“If I had been in my senses, I should have considered him, personally, as being rather a suspicious specimen of an old soldier. He had goggling, bloodshot eyes, mangy mustaches, and a broken nose. His voice betrayed a barrack-room intonation of the worst order, and he had the dirtiest pair of hands I ever saw—even in France. These little personal peculiarities exercised, however, no repelling influence on me. In the mad excitement, the reckless triumph of that moment, I was ready to “fraternize” with anybody who encouraged me in my game. I accepted the old soldier’s offered pinch of snuff; clapped him on the back, and swore he was the honestest fellow in the world—the most glorious relic of the Grand Army that I had ever met with. “Go on!” cried my military friend, snapping his fingers in ecstasy—“Go on, and win! Break the bank—Mille tonnerres! my gallant English comrade, break the bank!”
In this passage of “THE TRAVELER’S STORY OF A TERRIBLY STRANGE BED”,There’s a highlight of the state of mind and vulnerability. The narrator’s description of the soldier’s appearance and behavior suggests that he is not a trustworthy or desirable companion. The use of phrases like “rather a suspicious specimen,” “barrack-room intonation of the worst order,” and “the dirtiest pair of hands” reinforces this notion. There’s also some clues that also sets up how the character sees the world around them as a foreign and unkempt world with the quotation of “even in France”. Accompanied with the soldier’s ecstatic attitude gives the reader even more suspicion on his true intention. Yet with the mix of alcohol and the “reckless triumph” that really highlight how common sense and logic is distorted. I believe that this is a great foreshadow to what’s to come in the short story and sets up an unnerving attitude towards the old soldier. To be more specific, with how the passage started with “if i had been in my senses”, it really shows how the narrator has such an unreliable point of view and judgment that makes the soldier’s appearance and attitude even more disturbing. This type of foreshadowing is really prominent within the sensation genre where the authors may gives us a foreshadowing of the main character’s fate within the next chapters. This not only makes interests the readers more but make them anticipate what’s gonna happen and how bad it could get. In short, this passage is a perfect example of a hindsight perspective on a bad situation.
I would also argue that foreshadowing like this is also a feature of the gothic, since it plays with the idea of time and place. Foreshadowing, as it is used in this Wilkie Collins story, takes us out of the “present” setting of the story and gives us a hint of what is to come. This slight manipulation of time gives the reader an uneasy feeling that something bad is about to happen, but we are not sure of what that thing is just yet. I think this practice takes “The Traveller’s Story of the Terribly Strange Bed” beyond the realm of sensation fiction and blends it with elements of the gothic.
The foreshadowing here is very prevalent. I found the line “I was ready to “fraternize” with anybody who encouraged me in my game” particularly important in this passage. I think the punishment inherent in blind trust is a commonality in this genre. In this particular story, the narrator is under the influence of alcohol, however, even in Lady Audley’s Secret, she was trusted and accepted into Sir Michael’s home rather easily. There was no sense of building trust and this trust was only broken by characters who had clear reason for doubt. Mystery literature like such has a seemingly unavoidable gullibility in its characters.
I found your analysis of the mounting suspense very interesting. I think this particular passage sets up a crucial dichotomy within the narration as we are brought into the minds of both the past and present narrator. Though he is retelling the story, his recollection shifts between an omniscient and unknowing one, forcing the reader to question their perceptions in much the same way that he did during the evening of the story. Narration has been a key focus in the pieces we’ve read so far, and Collins’ work is no exception.