Disaster and Revelry – Reading Poe's The False Mask of the Red Death

Who would have thought that on the occasion of the new spring, the new coronavirus opened silently like Pandora's box, completely disrupting people's daily lives. In order to prevent the spread of the virus, it was necessary to reduce human-to-human contact, respond to the government's call, and try to stay at home and not go out. Stay at home, then read some books. History has taught us how terrible the plague really is. Camus's "The Plague" describes such a tragic experience. And what I would recommend is Poe's novel The False Mask of the Red Death, which is also about the terrible plague.

　　The novel takes the masquerade as a clue and pulls the hedonistic bow full, but quietly hangs an arrow of disaster and shoots through the hard reality of the iron barrel of the bitter wind and rain. The novel reads: There is a sudden outbreak of plague in a country, and the people have nowhere to flee, but can only resign themselves to fate and sit still. The great noble prince Prospero, who was an enemy of his own wealth, fled to a castle far away.

　　The mountains and rivers are beautiful and the trees are green. He not only escaped by himself, but also brought a thousand handsome men and women, in this paradise far away from the sufferings of the world, spending days and nights drinking, singing night and night, especially like to hold masquerade balls. The reason why the mask is worn at the popular masquerade of the European upper class is to increase a kind of distancing effect, and you can flirt without scruples, just like a dream, absurd and romantic. Whether it is a proud noblewoman or a reserved beauty, after putting on the mask, you are free, you can laugh and have fun.

　　To celebrate the safe escape from the plague, Prince Prospero deliberately held an unprecedented masquerade ball, asking participants to give full play to their ingenuity, make the most chic and skilled masks, and then show off their talents to enjoy the carnival of the rest of their lives as if they were participating in a beautiful beauty contest.

　　The masks at the masquerade ball are varied, strange and unique, with plants and flowers, dragonflies and butterflies, minotaurs and horse noodles, and demons and ghosts. In short, these various masks are exquisite and exquisitely made, which can be described as deliberate, hollowed out, fantastic, and extremely sensational, which truly shows the exuberant energy and extraordinary imagination of human beings. In the sweet and fragrant atmosphere, the guests intoxicatedly danced briskly - the carnival began, which can be described as fishy, romantic and exciting, no one knows anyone anyway, avoiding the embarrassment of broad daylight, which is an elegant collective lascivious game that the aristocratic class loves after eating and dressing warmly.

　　The masquerade party culminates when a grotesque dresser appears. The masks at the ball are so strange that no one should be surprised. But this man's dress was really too much, and he actually dressed himself up as a patient with a plague! He wrapped himself in a shroud, covered in blood, and smeared with red and black spots on his face.

　　This was an unforgivable joke that greatly ruined the prince's interest. The prince was very angry, and was furious, and ordered his men to take him down. A group of people gathered around, but the man did not flinch. Instead of flinching, he greeted him with great enthusiasm, and his fearless aura immediately calmed all the people at the ball.

　　The prince was furious and was about to draw his sword and stab the man, but when the man touched his face, the prince fell to the ground with a cry, and the people, in fear, seized the door and fled.

　　It turned out that the man was not pretending to be a patient, he was the embodiment of the Red Death Himself, so the reality was suffocating. He sneaked into the happy scene, just to bring death to this group of extravagant and lascivious flesh worms, cowards who were greedy for life and afraid of death.

　　It's a story of disaster and revelry. At first reading, I was surprised by the author's extraordinary imagination, but now I look back on it carefully, but I have a different feeling. When the terrible plague comes, no one can get rid of it, no one can escape, even if you have money and power to be enemies of the country. In the face of the plague, all we can do is to face it bravely, reflect deeply, remove the mask of hypocrisy or fear, face the disaster squarely, and use wisdom and courage to build a solid defense line of life.