# IV: He Talks with a Clergyman explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

## What happens

Captain Barton, struggling with a supernatural persecution, consults a clergyman about his terrifying experiences. He confesses a deep conviction in a malignant spiritual world and retribution for guilt, despite his previous skepticism. Later, after a Freemason dinner, he deliberately retraces the path of his earlier haunting, is shot at, and encounters the mysterious little man in the fur cap again. His health deteriorates as he keeps the attack secret, and he finally seeks the clergyman's advice.

## Themes in this chapter

### Supernatural and the Uncanny

Barton's conviction in a malignant spiritual world and the recurring apparition of the little man in the fur cap.

### Guilt and Retribution

Barton's belief that retribution follows guilt through mysterious and terrible agencies.

### Faith and Skepticism

Barton's struggle between his skepticism and his forced belief in the supernatural, leading him to consult a clergyman.

## Character check-ins

### Captain Barton

Consults a clergyman about his supernatural persecution, experiences a murder attempt, and encounters the mysterious figure again.

### Doctor Hesselius

The clergyman consulted by Barton; listens to his confession of belief in a spiritual world and retribution.

## Key lines

> I am sure⁠—I know ,” continued Barton, with increasing excitement, “that there is a God⁠—a dreadful God⁠—and that retribution follows guilt, in ways the most mysterious and stupendous⁠—by agencies the most inexplicable and terrific;⁠—there is a spiritual system⁠—great God, how I have been convinced!⁠—a system malignant, and implacable, and omnipotent, under whose persecutions I am, and have been, suffering the torments of the damned!

Barton declares his certainty of a terrifying God and a malignant spiritual system that punishes guilt, under which he is suffering hellish torments.

_Barton's confession to the clergyman reveals his profound terror and belief in supernatural retribution._

> The report of a musket at some hundred yards behind him, and the whistle of a bullet close to his head, disagreeably and startlingly dispelled it.

A musket shot and a bullet narrowly missing his head shatter his brief confidence.

_The assassination attempt on Barton as he walks home._

> on a sudden he met the well-remembered little man in the fur cap. The encounter was but momentary. The figure was walking at the same exaggerated pace, and with the same strange air of menace as before; and as it passed him, he thought he heard it say, in a furious whisper, “Still alive⁠—still alive!”

Barton suddenly encounters the little man in the fur cap, who whispers menacingly, 'Still alive—still alive!'

_The reappearance of the mysterious figure after the shooting._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/iv-he-talks-with-a-clergyman
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_31_se
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