Short Fiction · Chapter
IV explained
Harold is forcibly taken to the Girgenti railway station and sent back to England, eventually being committed to an asylum.
What happens
Harold is forcibly taken to the Girgenti railway station and sent back to England, eventually being committed to an asylum. His behavior becomes increasingly unintelligible, and doctors conclude he merely believes he is Greek. The narrator, however, insists Harold has truly become a Greek, living a greater life beyond modern comprehension, and expresses lasting resentment toward Mildred Peaslake for preventing a different outcome.
Themes in this chapter
Repression vs. Liberation
Harold is physically repressed by being sent to an asylum, yet the narrator argues he has found liberation in a greater, ancient life.
The Past and Authenticity
The narrator insists Harold's transformation into a Greek is authentic, a return to a previous life, contrasting with the modern world's inability to understand him.
Characters to notice
- Harold
Harold is committed to an asylum after being sent back to England; he becomes mute and unresponsive, but the narrator believes he has truly become a Greek.
- Mildred Peaslake
Mildred Peaslake is blamed by the narrator for Harold's fate; the narrator says he will never forgive her.
- the Peaslakes
The Peaslakes return to Naples after Mildred's health permits, having been involved in Harold's journey back to England.
Key passages
“But I firmly believe that he has been a Greek—nay, that he is a Greek, drawn by recollection back into his previous life.”
The narrator is convinced that Harold has actually become a Greek, not merely imagining it, and is being pulled by memory into a past existence.
This expresses the narrator's core belief in Harold's genuine transformation.
“That is why I shall never forgive Mildred Peaslake as long as I live.”
The narrator holds an enduring grudge against Mildred Peaslake for her role in Harold's fate.
Highlights the narrator's personal resentment and blame toward Mildred.