Can Such Things Be? · Chapter
III: A Man Though Naked May Be in Rags explained
The coroner examines the naked, brutally beaten body of Hugh Morgan in the cabin, displaying severe contusions and lacerations.
What happens
The coroner examines the naked, brutally beaten body of Hugh Morgan in the cabin, displaying severe contusions and lacerations. Witness Harker testifies, but the jury, skeptical of his sanity, asks what asylum he escaped from. After Harker leaves, the jury returns a verdict that Morgan died from a mountain lion attack, though some suspect he had fits.
Themes in this chapter
Violence and Mortality
The graphic description of the corpse's injuries underscores the brutal reality of death.
Madness and Perception
The jury's suspicion of Harker's sanity and the absurd verdict reflect unreliable perceptions.
Characters to notice
- Hugh Morgan
The deceased, whose naked body is examined by the coroner, showing signs of severe beating and lacerations.
- Mr. Harker
Witness who testifies and is insulted by the jury's question about his asylum escape.
- Jaralson
The coroner who examines the body and reads Morgan's diary.
Key passages
“The coroner rose from his seat and stood beside the dead man. Lifting an edge of the sheet he pulled it away, exposing the entire body, altogether naked and showing in the candlelight a claylike yellow.”
The coroner stood up and uncovered the corpse, revealing its naked, yellowish body in the candlelight.
Opening of the inquest scene.
“We, the jury, do find that the remains come to their death at the hands of a mountain lion, but some of us thinks, all the same, they had fits.”
The jury's verdict states the death was caused by a mountain lion, though some members believe the deceased suffered from seizures.
The jury's contradictory and absurd conclusion.