Aesop's Fables · Chapter
The Old Woman and the Doctor explained
An Old Woman, nearly blind, agrees to pay a Doctor a high fee only if he cures her.
What happens
An Old Woman, nearly blind, agrees to pay a Doctor a high fee only if he cures her. The Doctor treats her but steals her possessions during each visit. When her sight is restored, she finds her house empty and refuses to pay. In court, she argues that she is blinder than ever, since she can no longer see her belongings, winning the case.
Themes in this chapter
Cunning and Deception
The Doctor deceives the Old Woman by stealing her belongings under the guise of treatment, while she uses clever wordplay to turn the tables.
Justice and Consequence
The Old Woman's defense in court ensures that the Doctor's dishonesty leads to his own failure to collect payment.
Characters to notice
- The Old Woman
The Old Woman, nearly blind, makes a conditional agreement with the Doctor and later outwits him in court.
- The Doctor
The Doctor treats the Old Woman but steals her possessions, then sues for payment when she refuses.
Key passages
“When the Old Woman saw that the house was empty she refused to pay him his fee; and, after repeated refusals on her part, he sued her before the magistrates for payment of her debt.”
Upon discovering her home stripped of all possessions, the Old Woman declined to pay the Doctor, prompting him to take her to court.
Highlights the conflict and the Doctor's recourse to legal action.
“Now, he says I am cured; but I say that I am blinder than ever, and I can prove what I say. When my eyes were bad I could at any rate see well enough to be aware that my house contained a certain amount of furniture and other things; but now, when according to him I am cured, I am entirely unable to see anything there at all.”
The Old Woman argues that her supposed cure has made her blinder, as she can no longer see any of her furniture, proving the Doctor's theft.
Shows her clever use of logic to defeat the Doctor's claim.