Short Fiction · Chapter
The Thing's the Play explained
A newspaper reporter recounts to a writer a story he failed to turn into a humorous column: the tale of Helen Barry, who married Frank Barry twenty years ago.
What happens
A newspaper reporter recounts to a writer a story he failed to turn into a humorous column: the tale of Helen Barry, who married Frank Barry twenty years ago. On her wedding night, the best man John Delaney, mad with jealousy, attacked Frank and left him for dead, then fled. Frank survived but lost his memory and became a violinist named Ramonti. Years later, both men—Ramonti (Frank) and a mysterious stranger (John Delaney)—separately rent rooms in Helen's house. Ramonti falls in love with her again, and John Delaney returns seeking forgiveness. Helen must choose between her husband and the man who wronged her.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Appearance vs. Reality
Characters hide their true identities: Frank Barry becomes Ramonti, and John Delaney appears as a mysterious stranger. Helen's perception of reality is challenged by these hidden pasts.
Love and Romance
The story revolves around romantic entanglements: Helen's love for Frank, John's obsessive love, and the rekindling of affection between Helen and the amnesiac Frank.
Nostalgia and the Passage of Time
Twenty years have passed since the wedding, and characters grapple with memories of the past while confronting changed circumstances.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The narrator attends a vaudeville show with a reporter friend and later writes down the story the reporter failed to make humorous.
- Aileen
Helen Barry, the central character, is a widow who rents rooms to Ramonti and a mysterious stranger, and must navigate her past and present loves.
- Jimmy Valentine
Frank Barry, who after being attacked loses his memory and becomes the violinist Ramonti, returns to Helen's life as a lodger.
- Andy Donovan
John Delaney, the best man who attacked Frank out of jealousy, later returns as a mysterious lodger seeking Helen's forgiveness.
Key passages
“I see no reason why that shouldn't make a rattling good funny story. Those three people couldn't have acted in a more absurd and preposterous manner if they had been real actors in a real theatre.”
The narrator believes the events are so ridiculous they would make a great comedy, comparing the characters' behavior to theatrical performance.
The narrator's ironic perspective frames the tragicomic nature of the story.
“Three mortals thus juggling with years as though they were billiard balls, and my friend, the reporter, couldn't see anything funny in it!”
The narrator marvels that the reporter missed the humor in how the characters manipulated time and fate.
Highlights the central irony of the story: a potentially comedic situation treated with seriousness.