Short Fiction · Chapter
Terror explained
Six-year-old Bridget wakes in the night to a strange noise and becomes terrified by the shadows and objects in her dark room, which transform into menacing figures.
What happens
Six-year-old Bridget wakes in the night to a strange noise and becomes terrified by the shadows and objects in her dark room, which transform into menacing figures. She screams for Nanny, but when Nanny arrives, she scolds Bridget and leaves her alone in the dark again.
Themes in this chapter
Fear and Terror
Bridget's intense fear of the dark and her vivid hallucinations of priests, witches, and animals dominate the chapter.
Frustration and Disillusionment
Bridget's desperate pleas for comfort are met with harsh dismissal by Nanny, highlighting the child's frustration and disillusionment with the adult world.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Bridget woke up with a start. Somewhere something had fallen; perhaps a slate from the roof, or maybe it was only a door banging on the floor above.”
Bridget suddenly awoke because she heard a noise, like something dropping or a door slamming upstairs.
The chapter opens with Bridget being startled awake by an ambiguous sound.
“The nurse shook her crossly. She was irritated at having to come upstairs from her cup of cocoa in the kitchen, but Bridget’s screams had alarmed her and she was afraid there might be a fire.”
Nanny was annoyed at being disturbed while drinking her cocoa and came up only because she worried about a possible fire.
Nanny's irritation and lack of empathy are clear as she prioritizes her own comfort over Bridget's distress.