the adjectives ‘overgrown and untended’ to expose the derelict and unwelcoming entrance into Hundreds Hall.
Waters’ use of these adjectives shows how nature is seemingly powerful and shows how it is encroaching on their family and house this shows the change over time. This is similar to the description in Stoker’s novel of the route that Harker takes through the powerful nature and the wilderness. These adjectives describing the setting make it seem unwelcoming and isolated creating a sense of fear for the reader. Water use of the verb ‘Decay’ and the adjective ‘weathered’ talks about the decline of the house condition and the unwelcoming state it is in. This will unsettle and create fear for the reader due to the comparison between the nice memories of the past and the depleted present. The novel was set in 1947 post-war Britain, this is important as older and wealthier and upper-class families decreased in prestige and wealth compared to the working class and newer families gaining a bit more. Society and government were both changing as soldiers were returning and instead of focusing on external factors, there was a focus on internal factors.
The decrease in the condition and size of Hundreds Hall and the power of nature as described by Waters in the setting of The Little Stranger reflect British society at the time how society was changing and the uncertainty about people’s roles and what class they were in society. Hundred’s Hall’s prestige has fallen, and the house is depleted which creates a sense of isolation and fear. The reader may be fearful when reading this due to the unknowns of what happened and why the hall Is like that. Both Waters and Stokers use the setting to create a sense of isolation, uncertainty, and fear one way they created this was the use of nature and how the setting was described. Nature was described as powerful and the decaying overwhelming setting. They both use these settings to create fear as there is a sense of ambiguity and nature is described as being overpowering this in both novels is used as a way to create an unwelcoming and fearful scene at the beginning of both novels. This sets the tone throughout the novel with a sense of uncertainty. This foretells the end in The Little Stranger where the reader doesn’t know what happens next and is left on a cliff-hanger This is one difference as in Dracula by the end Stoker eliminated all evil and we are left where we as the reader know most about what happens.
A difference between Stoker’s Novel and Waters’s Novel is the way they use setting to show good and evil. In Stoker’s Dracula good and evil are showcased through the setting. Also, in Dracula Stoker has a clear line between good and evil, and we as the readers can easily see who is evil and who is good whilst also creating fear, this is shown through the use of point of view by Stoker. Stoker makes it so you only get a narrative from a normal human being never Dracula. This shows evil as if the POV was from Dracula’s perspective then as the reader, we may not see him as evil as he is. Because Stoker keeps the POV to the main characters’ perspective they are seen as good, and this makes them less evil. Because of the way Stoker uses the characters’ narratives in real-time, it gives the reader a sense of truth as it is not written in reflection rather it is written without the character knowing what will happen in the future. Stoker uses the main character’s point of view to show the motive behind the killing of Dracula otherwise we as the readers might see the killing of Dracula as just as evil as Dracula was. This links to the context of the Victorian period during which there was a large fear of immigration during the British Empire. During this period there were advancements and the deterioration of the train during Dracula’s journey may reflect the fact that Victorians were scared of deterioration after the advancements and fearful of others. This is different from the way Waters shows good and evil. There is no clear distinction between good and evil Waters does this by using the setting of narrative voice.
Waters uses Faraday’s POV throughout the novel which means we as a reader do not necessarily know the truth as Faraday’s account cannot be fully trusted. Unlike Dracula, because there is only one perspective, we never know everything as different perspectives have different stories this creates a sense of uncertainty and ambiguity as we cannot tell who is good or evil as it Is just through Faraday’s POV this links to the ending were Waters leaves the novel on a cliffhanger and we don’t know what happens in the end. This links to the period of post-war Britain where the upper class was falling and declining in prestige the changing life for the upper classes is also reflected in faradays narrative when he visits the hall describing the decaying nature of the house, this reflects the fall of the upper class and the older families.
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