Short Fiction · Chapter
XVIII: In Which Doctor Heraclius Recognises with Amazement the Author of the Manuscript explained
Unable to sleep, Doctor Heraclius Gloss goes to his study in the middle of the night to reread a passage of the manuscript.
What happens
Unable to sleep, Doctor Heraclius Gloss goes to his study in the middle of the night to reread a passage of the manuscript. There he is horrified to see what appears to be a duplicate of himself reading the manuscript. After a moment of terror, he realizes the figure is actually his monkey, and he is overcome with joy, embracing the monkey as the long-sought author of the manuscript.
Themes in this chapter
Obsession and Delusion
The doctor's obsessive search for the manuscript's author culminates in a moment of delusion where he mistakes his monkey for himself, only to joyfully accept the monkey as the author.
Illusion vs. Reality
The doctor's initial terror stems from the illusion of seeing his double, which is resolved when he recognizes the reality of the monkey, blurring the line between perception and truth.
Characters to notice
- Doctor Heraclius Gloss
The doctor, unable to sleep, goes to his study and is initially terrified by the sight of what appears to be himself, only to discover it is his monkey, whom he embraces as the author of the manuscript.
Key passages
“The Doctor stood transfixed, livid, horror-stricken, his eyes haggard and his hair on end, his teeth chattering and his whole body quivering from head to foot in a dreadful way, before the incomprensible sight which confronted him.”
The doctor was frozen in terror, pale and trembling, as he faced the inexplicable sight before him.
Describes the doctor's extreme fear upon seeing what appears to be his own double.
“Nearly mad with happiness, he dashed forward, seized the venerable being in his arms and embraced him more passionately than ever an adored mistress was clasped by her lover.”
Overcome with joy, he rushed to embrace the monkey with a passion greater than that of a lover embracing his beloved.
Highlights the doctor's ecstatic realization that the monkey is the author he has been seeking.