A Strange Disappearance · Chapter
VI: A Bit of Calico explained
The narrator takes up residence in a lodging-house opposite Mr.
What happens
The narrator takes up residence in a lodging-house opposite Mr. Blake's corner to observe his increasingly restless behavior. Mr. Blake spends his days walking the streets, shifting from fashionable thoroughfares to the dark, narrow streets of the East Side, clearly searching for a woman. The narrator follows him for three days, noting his disregard for danger and his fixation. On the fourth day, Mr. Blake suddenly accosts a poorly dressed girl in the Bowery, speaks with her, then separates. The narrator tries to follow the girl but loses her, finding only a bit of calico rag as a clue. Later, the narrator learns Mr. Blake is preparing for a journey to Putney, Vermont, and follows him, disguised as a drummer.
Themes in this chapter
Obsession and Guilt
Mr. Blake's relentless, day-and-night search for a woman, his disregard for danger, and his haunted demeanor suggest an obsessive quest driven by guilt or desperation.
Detection and Truth
The narrator's meticulous surveillance, use of disguises, and dogged pursuit of Mr. Blake and the girl exemplify the detective's craft and the pursuit of hidden truths.
Class and Disguise
The narrator's ability to adopt various disguises (e.g., a drummer) and Mr. Blake's descent into low-class neighborhoods highlight the fluidity of class identity and the use of disguise in investigation.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Blake
Shows extreme restlessness, searching the streets for a woman; accosts a girl in a calico dress; prepares for a journey to Putney, Vermont.
- The Girl
A poorly dressed girl with a basket, accosted by Mr. Blake in the Bowery; she flees and is lost by the narrator.
- Countess De Mirac
Mentioned as having taken rooms at the Windsor House, where Mr. Blake hesitates to visit.
- Fanny
Provides the narrator with information about Mr. Blake's preparations for a journey.
- Mrs. Daniels
Reported to be feeling dreadfully; the house is like a grave.
- Mr. Gryce
Mentioned in the narrator's thoughts; his expression still rankles the narrator.
Key passages
“Not a day that he did not spend his time in walking the streets, and that not in his usual aimless gentlemanly fashion, but eagerly and with an intent gaze that roamed here and there, like a bird seeking its prey.”
Every day, Mr. Blake walked the streets with a focused, predatory look, unlike his usual leisurely manner.
Highlights Mr. Blake's obsessive search and the narrator's observation of his changed behavior.
“I even saw him once in his hurry and abstraction, step across the body of a child who had fallen face downward on the stones, and that with an expression showing he was utterly unconscious of anything but an obstacle in his path.”
In his haste, Mr. Blake stepped over a fallen child as if it were merely an obstacle, showing his complete absorption in his quest.
Illustrates the depth of Mr. Blake's obsession and his disregard for others.
“Regarding it as the sole spoils of a very unsatisfactory day’s work, I put it carefully away in my pocket book, where it lay till—But with all my zeal for compression, I must not anticipate.”
I saved the bit of calico rag as the only clue from a disappointing day, but I must not reveal its significance yet.
Foreshadows the importance of the calico rag as a clue in the investigation.