Short Fiction · Chapter
II explained
In Elizabethan England, the reader Wessel Caxter is interrupted by a panicked man, Soft Shoes, who seeks refuge from two pursuing gallants.
What happens
In Elizabethan England, the reader Wessel Caxter is interrupted by a panicked man, Soft Shoes, who seeks refuge from two pursuing gallants. Wessel hides him in a garret and misleads the pursuers, who reveal that Soft Shoes has committed a violent crime against the sister of one of them. After they leave, Soft Shoes demands writing materials to tell his story, and Wessel reluctantly complies.
Themes in this chapter
Rebellion and Nonconformity
Soft Shoes defies social norms and pursuers, while Wessel aids him despite moral qualms.
Fate and Destiny
The chase and the hidden crime suggest inescapable consequences and the role of chance.
Characters to notice
- Wessel Caxter
A reader and indolent man in Elizabethan England, he hides Soft Shoes from pursuers and later gives him writing materials.
Key passages
“He read at wine, he read in bed, He read aloud, had he the breath, His every thought was with the dead, And so he read himself to death.”
He read constantly, in every situation, until it consumed him entirely.
Epitaph for Wessel Caxter, foreshadowing his fate.
“I knew you for a dog, but when I hear even the half of a tale like this, I know you for such a dirty cur that I am minded to club your skull.”
I already thought you were despicable, but now that I know part of the story, I consider you so vile I want to hit you.
Wessel's anger upon learning of Soft Shoes's crime.