# XXVIII explained — Memoirs of a Midget

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

## What happens

The narrator and Mr. Anon take a walk through the woods, discussing religion, nature, and the narrator's impending departure. They take shelter from a hailstorm in a barn, where Mr. Anon shares esoteric wisdom about approaching the brink between life and reality. He later fetches a pony-cart to bring her home, where Mrs. Bowater's relief turns to a possessive, unsettling gaze that fills the narrator with hatred and disillusionment.

## Themes in this chapter

### Nature and the Sublime

The narrator finds peace in nature, describing the woods, rain, and hailstorm with awe, contrasting with her unease in human company.

### Solitude and Self-Discovery

The narrator's walk and conversation with Mr. Anon lead to introspection about her identity, her size, and her place in the world.

### Deception and Self-Deception

The narrator reflects on her own vanity and satisfaction after feeding on Mr. Anon's 'strange heart,' and later feels a sudden hatred for Mrs. Bowater, questioning her own affections.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown (Narrator)

Reflects on Mr. Anon's teachings, feels a mix of affection and hatred toward Mrs. Bowater, and experiences a sense of otherness.

### Mr. Anon

Shares philosophical and mystical ideas with the narrator, protects her from a sheepdog, and fetches a pony-cart to bring her home.

### Mrs. Bowater

Initially anxious about the narrator's absence, she becomes friendly with Mr. Anon but later gives the narrator a look that provokes hatred and disillusionment.

### Mr. Crimble

Mentioned as being in love with Miss Bowater and as a source of the narrator's sleeplessness.

## Key lines

> All things visible are only a veil, he said. A veil that withdraws itself when the mind is empty of all thoughts and desires, and the heart at one with itself.

Mr. Anon explains that the physical world is a veil that can be lifted when one achieves mental emptiness and inner harmony.

_This encapsulates Mr. Anon's mystical philosophy shared with the narrator in the barn._

> How was it that human company so often made me uneasy and self-conscious, and nature's always brought peace?

The narrator wonders why she feels anxious around people but finds tranquility in nature.

_Highlights the narrator's preference for solitude and the natural world over social interaction._

> So swirling a gust of hatred and disillusionment swept over me at sight of her, that for some little while I dared not raise my eyes and look at Mr. Anon.

Upon seeing Mrs. Bowater's benign expression, the narrator is overwhelmed by sudden hatred and disillusionment, unable to face Mr. Anon.

_Reveals the narrator's volatile emotions and sense of alienation from those who care for her._

## Links

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