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Short Fiction · Chapter

The Rathskeller and the Rose explained

Actress Posie Carrington, a small-town girl who made it big on Broadway, is courted by actor Highsmith who disguises himself as a rustic old friend from her hometown of Cranberry Corners to win the role of 'Sol Haytosser' in her new play.

What happens

Actress Posie Carrington, a small-town girl who made it big on Broadway, is courted by actor Highsmith who disguises himself as a rustic old friend from her hometown of Cranberry Corners to win the role of 'Sol Haytosser' in her new play. He successfully fools her with his performance and a yellow rose from her mother's bush, but the next day she cancels all engagements and returns to Cranberry Corners, moved by the nostalgia he evoked.

Themes in this chapter

  • Deception and Appearance vs. Reality

    Highsmith deceives Miss Carrington by pretending to be Bill Summers from Cranberry Corners, using makeup and local knowledge to appear as a rustic country boy.

  • Nostalgia and the Passage of Time

    The rose and the description of the unchanged home evoke Miss Carrington's past, ultimately leading her to abandon her career and return to Cranberry Corners.

  • Social Class and Wealth

    Miss Carrington's rise from a small-town girl to a Broadway star highlights the contrast between rural simplicity and urban glamour.

Characters to notice

Key passages

  • “He was as fresh as a collard and as ingenuous as a hay rake.”

    He appeared as naive and unsophisticated as a country vegetable or a simple farm tool.

    Describes Highsmith's convincing portrayal of a rustic character.

  • “She went away down that road in the night, for we seen her little shoe tracks in the dust, and somethin' tells me she'll come back that way ag'in when she's weary of the world and begins to think about her old mother.”

    She left home secretly at night, and I believe she will return when she tires of the world and remembers her mother.

    Highsmith's fabricated story about Miss Carrington's mother waiting for her, which triggers her nostalgia.

  • “He took from his coat pocket a rose—a drooping, yellow, velvet, odorous rose, that hung its head in the foul atmosphere of that tainted rathskeller like a virgin bowing before the hot breath of the lions in a Roman arena.”

    He produced a wilted, fragrant yellow rose that seemed out of place in the smoky bar, like an innocent person in a dangerous situation.

    The rose symbolizes the purity of home and the corruption of the city.

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