By being "there" I think you mean behind the castle
walls?? The "Red Death" was an epidemic. Some believe that it is a fictional disease,
but Time magazine called smallpox "the Red Death". (See link
below). Smallpox, however, does not have the symptoms explained in the first paragraph
of the story.
"There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness,
and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. The scarlet stains upon the
body and especially upon the face of the
victim... "
although it does
cause a rash in the mouth and throat before moving all over the body. An epidemic
affects many people in a specific area at the same time. It is spread through contact
and being around people with the disease.
Prince Prospero
was unconcerned about his people, but he and his friends wanted to avoid getting the
disease. They want to avoid contact of any kind with those people who are suffering from
it. So he
" summoned to his presence a thousand hale and
light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his
court"
He had built his
castle into a strong fortress and had the servents weld bolts into the iron gate so that
no one could enter or leave. They did not want to have any contact with those infected
nor did they want to see them. Notice he invited his " hale and lighthearted"
friends. "Hale" meaning that they had to be healthy, and "lighthearted" meaning that
they enjoyed a good time. He still wanted to enjoy life, while his people were dying
outside the castle gates. That is the reason he threw the masquerade ball. They had
been confined for almost six months and the epidemic was at its height. So what they
hoped to achieve was escape from the "Red Death"
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