Short Fiction · Chapter
The Romance of an Ugly Policeman explained
Constable Edward Plimmer, a homely policeman, is assigned to a quiet beat in Battersea Park Road, a neighborhood of artists and intellectuals.
What happens
Constable Edward Plimmer, a homely policeman, is assigned to a quiet beat in Battersea Park Road, a neighborhood of artists and intellectuals. He falls in love with Ellen Brown, a girl who lives in one of the flats, but she is already involved with Alf Brooks, a charming milkman. When Ellen is arrested for a minor offense, Alf abandons her in public shame, and Plimmer, moved by her misery, shares a moment of connection with her.
Themes in this chapter
Loneliness and Connection
Constable Plimmer's unrequited love and his eventual moment of empathy with Ellen highlight the theme of seeking connection in a lonely world.
Comedy and Misunderstanding
The humorous contrast between Plimmer's earnestness and Alf's carefree charm, along with the ironic situation of Ellen's arrest, underscores comedic misunderstandings.
Characters to notice
- Constable Plimmer
A homely policeman on a quiet beat in Battersea, who falls in love with Ellen Brown and later feels compassion for her when she is abandoned by Alf Brooks.
- Alf Brooks
A charming milkman who calls Ellen Brown 'Little Pansy-Face' and is her love interest, but abandons her when she is arrested.
Key passages
“It was his duty to pace in the measured fashion of the London policeman along the front of them, turn to the right, turn to the left, and come back along the road which ran behind them.”
His job was to walk in a precise, regulated manner along the front of the buildings, then turn right, turn left, and return via the road behind them.
Describes the routine patrol of a London bobby.
“They assault and batter nothing but pianos; they steal nothing but ideas; they murder nobody except Chopin and Beethoven.”
The residents only attack pianos, steal ideas, and murder the music of Chopin and Beethoven.
A humorous exaggeration about the artistic inhabitants of Battersea.
“He was conscious of a curious feeling that somebody was just going to kick him, but he dared not look round.”
He felt as if someone was about to kick him, but he was too afraid to turn around.
Describes Alf Brooks' guilty shame after abandoning Ellen.