Short Fiction · Chapter
Seats of the Haughty explained
The narrator recounts his failed attempts to entertain a wealthy but homesick Texas rancher, Solly, in St.
What happens
The narrator recounts his failed attempts to entertain a wealthy but homesick Texas rancher, Solly, in St. Louis, Chicago, and New York. Despite lavish spending on saddles, shows, and nightlife, Solly remains miserable and longs for the simple life and bean joints of Atascosa City. The narrator eventually loses track of Solly, who finds contentment in a Third Avenue bean restaurant run by a plain young woman who knows how to catch a man's eye.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Wealth
The contrast between Solly's immense wealth and his preference for humble beans and simple living highlights the disconnect between money and happiness.
Humor and Irony
The narrator's elaborate, failed attempts to entertain Solly with expensive urban pleasures, while Solly only wants beans and home, create a comedic irony.
Nostalgia and the Passage of Time
Solly's constant longing for Atascosa City and his past life on the ranch underscores a deep nostalgia and resistance to the changes brought by wealth and travel.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The narrator, acting as a personal conductor and cicerone, tries to entertain the wealthy Texan Solly with urban amusements but fails repeatedly.
- Jeff Peters
Jeff Peters is the narrator of this story, recounting his experiences with a wealthy Texan named Solly and his own past in Atascosa City.
- Luke Summers
Luke Summers is the wealthy Texas rancher who is difficult to please, preferring beans and simple pleasures over high-class entertainment.
- George Ringo
George is Solly's friend from the ranch, mentioned in Solly's reminiscence about putting sheep-dip in Horsehead Johnson's whisky.
- Lolabelle Delatour
Lolabelle is a chorus-girl in a Broadway musical comedy whom the narrator recruits to entertain Solly, but Solly flees her dressing room in embarrassment.
Key passages
“I walked up the street with the unhappy plainsman. He saw a saddle-chop open, and some of the sadness faded from his eyes. We went in, and he ordered and paid for two more saddles—one with a solid silver horn and nails and ornaments and a six-inch border of rhinestones and imitation rubies around the flaps. The other one had to have a gold-mounted horn, quadruple-plated stirrups, and the leather inlaid with silver beadwork wherever it would stand it. Eleven hundred dollars the two cost him.”
The narrator accompanies the melancholy Texan, who brightens upon seeing a saddle shop. They enter, and the Texan buys two expensive, ornate saddles for a total of $1,100.
Illustrates Solly's wealth and his only source of joy: buying lavish saddles.
“When we had succumbed to the beans I leads him out of the tarpaulin-steam under a lamp post and pulls out a daily paper with the amusement column folded out. 'But now, what ho for a merry round of pleasure,' says I. 'Here's one of Hall Caine's shows, and a stockyard company in Hamlet, and skating at the Hollowhorn Rink, and Sarah Bernhardt, and the Shapely Syrens Burlesque Company. I should think, now, that the Shapely—' But what does this healthy, wealthy, and wise man do but reach his arms up to the second-story windows and gape noisily. 'Reckon I'll be going to bed,' says he; 'it's about my time. St. Louis is a kind of quiet place, ain't it?'”
After eating beans, the narrator suggests various entertainments, but Solly yawns and declares St. Louis quiet, preferring to go to bed.
Highlights Solly's disinterest in urban amusements and his preference for simplicity.
“I made Solly promise to stay in the café for half an hour and I hiked out in a cab to Lolabelle Delatour's flat on Forty-third Street. I knew her well. She was a chorus-girl in a Broadway musical comedy. 'Jane,' says I when I found her, 'I've got a friend from Texas here. He's all right, but—well, he carries weight. I'd like to give him a little whirl after the show this evening—bubbles, you know, and a buzz out to a casino for the whitebait and pickled walnuts. Is it a go?' 'Can he sing?' asks Lolabelle. 'You know,' says I, 'that I wouldn't take him away from home unless his notes were good. He's got pots of money—bean-pots full of it.' 'Bring him around after the second act,' says Lolabelle, 'and I'll examine his credentials and securities.'”
The narrator arranges for a chorus-girl, Lolabelle, to entertain Solly, promising he is wealthy. She agrees to meet him after her show.
Shows the narrator's desperate attempts to please Solly using entertainment and money.
“As soon as Solly saw her he got up and walked straight out through the stage entrance into the street. I followed him. Lolabelle wasn't paying my salary. I wondered whether anybody was. 'Luke,' says Solly, outside, 'that was an awful mistake. We must have got into the lady's private room. I hope I'm gentleman enough to do anything possible in the way of apologies. Do you reckon she'd ever forgive us?' 'She may forget it,' says I. 'Of course it was a mistake. Let's go find some beans.'”
Solly flees Lolabelle's dressing room in embarrassment, thinking they intruded, and the narrator suggests they go find beans instead.
Emphasizes Solly's discomfort with urban nightlife and his preference for simple food.
