Short Fiction · Chapter
XV explained
In the beanery, Scripps, Mandy, and Diana are alone after the drummer leaves.
What happens
In the beanery, Scripps, Mandy, and Diana are alone after the drummer leaves. Diana makes a final desperate attempt to win Scripps back, offering to take him home and mentioning a new Mercury with an editorial by Mencken, but Scripps rejects her, saying he no longer cares about Mencken. Diana takes the birdcage and leaves. Scripps then declares his love for Mandy, calling her his woman, but he is haunted by the image of the squaw and feels hollow, questioning if Mandy's stories are enough.
Themes in this chapter
The Search for Authenticity
Scripps seeks genuine connection and meaning, but finds Mandy's stories hollow and is haunted by the squaw's raw presence.
American Identity and Disillusionment
Diana's shift from the London Mercury to The American Mercury and Scripps's rejection of Mencken reflect a disillusionment with American cultural icons.
Characters to notice
- Scripps O'Neil
Rejects Diana's plea to come home, declares Mandy his woman, but feels unsatisfied and haunted by the squaw's image.
- Diana Scripps
Makes a final attempt to win Scripps back by offering the Mercury and asking for the bird; leaves heartbroken.
- Mandy
Tells stories to Scripps, including one about Gosse and the Marquis of Buque, and is accepted as Scripps's woman.
Key passages
““Scripps, dear, wouldn’t you like to come home? There’s a new Mercury .””
Diana pleads with Scripps to return home, mentioning a new issue of The American Mercury.
Diana's final attempt to lure Scripps back with literary appeal.
““No,” Scripps said. “I don’t give a damn about Mencken any more.””
Scripps rejects Diana's offer, expressing indifference toward the critic H.L. Mencken.
Scripps's disillusionment with intellectual authority.
““I love you, Mandy,” he said. “I love you. You are my woman.””
Scripps declares his love for Mandy, claiming her as his partner.
Scripps's attempt to find authenticity in a new relationship.
“Into his mind, though he tried to thrust it out, there came again the monstrous picture of the squaw as she strode silently into the room.”
Scripps is haunted by the memory of the squaw who entered the beanery earlier.
The squaw symbolizes a raw, untamed alternative to Mandy's literary stories.