Memoirs of a Midget · Chapter
XVI explained
The narrator languishes in despair after Fanny's departure, consumed by longing and self-reproach.
What happens
The narrator languishes in despair after Fanny's departure, consumed by longing and self-reproach. Mrs. Bowater obliquely reveals she knows of Fanny's secret midnight tryst, humiliating the narrator. A visit from Pollie brings news of her engagement to Bob Halibut, and the narrator ventures into town with Pollie, only to be mobbed by a curious crowd. Mr. Crimble witnesses the scene, and the narrator flees into Mrs. Stocks's shop for refuge before escaping by cab.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Obsession
The narrator's consuming longing for Fanny is depicted as a fever that drains all other interests and causes self-reproach.
Performance and Being on Show
The narrator's public outing turns into a spectacle, with a crowd pursuing her as if she were a curiosity or a criminal.
Deception and Self-Deception
The narrator realizes her own stupidity in not considering how Fanny left the house, and Mrs. Bowater's silent knowledge underscores layers of concealment.
Characters to notice
- Unknown (Narrator)
Suffers from lovesickness and humiliation; ventures into town and is chased by a crowd.
- Mrs. Bowater
Confronts the narrator about her moping and reveals she knows of Fanny's secret departure.
- Fanny Bowater
Absent; sends a postcard with a brief message; the narrator's longing for her dominates the chapter.
- Pollie
Visits the narrator, announces her engagement to Bob Halibut, and accompanies her on the ill-fated walk.
- Mr. Crimble
Seen in the street; his presence adds to the narrator's distress.
- Mrs. Stocks
Provides sanctuary when the narrator is chased; arranges a cab for her escape.
Key passages
“For many days my mind was an empty husk, yet in a constant torment of longing, daydream, despair, and self-reproaches.”
For days, my mind felt hollow but was ceaselessly tormented by longing, daydreams, despair, and self-blame.
The narrator describes the aftermath of Fanny's departure.
“Was I happier in that fever than I am in this literary calm?”
Was I happier in that passionate turmoil than I am now in this composed, reflective state?
The narrator questions whether the intensity of love was preferable to present tranquility.
“It was as if a wineglass of cold water had been poured down my back.”
It felt like a glass of cold water was suddenly poured down my spine.
The narrator's reaction to Fanny's postcard with a casual greeting.
“Thunderbolts fall quietly at times.”
Sometimes, devastating revelations come without noise or drama.
Reflecting on Mrs. Bowater's calm but crushing disclosure of her knowledge.
“I had been but a nine minutes’ wonder.”
I was only a brief sensation, lasting just nine minutes.
The narrator's public humiliation was fleeting but intense.