# A Watcher by the Dead explained — In the Midst of Life

> Chapter companion for In the Midst of Life by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

A man named Jarette is immured in a house with a corpse as part of a bizarre wager, only to be driven to madness by the supernatural horror of the situation before escaping.

## Themes in this chapter

### Madness and Psychological Trauma

Jarette's confinement with a corpse drives him to the brink of insanity.

### Isolation and Alienation

Jarette is physically isolated in the house, cut off from human contact.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. Jarette

The protagonist who agrees to watch by a dead body in a sealed house.

### Gilson

The deceased man whose corpse Jarette is left to guard.

## Key lines

> The dead man was lying on a bed in the room, and Jarette was to remain with him until the following morning.

Jarette was locked in a room with a corpse overnight.

_Sets up the central premise of the story._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/in_the_midst_of_life_se/chapters/a-watcher-by-the-dead
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/in_the_midst_of_life_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/in_the_midst_of_life_se/chapters