Short Fiction · Chapter
A Comedy in Rubber explained
This chapter satirizes the phenomenon of 'rubbering'—the compulsive curiosity of New Yorkers who gather to gawk at any accident or unusual event.
What happens
This chapter satirizes the phenomenon of 'rubbering'—the compulsive curiosity of New Yorkers who gather to gawk at any accident or unusual event. It follows William Pry and Violet Seymour, two dedicated 'rubberers' who meet and fall in love while staring at the victims of a brewery wagon accident. Their romance blossoms through shared rubbering experiences, culminating in a wedding where the couple themselves become the spectacle, unable to resist joining the crowd of onlookers outside their own ceremony.
Themes in this chapter
Humor and Irony
The entire chapter is a satirical take on the absurdity of rubbering, with ironic twists such as the bride and groom missing their own wedding to rubber at themselves.
Love and Romance
A parody of romance: William and Violet's love is sparked and sustained by their shared obsession with rubbering at accidents and oddities.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The narrator provides a satirical, omniscient commentary on the 'rubberer' phenomenon and the love story of William and Violet.
- William Pry
A dedicated rubberer who is first on the scene of accidents; he falls in love with Violet Seymour at the site of a brewery wagon accident and later marries her.
- Violet Seymour
A passionate rubberer who forces her way through crowds to see accidents; she reciprocates William's love and marries him.
Key passages
“Rubber will out.”
The compulsion to rubber is irresistible and will always reveal itself.
The narrator's concluding remark on the couple's inability to resist rubbering at their own wedding.
“They have the furor rubberendi.”
They suffer from an obsessive urge to rubber.
A mock-Latin phrase describing the rubberers' compulsive curiosity.