# A Midsummer Knight's Dream explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by O. Henry.

## What happens

A man who insists New York City is the best summer resort is revealed to be sacrificing his own comfort to send his wife and children to the mountains. Through a daydream, he relives a youthful summer romance where he won a mock tournament and crowned his beloved queen, contrasting his current pretense with his true desires.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Appearance vs. Reality

Gaines loudly insists New York is the best summer resort while secretly longing for the country and sacrificing his own comfort for his family.

### Nostalgia and the Passage of Time

Gaines's daydream of a youthful mountain romance contrasts with his current middle-aged life, and his wife's letter recalls their love fifteen years ago.

### Love and Romance

The mock tournament and crowning of the queen evoke a chivalric romance, mirrored in Gaines's enduring love for his wife Mary.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The narrator addresses the reader directly ('Dear Reader') and describes the oppressive summer heat in New York City.

### Gaines

The protagonist who claims New York is the best summer resort, but daydreams about a past mountain romance and is revealed to have sent his family to the country.

### Compton

A millionaire's son and rival for Mary Sewell's attention; loses a bet when she wears white instead of light blue.

### Mary Sewell

The beloved young woman at the mountain hotel; crowned queen of the tournament and receives a wreath of roses from Gaines.

### Adkins

Gaines's clerk who brings letters and memoranda, interrupting his daydream.

### Harding

Mentioned as a friend who caught a three-pound brown trout, sparking Gaines's longing for fishing.

## Key lines

> The man from Pompton, NJ , who always wears an overcoat in July, had turned up in a Broadway hotel drinking hot Scotches and enjoying his annual ray from the calcium.

A man from Pompton, New Jersey, who habitually wears an overcoat in July, appeared at a Broadway hotel drinking hot Scotch and basking in the artificial light.

_Satirical depiction of eccentric behavior during a heat wave._

> New York, sir, is the finest summer resort in the country. Keep in the shade and watch your diet, and don’t get too far away from an electric fan.

New York City is the best place to spend the summer; just stay in the shade, watch what you eat, and stay near an electric fan.

_Gaines's public boast about urban summer comfort._

> I wonder what kind of bait Harding used.

I wonder what kind of fishing lure Harding used.

_Recurring thought revealing Gaines's hidden desire to go fishing._

> She was all in white that day; and thereby Compton lost a bet to Gaines.

She wore white that day, causing Compton to lose a wager to Gaines.

_Key detail from the daydream about the tournament._

> You are a gallant knight, said Miss Mary.

Miss Mary called him a brave knight.

_Climactic moment of the daydream romance._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/a-midsummer-knight-s-dream
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters