Excerpt

Excerpt from To Be Read at Dusk, by Charles Dickens

Upon my word I was fearful after this (said the Genoese courier) of our
coming to the old palazzo, lest some such ill-starred picture should
happen to be there. I knew there were many there; and, as we got nearer
and nearer to the place, I wished the whole gallery in the crater of
Vesuvius. To mend the matter, it was a stormy dismal evening when we, at
last, approached that part of the Riviera. It thundered; and the thunder
of my city and its environs, rolling among the high hills, is very loud.
The lizards ran in and out of the chinks in the broken stone wall of the
garden, as if they were frightened; the frogs bubbled and croaked their
loudest; the sea-wind moaned, and the wet trees dripped; and the
lightning—body of San Lorenzo, how it lightened!

We all know what an old palace in or near Genoa is—how time and the sea
air have blotted it—how the drapery painted on the outer walls has peeled
off in great flakes of plaster—how the lower windows are darkened with
rusty bars of iron—how the courtyard is overgrown with grass—how the
outer buildings are dilapidated—how the whole pile seems devoted to ruin.
Our palazzo was one of the true kind. It had been shut up close for
months. Months?—years!—it had an earthy smell, like a tomb. The scent
of the orange trees on the broad back terrace, and of the lemons ripening
on the wall, and of some shrubs that grew around a broken fountain, had
got into the house somehow, and had never been able to get out again.
There was, in every room, an aged smell, grown faint with confinement.
It pined in all the cupboards and drawers. In the little rooms of
communication between great rooms, it was stifling. If you turned a
picture—to come back to the pictures—there it still was, clinging to the
wall behind the frame, like a sort of bat.

The lattice-blinds were close shut, all over the house. There were two
ugly, grey old women in the house, to take care of it; one of them with a
spindle, who stood winding and mumbling in the doorway, and who would as
soon have let in the devil as the air. Master, mistress, la bella
Carolina, and I, went all through the palazzo. I went first, though I
have named myself last, opening the windows and the lattice-blinds, and
shaking down on myself splashes of rain, and scraps of mortar, and now
and then a dozing mosquito, or a monstrous, fat, blotchy, Genoese spider.

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Explanation

Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from To Be Read at Dusk by Charles Dickens

Context of the Work

To Be Read at Dusk (1852) is a short ghost story by Charles Dickens, originally published in his weekly journal Household Words. The tale is framed as a narrative told by a Genoese courier to a group of travelers, recounting a chilling experience in an abandoned palazzo near Genoa. Dickens, known for his mastery of Gothic and supernatural elements (e.g., A Christmas Carol, The Signal-Man), uses this story to explore themes of decay, the uncanny, and the lingering presence of the past.

The excerpt provided describes the courier’s arrival at a long-abandoned palace, where an eerie, almost sentient atmosphere pervades the decaying structure. The passage is rich in Gothic imagery, sensory detail, and psychological unease, building tension before the supernatural revelation (a cursed portrait that brings misfortune to its owners).

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Themes in the Excerpt

1. Decay and the Passage of Time

   • The palazzo is a symbol of irreversible decline, both physical and spiritual. Dickens emphasizes its dilapidation through repeated descriptions of peeling paint, rusted bars, overgrown courtyards, and the "earthy smell, like a tomb."
   • The house has been "shut up close for months—years!" suggesting a frozen moment in time, untouched by human presence. The stagnant air, trapped scents, and dusty interiors reinforce the idea of a place forgotten by the living.

2. The Uncanny and the Supernatural

   • The courier’s fear of the paintings (hinted at earlier in the story) creates a sense of dread. The idea that a portrait might be "ill-starred" (cursed) introduces a supernatural element, a common trope in Gothic fiction.
   • The personification of the house—its smells "pining" in cupboards, the air "stifling," the scent "clinging like a bat"—suggests the palazzo is alive in a sinister way, almost as if it resents intrusion.
   • The two old women (caretakers) add to the eerie atmosphere. Their refusal to let in air (or light) symbolizes resistance to change, as if they are guardians of the house’s secrets.

3. Nature as a Mirror of Human Fear

   • The stormy setting (thunder, lightning, moaning wind) is a classic pathetic fallacy, where nature reflects the courier’s internal turmoil.
   • The lizards and frogs, usually symbols of life, are here frantic and unsettled, as if sensing something unnatural. The "fat, blotchy Genoese spider" is a grotesque detail, evoking disgust and foreboding.

4. Isolation and Confinement

   • The shut lattice-blinds and locked windows create a sense of claustrophobia, trapping the characters (and the reader) in an oppressive space.
   • The courier’s act of opening the blinds is symbolic—he is forcing the house to reveal its secrets, but also inviting in the storm (chaos).

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Literary Devices & Stylistic Techniques

1. Sensory Imagery (Tactile, Olfactory, Auditory, Visual)

   • Smell: The "earthy smell, like a tomb," the trapped scents of orange and lemon trees, the "aged smell" in cupboards—Dickens uses olfactory details to make the decay visceral.
   • Sound: The thunder "rolling among the high hills," the frogs "bubbling and croaking," the wind "moaning"—these auditory elements heighten the Gothic atmosphere.
   • Touch: The courier shakes down "splashes of rain, scraps of mortar, a dozing mosquito"—the tactile discomfort makes the reader feel the griminess of the place.

2. Personification & Metaphor

   • The house is alive: Smells "pine," the air is "stifling," the scent "clings like a bat." This gives the palazzo a malevolent agency.
   • The comparison of the trapped scent to a bat is particularly effective—bats are associated with vampires, darkness, and the uncanny.

3. Repetition & Parallel Structure

   • The anaphora ("how time and the sea air have blotted it—how the drapery... how the lower windows...") creates a rhythmic, incantatory effect, reinforcing the inevitability of decay.
   • The accumulation of details (peeling paint, rusty bars, overgrown grass) builds a sense of overwhelming ruin.

4. Foreshadowing & Suspense

   • The courier’s fear of the paintings ("lest some such ill-starred picture should happen to be there") sets up the later revelation of the cursed portrait.
   • The storm mirrors the emotional storm brewing inside the house, hinting at the supernatural event to come.

5. Gothic Tropes

   • The haunted/abandoned mansion (a staple of Gothic fiction, e.g., The Fall of the House of Usher).
   • The reluctant caretakers (the old women who resist change).
   • The cursed object (the paintings, implied to bring doom).
   • The storm as a harbinger of doom.

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Significance of the Passage

This excerpt is a masterclass in Gothic atmosphere. Dickens does not rely on overt horror but instead builds dread through accumulation of detail. The palazzo is not just a setting—it is a character, one that is decaying, resentful, and possibly supernatural.

• Psychological Effect: The reader, like the courier, feels unease without knowing why. The fear is subliminal, rooted in the uncanny familiarity of a house that should be empty but feels occupied by something unseen.
• Social Commentary: The decay of the palazzo can be read as a metaphor for the decline of aristocracy (a common theme in 19th-century literature). The once-grand home is now a tomb of its former glory, much like the fading power of old European nobility.
• Narrative Function: The passage slows the story down, making the reader linger in discomfort before the supernatural climax. The courier’s actions (opening the blinds) are both practical and symbolic—he is unveiling the truth, but also disturbing something that should have stayed hidden.

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Conclusion: Why This Excerpt is Effective

Dickens’ genius lies in his ability to make the mundane terrifying. There are no ghosts (yet), no violent acts—just a house that feels wrong. The power of the passage comes from:

1. Immersive sensory details (we smell the decay, hear the storm, feel the damp).
2. Subtle personification (the house is alive, watching, resisting).
3. Unresolved tension (the fear of the paintings, the storm, the old women’s silence).

By the end of this excerpt, the reader is primed for horror, not because of what is shown, but because of what is implied. The palazzo is not just old—it is waiting. And whatever is inside does not want to be found.

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Final Thought: This passage exemplifies how Gothic literature weaponsizes atmosphere. Dickens doesn’t need a jump scare—he makes the air itself feel haunted. The true horror is not in what we see, but in what we sense lurking just beyond the lattice-blinds.