# XXVII explained — Memoirs of a Midget > Chapter companion for Memoirs of a Midget by Walter de la Mare. ## What happens The narrator, after a heated encounter with the stranger, returns to find Mrs. Bowater waiting. Unable to sleep, she flees into the night and meets the stranger at the gate, forgiving him and pleading with him never to repeat his words. The next days bring a letter from Mrs. Monnerie arranging a seaside holiday in Lyme Regis for the narrator and Mrs. Bowater. Mr. Crimble visits, distraught over Fanny's evasive letter, which the narrator reads and finds full of temporizing and refusal. Despite her attempts to comfort him, she feels hardened and impatient, longing for freedom from the entanglements of others. ## Themes in this chapter ### Love and Obsession The narrator's restless night and desperate search for the stranger reveal an obsessive attachment; Mr. Crimble's fixation on Fanny shows love as a consuming, unbalanced force. ### Deception and Self-Deception Fanny's letter is full of evasions and temporizing, deceiving Mr. Crimble about her intentions; the narrator colludes in this deceit, feeling guilty but powerless. ### Solitude and Self-Discovery The narrator longs to escape the 'clouds and trammels' of others, seeking freedom and self-definition; the planned holiday to Lyme Regis symbolizes a chance for renewal. ## Character check-ins ### Unknown (Narrator) Struggles with pride and regret after quarreling with the stranger; flees into the night to find him and forgive him; feels hardened and impatient with others' troubles. ### Mrs. Bowater Observes the narrator's distress after the quarrel, offers gentle teasing and advice; arranges the holiday to Lyme Regis with the narrator. ### Mr. Crimble Visits the narrator looking nervous and hollow-eyed; reveals his despair over Fanny's evasive letter and his plan to consult Mrs. Bowater. ### Fanny Bowater Sends a letter full of temporizing and refusal, avoiding commitment to Mr. Crimble; her deceit contributes to the narrator's hardening. ### Mr. Anon Meets the narrator at the gate in the night; she forgives him and begs him never to repeat his words; he departs silently. ### Mrs. Monnerie Arranges the holiday to Lyme Regis for the narrator and Mrs. Bowater through a tactful letter. ## Key lines > What had enraged and embittered me so? If only I had remained calm. Was it that my pride, my vanity, had in some vague fashion been a punishment of him for Fanny’s unkindness to me? The narrator reflects on her anger, realizing it may have been a displaced reaction to Fanny's cruelty. _Shows the narrator's self-awareness and emotional entanglement with Fanny and the stranger._ > I seemed lost to myself. No wonder Fanny. … My body grew cold at a thought; the palms of my hands began to ache. The narrator feels a loss of identity and physical distress at the thought of Fanny's influence. _Highlights the narrator's psychological turmoil and the lingering effect of Fanny's actions._ > How all this baffled me. I tried, but dismally failed, to pour a trickle of wine and oil into Mr. Crimble’s wounded heart, for his sake and for mine, not for Fanny’s, for I knew in myself that his “Jericho” was already within view. The narrator attempts to comfort Mr. Crimble but fails, knowing his hopes are doomed. _Illustrates the narrator's helplessness and foreshadows Mr. Crimble's tragic fate._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xxvii - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters