# II explained — Memoirs of a Midget

> Chapter companion for Memoirs of a Midget by Walter de la Mare.

## What happens

The narrator reflects on her secluded childhood in a large garden, her small stature, her relationship with her parents, and the gifts from her French grandfather. She describes her early self-awareness, her love of nature, and her encounters with others like Adam Waggett and Miss Fenne.

## Themes in this chapter

### Solitude and Self-Discovery

The narrator finds peace and self-awareness in her solitary garden retreat, where she forgets the burden of her birth and feels at one with nature.

### Otherness and Identity

The narrator becomes aware of her small stature as a source of difference and disappointment to her parents, and grapples with her identity as a 'midget.'

### Nature and the Sublime

The narrator's detailed descriptions of the garden, stream, and creatures evoke a profound, almost mystical connection with the natural world.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown (Narrator)

Reflects on her childhood, her size, her love of solitude in the garden, and her relationship with her parents and grandfather.

### Pollie

The narrator's nursemaid, who sometimes leaves her alone in the garden.

### Miss Fenne

The narrator's godmother, who visits on Christmas morning and calls her a 'Shrimp,' causing distress.

### Adam Waggett

A bumpkin son of a village friend, invited to tea in the kitchen; the narrator finds him coarse and distasteful.

### Mr. Bowater

The narrator's father, who reads lessons 'like a miner prophet' and has a round red face.

### Mrs. Bowater

The narrator's mother, who is shy of her and seldom takes her abroad; she answers the narrator's questions about her origins.

## Key lines

> A stream of water ran on the southern side all the length of the garden, under a high, rocky bank (its boundary) which was densely overhung with ash and willow, and hedges of brier and bramble looped with bindweed, goose-grass, and traveller’s joy.

A stream bordered the southern edge of the garden, shaded by a rocky bank thick with trees and tangled vines.

_Describes the natural setting where the narrator often sits alone._

> But then, does anyone ask questions like that until they cannot be answered?

People only ask such painful questions when it's too late to get a truthful answer.

_Reflects the narrator's regret about not asking her mother directly about her size._

> Shrimp! I had seen the loathsome, doubled-up creatures (in their boiled state) on a kitchen plate. My blood turned to vinegar; and in

The word 'Shrimp' horrified her, as she associated it with the boiled, curled-up creatures on a plate, and it made her feel bitter.

_Reaction to Miss Fenne's insulting nickname._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/ii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters