The Masque of Red Death
What's there to do in the middle of a plague but lock out the poor and throw an extravagant party? I mean what could go wrong?
Facts
Text: The Masque of Red Death Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Genre: Horror, Gothic thriller Year: 1842
Available: Public Domain (Free!)
Fiction
Last week I said The Yellow Wallpaper was one of two stories that would top a list of pandemic reading recs. The Masque of Red Death is the other story that would top that list. The Yellow Wallpaper was on that list to reflect the horrors of isolation. The Masque of Red Death is on that list because its about, well, a plague.
Or its not just about a plague in the same way The Yellow Wallpaper wasn't just about isolation. There's a lot going on in so few words. The premise of the story is that a terrible and grotesque plague, The Red Death, is sweeping the world. The Red Death strikes terror in people because not only is it deadly, but it is also macabre, leaving its victims with blood running down their faces.
So what do the elite and powerful do in this crisis? Throw a party of course! Prince Prospero takes in one thousand of his closest privileged friends and entertains them behind the sturdy walls of his well defended abbey, while the Red Death rages outside. But don't despair, the rich aren't left twiddling their thumbs. The Prince's sanctuary is a hedonistic delight of performances, shows, and even a masquerade!
But when a party's that good you can't be surprised when an uninvited guest shows up. He's a little tasteless though, showing up in a mask that mimics the Red Death. Unless this mysterious guest isn't mimicking anything at all.
Feeling
There's a lot to love about this story. Poe is a master of creating atmosphere, and had the gothic aesthetic down to an art. One thing that always stands out to me in this story is the description of the seven different apartments the masquerade is taking place in, each with a different colour of stained glass lighting each room. The final room, with its red stained glass, and black furniture, including a mysterious black grandfather clock makes the perfect setting for this story's finale.
What's the only thing better than a gothic masquarde? A mysterious stranger at a gothic masquarde! This story, being Edgar Allan Poe, is less ambiguous in its supernatural elements than last week's. It becomes clear that the mysterious stranger is the Red Death and the menace of this figure works really well. He immediately stands out: he arrives right at midnight (classic), and the other guests can't bring themselves to approach or touch him, as they are filled with an unknown fear. He moves slowly, and calmly. He doesn't get angry when confronted. He just moves through the rooms of the party. I've already said the Red Death knows how to makes an entrance, arriving just as the creepy clock strikes midnight, but he knows how to makes an exit too, leaving behind nothing but his bloody mask clutched in the hands of the party goers who tried to stop him.
I know a lot of people think of Poe's Tell-Tale Heart, or The Raven when they think of Poe but this lesser known story is worth the read. As stated on an aesthetic level its magnificent. I could talk about those stained glass windows forever. But on a thematic level this story works too. The rich try and leave the rest of the world to die, using their money and privilege to party while the world bleeds outside...and it doesn't work. The Red Death comes for them too.
What I'm saying is, the Red Death has a certain kind of style and there's a reason he holds illimitable dominion over all.
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