# XIX explained — Memoirs of a Midget

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

## What happens

The narrator receives an unexpected visit from Lady Pollacke, who invites them to tea. At Brunswick House, the narrator meets Miss Bullace, Mr. Crimble, and Mrs. Crimble. The conversation turns to memory and recitation, and the narrator is pressured to perform poetry, causing discomfort.

## Themes in this chapter

### Class and Social Hierarchy

Lady Pollacke's visit and the narrator's discomfort at Brunswick House highlight class distinctions and the performance of social roles.

### Performance and Being on Show

The narrator feels like a spectacle, especially when pressured to recite poetry, and Lady Pollacke enjoys the attention drawn to them.

### Deception and Self-Deception

The narrator's internal shame about forgetting their step-grandfather and the polite facades maintained during the tea party suggest layers of self-deception.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown (Narrator)

Visits Lady Pollacke's home, feels out of place, and is pressured to recite poetry.

### Lady Pollacke

Invites the narrator to tea; a large presence, horse-like appearance, and enjoys social attention.

### Mr. Crimble

Pale and absent, retrieves a fallen scone, defends his mother's memory, and praises the narrator's memory.

### Mrs. Crimble

Elderly with silver curls, tells a circus story, and regards the narrator with a feline eye.

### Miss Bullace

Square and dark, recites 'The Lady's 'Yes',' discusses memory methods, and urges the narrator to recite.

### Mrs. Bowater

Mentioned as the landlady; the narrator gossips with her over supper.

### Fanny Bowater

Mentioned in the narrator's reflections and in the secret collusion with Mr. Crimble.

## Key lines

> The youthful infatuation of nineteen would naturally blind her to everything but her beauty and good nature, but the four succeeding years—years which, if rationally spent, give such improvements to the understanding—must have opened her eyes to her defects of Education, which the same period of time, spent on her side in inferior society and more frivolous pursuits.

A young person's infatuation at nineteen might overlook flaws, but four years of rational growth would reveal educational shortcomings from spending time in low society and trivial activities.

_The narrator is reading this passage from Jane Austen's 'Sense and Sensibility' when Lady Pollacke arrives._

> Festina lente : there’s still truth in that.

Make haste slowly; that old saying still holds wisdom.

_Lady Pollacke uses this Latin proverb to advocate for discrimination and caution in social uplift._

> not blush unseen

Not to be unnoticed or unappreciated.

_Miss Bullace murmurs this aside to Lady Pollacke, likely referring to the narrator's unnoticed virtues._

## Links

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