Memoirs of a Midget · Chapter
XLVII explained
The narrator performs with the circus, encounters a mysterious stranger, loses her grandfather's watch to a thief, and struggles with Adam's wavering resolve.
What happens
The narrator performs with the circus, encounters a mysterious stranger, loses her grandfather's watch to a thief, and struggles with Adam's wavering resolve. After a moment of solitary reflection, she resolves to seek out Wanderslore, only to be confronted by Fanny Bowater.
Themes in this chapter
Performance and Being on Show
The narrator performs as the Signorina, enduring the crowd's gaze and the showman's demands, while reflecting on the degradation and thrill of being on display.
Solitude and Self-Discovery
The narrator's solitary daydream under the pine trees leads to existential questioning and a resolve to seek out Wanderslore, marking a moment of self-awareness.
Deception and Self-Deception
The narrator deceives the crowd as a fortune-teller, lies to Adam about legal consequences, and grapples with her own self-deception regarding love and identity.
Characters to notice
- Unknown (Narrator)
Performs as the Signorina, loses her watch, reflects on her identity and longing for the stranger, resolves to find Wanderslore.
- Adam Waggett
Covetous and fearful, he takes the showman's coins, is unnerved by locked doors and Mrs. French, and is persuaded by the narrator's threat of legal consequences.
- Mr. Anon
The mysterious stranger in a high-peaked hat and cassock who captivates the narrator during the performance; she imagines a wilderness with him.
- Fanny Bowater
Appears suddenly at the end of the chapter, confronting the narrator during her solitary reflection.
- Mrs. French
Disturbed by Adam's noise, she leans over the staircase in her dressing-gown but withdraws without discovering them.
Key passages
“But such are the revulsions of success, for hours and hours that night I lay sleepless. Once I got up and put my hand in where the crowns were, to assure myself I was awake.”
Success brings its own turmoil; the narrator lies awake, touching the coins to confirm the reality of her achievement.
Highlights the ambivalence of her success and the blurring of dream and reality.
“I seemed to be carried away into a boundless wilderness—stunted trees, salt in the air, a low, enormous stretch of night sky, space; and this man, master of soul and solitude.”
The sight of the stranger transports her to an imagined, desolate landscape where he appears as a sovereign figure.
Illustrates the narrator's intense longing and the romantic idealization of the stranger.
“I cast a look of hatred after the weak, silly man as he disappeared between the trees. The circus, so the showman had warned me, was moving on that day to another market town, Whippington.”
She despises Adam's cowardice and learns the circus is relocating, which will require a longer journey.
Shows her frustration with Adam and the practical challenges of her escape.
“Love was nothing but cheating. Let me but confess, explain, ask forgiveness, unburden myself.”
She dismisses love as deceitful and resolves to seek out Wanderslore to confess and make amends.
Reveals her internal conflict and desire for reconciliation with the person at Wanderslore.