Short Fiction · Chapter
IX: The Third Stage explained
Mr.
What happens
Mr. Jennings describes to Dr. Hesselius how his tormenting entity has progressed from visual to auditory manifestations, speaking to him with blasphemies and urging him toward self-destruction. He recounts a near-fatal incident at a coal mine where his niece's presence prevented him from throwing himself down a shaft. Dr. Hesselius offers reassurance, attributing the phenomenon to a physical condition and promising to consider the case.
Themes in this chapter
Supernatural and the Uncanny
The entity speaks to Mr. Jennings in a voice that is not heard by the ears but felt as a singing through the head, representing a supernatural intrusion into the mind.
Faith and Skepticism
Mr. Jennings struggles with prayer being interrupted by blasphemies, while Dr. Hesselius frames the affliction as a physical condition subject to divine protection.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Jennings
Describes his worsening condition, including auditory hallucinations and suicidal urges, and recounts a near-fatal incident at a coal mine.
- Doctor Hesselius
Listens to Mr. Jennings's account, offers reassurance, and promises to consider the case carefully.
Key passages
“But as food is taken in softly at the lips, and then brought under the teeth, as the tip of the little finger caught in a mill crank will draw in the hand, and the arm, and the whole body, so the miserable mortal who has been once caught firmly by the end of the finest fibre of his nerve, is drawn in and in, by the enormous machinery of hell, until he is as I am.”
Mr. Jennings describes how his affliction began subtly but gradually consumed him entirely, like a finger caught in machinery pulling in the whole body.
Illustrates the progressive and inescapable nature of his torment.
“I asked her to go on and take her walk with her friends, saying that I could go no further. She made excuses, and the more I urged her the firmer she became. She looked doubtful and frightened. I suppose there was something in my looks or manner that alarmed her; but she would not go, and that literally saved me.”
Mr. Jennings's niece refused to leave him alone during a walk, and her insistence prevented him from jumping into a mine shaft.
Highlights the protective role of his niece and the immediate danger he faced.