Short Fiction · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for Short Fiction by Daphne du Maurier.
Chapter 1
Terror
Six-year-old Bridget wakes in the night to a strange noise and becomes terrified by the shadows and objects in her dark room, which transform into menacing figures. She screams for Nanny, but when Nanny arrives, she scolds Bridget and leaves her alone in the dark again.
Chapter 2
A Difference in Temperament
A man and a woman argue about his desire to go out alone for lunch. He craves independence and freedom, while she wants to share everything and feels hurt by his secrecy. After a tense exchange, he leaves, buys her an azalea as a peace offering, but she rejects the gesture, leading to another outburst and his departure.
Chapter 3
A Man of Straw
The narrator encounters an old acquaintance, Marlow, in Leicester Square and takes him to dinner. Marlow recounts his life story of failure and self-pity: a failed marriage to Kate, an affair with a young woman named Nan, a lost job, a brief stint in films, a pregnancy he forced Kate to end by sending her away, a failed relationship with a wealthy woman in Canada, and a general descent into poverty and loneliness. He blames his sensitivity and the cruelty of the world for his misfortunes, while the narrator sees him as a weak man acting a part.
Chapter 4
The Lover
A man navigates a series of romantic entanglements, manipulating his lovers with empty promises and self-serving rhetoric while avoiding genuine emotional commitment. The chapter exposes the transactional nature of his relationships and his fear of intimacy.
Chapter 5
The Supreme Artist
An actor receives a visit from Mrs. John Pearce, a woman from his past whom he initially fails to recognize. He pretends to remember her, but their conversation reveals a deep romantic history. She is content in her long marriage, while he clings to a romanticized, painful memory of their past affair. After she leaves, he is left feeling old and disillusioned, and his young co-star questions him about the visit.
Chapter 6
Frustration
After a seven-year engagement, a young man finally marries his bride, but their honeymoon camping trip is a disaster: the tent collapses in the rain, their car is stolen, and they end up wandering lost to London. They find lodging in a suspicious boarding house, struggle to find work with opposite shifts, and face the harsh realities of poverty and separation.
Chapter 7
Indiscretion
The narrator reflects on how a moment's indiscretion can ruin lives, recounting how he lost his job and his boss's marriage collapsed after he carelessly spoke about a past encounter with a vulnerable girl from Wardour Street.