Short Fiction · Chapter
The Doctor and the Doctor’s Wife explained
Dick Boulton, a half-breed Indian, arrives with his son Eddy and Billy Tabeshaw to cut up driftwood logs for Nick's father, the doctor.
What happens
Dick Boulton, a half-breed Indian, arrives with his son Eddy and Billy Tabeshaw to cut up driftwood logs for Nick's father, the doctor. A confrontation erupts when Dick accuses the doctor of stealing the logs from White and McNally. The doctor, angered, orders them to leave and retreats to his cottage, where his Christian Scientist wife tries to soothe him. He cleans his shotgun, then goes for a walk, finding Nick reading in the woods and agreeing to take him along.
Themes in this chapter
Masculinity and Sexual Anxiety
The doctor's anger and need to assert dominance in the confrontation with Dick Boulton, followed by his retreat to clean a shotgun, reflect anxieties about masculine authority and control.
The Absurdity of Authority and Religion
The doctor's wife's Christian Science platitudes contrast with the raw conflict and the doctor's silent frustration, highlighting the absurdity of relying on religious authority in the face of real-world tensions.
Characters to notice
- Dick Boulton
Half-breed Indian who accuses the doctor of stealing timber, provoking a confrontation.
- The doctor
Nick's father, who becomes angry when accused of stealing logs and later goes for a walk.
- Billy Tabeshaw
Indian who works with Dick Boulton, remains serious during the argument.
- Nick Adams
Found reading in the woods; joins his father on a walk.
- Mrs. Scripps
The doctor's wife, a Christian Scientist who urges her husband to control his temper.
Key passages
“Well, Doc, that's a nice lot of timber you've stolen.”
Dick Boulton sarcastically accuses the doctor of stealing the logs.
This accusation triggers the central conflict of the chapter.
“Remember, that he who ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city.”
The doctor's wife quotes the Bible to urge her husband to control his temper.
Reflects her Christian Science beliefs and the theme of authority and religion.
“I know where there's black squirrels, Daddy.”
Nick tells his father he knows a place to find black squirrels.
Shows Nick's desire to join his father and escape the domestic tension.