# The Rathskeller and the Rose explained — Short Fiction > Chapter companion for Short Fiction by O. Henry. ## 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. ## Character check-ins ### Unknown Narrator The narrator describes the scene in the rathskeller and the characters' actions and motivations. ### Billy Keogh Not present in this chapter. ### Andy Donovan Not present in this chapter. ### The Captain Not present in this chapter. ### Johnny Atwood Not present in this chapter. ### Jim Not present in this chapter. ### Lorison Not present in this chapter. ### David Mignot Not present in this chapter. ### Samuel Tansey Not present in this chapter. ### Annie Williams Not present in this chapter. ### Ranse Truesdell Not present in this chapter. ### Octavia Beaupree Not present in this chapter. ### The General Not present in this chapter. ### Miss Alice Not present in this chapter. ### Jeff Peters Not present in this chapter. ### Willie Robbins Not present in this chapter. ### The Colonel Not present in this chapter. ### The Doctor Not present in this chapter. ### Curly Not present in this chapter. ### Aileen Not present in this chapter. ### Fergus O'Hollihan Not present in this chapter. ### Mame Dugan Not present in this chapter. ### Hetty Pepper Not present in this chapter. ### The Hermit Not present in this chapter. ### Whistling Dick Not present in this chapter. ### Dan McMullen Not present in this chapter. ### Lawyer Gooch Not present in this chapter. ### Grandemont Charles Not present in this chapter. ### Van Sweller Not present in this chapter. ### Simmons Not present in this chapter. ### Dry Valley Johnson Not present in this chapter. ### Yancey Goree Not present in this chapter. ### Barney O'Connor Not present in this chapter. ### Curtis Raidler Not present in this chapter. ### Dicky Maloney Not present in this chapter. ### Shamrock Jolnes Not present in this chapter. ### Cork McManus Not present in this chapter. ### Denver Galloway Not present in this chapter. ### Teddy Westlake Not present in this chapter. ### Frank Goodwin Not present in this chapter. ### Beelzebub Blythe Not present in this chapter. ### Thomas McQuade Not present in this chapter. ### Tom Hopkins Not present in this chapter. ### Soapy Not present in this chapter. ### Ives Not present in this chapter. ### Webb Yeager Not present in this chapter. ### Nevada Warren Not present in this chapter. ### Mr. Morley Not present in this chapter. ### Mac McGowan Not present in this chapter. ### Señor Goodwin Not present in this chapter. ### Young Murray Not present in this chapter. ### Luke Summers Not present in this chapter. ### Jimmy Valentine Not present in this chapter. ### Mr. Peters Not present in this chapter. ### Uncle Bushrod Not present in this chapter. ### Vallance Not present in this chapter. ### Mrs. Conant Not present in this chapter. ### Joe Larrabee Not present in this chapter. ### Maggie Toole Not present in this chapter. ### Injunction Cherokee Not present in this chapter. ### Old Uncle Jake Not present in this chapter. ### George Ringo Not present in this chapter. ### Doc Millikin Not present in this chapter. ### Cricket McGuire Not present in this chapter. ### Tom Lawson Not present in this chapter. ### Tonia Perez Not present in this chapter. ### Willard Geddie Not present in this chapter. ### Francis Kearny Not present in this chapter. ### Mr. Blinker Not present in this chapter. ### Señor White Not present in this chapter. ### Perry Rountree Not present in this chapter. ### Fuzzy Not present in this chapter. ### Buck Patterson Not present in this chapter. ### Tobin Not present in this chapter. ### Robert Walmsley Not present in this chapter. ### Thomas McLeod Not present in this chapter. ### Jacob Spraggins Not present in this chapter. ### Thacker Not present in this chapter. ### Bob Hart Not present in this chapter. ### Billy Pemberton Not present in this chapter. ## Key lines > 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._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/the-rathskeller-and-the-rose - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters