Short Fiction · Chapter
Temple First explained
The narrator describes his attempt to attend a Sunday service at a grand new Gothic church.
What happens
The narrator describes his attempt to attend a Sunday service at a grand new Gothic church. After being turned away by the beadle for lacking a fine coat, he sneaks in through a tower door and climbs to a high window to observe the service. He becomes trapped when the door locks behind him, and in desperation he rings the bell, which brings the beadle who has him arrested. The next day, despite his explanations, he is fined and reprimanded for disturbing the peace.
Themes in this chapter
Justice and Injustice
The narrator is unjustly turned away from the church and later arrested and fined for a minor trespass, highlighting the arbitrary and class-based nature of justice.
Authority and Rebellion
The beadle's authority is challenged by the narrator's stealthy entry, and the narrator's eventual bell-ringing is a rebellious act against that authority.
Appearance vs. Reality
The church's grand exterior and the sermon on 'Ye are the salt of the earth' contrast with the exclusionary and punitive treatment of the poor narrator.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator (Two Temples: First)
The humble worshipper who is turned away from the church and later sneaks into the tower.
- The Narrator (Two Temples: First)
The narrator who describes his experience of being excluded and then trapped in the church.
Key passages
“This is too bad,' said I, 'here have I tramped this blessed Sunday morning, all the way from the Battery, three long miles, for this express purpose, prayerbook under arm; here I am, I say, and, after all, I can't get in.”
The narrator complains that after walking three miles from the Battery to attend church, he is denied entry.
This opening establishes the narrator's frustration and the theme of exclusion.
“I suppose I'm excommunicated; excluded, anyway. That's a noble string of flashing carriages drawn up along the curb; those champing horses, too, have a haughty curve to their floam-flecked necks. Property of those 'miserable sinners' inside, I presume.”
The narrator feels excommunicated and notes the wealthy carriages outside, sarcastically attributing them to the 'miserable sinners' inside.
Highlights the class divide and the narrator's ironic commentary on the wealthy congregation.
“I seemed inside some magic-lantern. On three sides, three gigantic Gothic windows of richly dyed glass, filled the otherwise meagre place with all sorts of sunrises and sunsets, lunar and solar rainbows, falling stars, and other flaming fireworks and pyrotechnics.”
The narrator describes the tower room as a magic lantern, with stained-glass windows creating dazzling light effects.
Illustrates the contrast between the beauty of the church's interior and the narrator's precarious situation.
“The beadle-faced man, with no hat on his head, was just in the act of driving three ragged little boys into the middle of the street; and how could I help trembling at the apprehension of his discovering a rebellious caitiff like me peering down on him from the tower?”
The narrator sees the beadle chasing away ragged boys and fears being discovered as a rebellious intruder.
Shows the beadle's harshness and the narrator's anxiety about being caught.
“I was left alone and solitary in a temple which but a moment before was more populous than many villages. A strange trepidation of gloom and loneliness gradually stole over me.”
After the congregation leaves, the narrator feels a deep sense of loneliness and fear in the empty church.
Captures the shift from a crowded, vibrant space to a desolate, eerie solitude.
“Horrors! My hands, instinctively clapped to my ears, only served to condense the appalling din. Some undreamed-of mechanism seemed to have been touched. The bell must have thrice revolved on its thunderous axis, multiplying the astounding reverberation.”
When the narrator pulls the bell rope, the bell produces an unexpectedly loud, thunderous sound that terrifies him.
The exaggerated noise underscores the narrator's panic and the unintended consequences of his action.
