Elijah Rabinovich
Winters in literature are often harsh, typically full of a nauseating abundance of snow and hardship, and Richard’s winter at Hampden in The Secret History is no exception. Donna Tartt’s The Secret History is full of incredible imagery, gothic diction, clever symbolism, rich metaphors, and Dark Academia themes. Throughout the novel there are also themes not necessarily tied to Dark Academia. One such theme is isolation, which features itself prominently throughout the work. Within chapter 3 of The Secret History, there is an intimate scene shared between Charles, Camilla, and Richard. In this scene, Richard sends off Camilla and Charles for the winter break, leaving himself completely alone at Hampden. In the scene, vivid imagery, precise diction, and clever symbolism illustrate Richard’s newfound vulnerability and crippling loneliness.
The imagery in this passage communicates that Richard is alone and separated from everyone and everything else. As Richard sent off Charles and Camilla in the frigid morning air, he “stood under the street lamp as they pulled away” silently watching on as “the cab turned a corner and disappeared” (Tartt 49). This imagery is vivid in a reader’s mind: A single street lamp in the dark hours of the early morning, illuminating a lone watcher against the abyss as he silently witnesses the last of his friends, in essence, abandon him for the winter. It allows the reader to feel Richard’s sorrow as he stands solemnly gazing into the distant darkness. Furthermore, this imagery transports the reader into Richard’s world, generating more empathy from the reader towards Richard. This climax of Richard’s status of loneliness from one more so in his mind to one akin to social isolation is crucial to the rest of the events in Chapter 3. Without the emotional connection spawned through the imagery in this passage, the reader would simply observe Richard’s dire situation, and the events of this chapter would not have such a profound effect on the reader.
In addition to this rich imagery, the precise diction within this passage truly enlightens the reader to Richard’s new vulnerability. Richard states Charles and Camilla “pulled away” as they departed for the break. Typically, when one pulls away from another individual, we interpret that to mean their relationship is slowly worsening for one factor or another. The usage of pulled away in this passage illustrates that Charles and Camilla were effectively distancing themselves from Richard, not only physically, but also on an emotional level, reinforcing that Richard is now truly alone and has no one to rely upon. Furthermore, Richard states that the cab ultimately “disappeared” (Tartt 49). Through this usage of the word disappeared, it drops a final nail in the coffin of the status of the twins, claiming that they didn’t simply leave, but disappeared from his life altogether. With the added context that Richard is all alone, the reader cannot help but watch in horror as Richard recklessly endangers his life and faces an incredibly harrowing winter.
Furthermore, the symbolism utilized in Chapter 3, as a whole, results in a clear framing of the period of time in which Richard is completely alone. The only two occurrences of a taxi/cab in Chapter 3 are, first, in this scene where Richard says goodbye to Charles and Camilla, and later, when he injures himself attempting to call for a taxi (Tartt 53). These two distinct events border a period of time in which Richard is in complete social isolation, with the latter incident being just before Richard encounters Henry, who then saves his life. It is no coincidence that a taxi is used in both of these important events in this chapter, and it is also no coincidence that Richard’s attempt to call for help, or in this case a taxi, is met solely with disaster, in the form of Richard gravely injuring himself by slipping and cutting his head.
The theme of isolation within The Secret History is one which is very prominent, but it is the focal point of Chapter 3, as it transforms Richard from a secretive outcast, to a vulnerable friend. Through the precise diction and usage of vivid imagery, the reader sees Richard at his lowest points, becoming completely isolated from his friends and any support; we witness Richard tough a derelict winter. By the end, Richard is literally on the verge of death and casts off his walls to finally begin opening up, and, as a result, begins building much stronger friendships with the rest of the class. Had Richard not been broken down and battered by this bitter isolation, he may have never put down his walls, an event which may have dire consequences.
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