The public reading

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

Caroline looked above the audience rather than at it. The room contained too many faces, each waiting for a mistake she had not yet made. She began reading quickly. The page shook, and the first sentence ended before she had found enough breath for the next. Somewhere near the back, a chair scraped.

She paused to turn the page and saw an old woman leaning forward. The woman was smiling at the story, not at Caroline’s discomfort. Caroline read the next sentence more slowly. A small laugh rose at the right moment. She looked towards the front row, then farther back. By the final paragraph, the faces no longer seemed separate judges. They were following the same story.

Analyse how the writer uses language and structure to show Caroline’s changing relationship with the audience. Support your answer with references to the passage.