The walls were—in available spaces—boldly sculptured into a spiral
band of heroic proportions; and displayed, despite the destructive weathering caused by the
openness of the spot, an artistic splendour far beyond anything we had encountered before. The
littered floor was quite heavily glaciated, and we fancied that the true bottom lay at a
considerably lower depth.page 60
This para can be compared to the fantastic hesitation as the author could not understand what this maybe. It can also be related to the uncanny as they know it is Ice but the way it is sculptured and presented is hard to tell if it really is or not. This can be related to the scene of The Falling House of Usher where the narrator sees the house and he knows it is the house but it seemed so off that he compared it with a human and their features. It’s like they know what it is but they could not exactly give it an explanation of why this might be that way. Obviously we know the house was haunted in the Falling House of Usher and so the narrator felt that way. When we think about this story we can also say the mountains maybe haunted but not by spirits or ghosts but by unknown mysteries creatures which can be related.
I totally agree that this paragraph can be compared with the fantastic hesitation, because the author was wondering whether the space was real or unnatural. The paragraph also entails description of the uncanny, which was weird but explainable because they have encountered so many weird spaces along their exploration. I think the author is surprised at the view and his findings while somehow trying to figure how the creatures live in such spaces. if they created it or it was in existence before.
I absolutely agree because it is so unknown and huge. It compares to the fantastic with the unknown also in a curiosity factor. They explorers seeing this enormous city with buildings that are clearly built with this civilizations own hands. Because of the tall detailed icicles being used it really makes them want to explore it. To me it feels like they almost question how come it hasn’t been done in other parts of the world they have been to. Begging the question how is it even possible, wanting to pull it apart and see how it was out together
I can totally relate this to both the Falling House of Usher and also Dracula. We see fantastic hesitation in each gothic story we read. It’s a way of allowing you to vividly feel the character terror as the story proceeds.