What is the allure of fear?
What have you learned from this story about portrayals of fear in literature?
The house taken over.
The correct answer and explanation is:
The allure of fear in literature lies in its ability to tap into primal emotions, drawing readers into a state of suspense and uncertainty. Fear creates an atmosphere of tension, keeping the audience on edge as they anticipate what may happen next. In works like “The House Taken Over” by Julio Cortázar, fear is not only a central theme but also a driving force that shapes the entire narrative.
In the story, fear is portrayed as something intangible, creeping and subtle, which makes it more unsettling. The house itself becomes a symbol of the characters’ psychological state, mirroring their growing anxiety. The siblings in the story live in a large, eerie house that they cannot fully control. They are increasingly driven into smaller and smaller spaces, suggesting their isolation and helplessness in the face of an external, unseen force. The gradual takeover of the house by an invisible presence heightens the sense of foreboding, as the siblings’ fear grows without clear explanation.
From this portrayal, we can see that fear in literature often operates not through overt threats but through the unknown. The absence of a clear antagonist makes the fear more abstract, and it’s the unknown itself that terrorizes the characters. This reflects how fear often works in real life—it’s not always rooted in something tangible but in the uncertainty of what could be.
By showing fear through subtle shifts in the environment and the psyche of the characters, Cortázar emphasizes the idea that fear often reveals deeper psychological truths about the individuals involved. The house becomes a metaphor for the characters’ internal struggles, showing how fear can erode one’s sense of security and push them toward mental and emotional collapse. This type of fear, grounded in the unknown and the unexplained, is what makes stories like “The House Taken Over” so captivating.