Memoirs of a Midget · Chapter
The Inquest explained
The narrator, haunted by Mr.
What happens
The narrator, haunted by Mr. Crimble's suicide, reads the newspaper account of his death and struggles with guilt and the urgent need to help Fanny. She writes to Mr. Anon, asking him to retrieve money from her locked box at Beechwood to send to Fanny, while Mrs. Bowater suffers a collapse in Lyme Regis.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Self-Deception
The narrator hides her true feelings and actions from Mrs. Bowater, while also grappling with her own guilt and the lies she tells herself.
Mortality and Memory
Mr. Crimble's suicide forces the narrator to confront death and the haunting memory of his final days.
Solitude and Self-Discovery
The narrator experiences an 'insupportable solitude' in Lyme Regis, reflecting on her own identity and moral choices.
Characters to notice
- Unknown (Narrator)
Reads the newspaper account of Mr. Crimble's suicide, feels responsible, and writes to Mr. Anon for help.
- Mrs. Bowater
Lies ill in bed after a collapse; she knows about the narrator's involvement and speaks cryptically about Mr. Crimble.
- Fanny Bowater
The narrator sends her money via Mr. Anon, desperate to help her.
- Mr. Crimble
His suicide is reported in the newspaper; the narrator is haunted by his death.
- Mr. Anon
The narrator writes to him, asking him to retrieve money from her box to send to Fanny.
- Mrs. Petrie
Present at Lyme Regis, she comforts the narrator and Mrs. Bowater.
Key passages
“Well, miss, you know too much to know no more.”
Mrs. Bowater tells the narrator that her knowledge of the situation prevents her from learning anything new.
Mrs. Bowater's cryptic response to the narrator's request to read the newspaper.
“I must forget my own miseries, and somehow contrive to send Fanny the money she needed.”
The narrator resolves to set aside her own suffering and find a way to get money to Fanny.
The narrator's determination to help Fanny despite her own distress.
“I was simply determined to be utterly open with him, even though I seemed to myself like the dark picture of a man in a bog struggling to grope his way out.”
The narrator decides to be completely honest with Mr. Anon, even though she feels trapped and desperate.
The narrator's internal struggle as she writes to Mr. Anon.