The Beetle · Chapter
XVI: Atherton’s Magic Vapour explained
Sydney Atherton takes Percy Woodville to supper at the Helicon, where Percy recounts his failed attempts to propose to Marjorie Lindon.
What happens
Sydney Atherton takes Percy Woodville to supper at the Helicon, where Percy recounts his failed attempts to propose to Marjorie Lindon. Atherton, amused by Percy's lovelorn state, later takes him to his laboratory, where he captures a cat from outside Paul Lessingham's house and prepares to demonstrate a dangerous experimental vapour, using the cat as a test subject.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Obsession
Percy's obsessive love for Marjorie is depicted through his repeated failed proposals and his maudlin drunkenness; Atherton's taunting reveals a darker, possessive side of love.
Power and Control
Atherton's experiment with the 'magic vapour' demonstrates his desire for control over life and death, using a cat as a proxy for his rivalry with Lessingham.
The Supernatural and the Unknown
The mysterious figure seen gliding up Lessingham's steps and the uncanny feeling Atherton experiences hint at supernatural elements beyond the scientific experiment.
Characters to notice
- Sydney Atherton
Narrator of the chapter; takes Percy to supper, questions him about his love for Marjorie, and later demonstrates his 'magic vapour' experiment on a cat.
- Percy Woodville
Lovelorn and teetotaler; recounts his repeated failed attempts to propose to Marjorie, becomes drunk, and accompanies Atherton to his laboratory.
- Marjorie Lindon
Object of Percy's affection; mentioned in Percy's stories of his failed proposals and in Atherton's taunts.
- Paul Lessingham
Mentioned as the man who 'went away with Marjorie'; his house is pointed out by Atherton, and a cat from outside his house is captured for the experiment.
Key passages
“I bore him off to supper at the Helicon. All the way in the cab he was trying to tell me the story of how he proposed to Marjorie—and he was very far from being through with it when we reached the club.”
Atherton took Percy to supper at the Helicon, and Percy spent the entire cab ride recounting his proposal attempts to Marjorie, continuing even after they arrived.
Sets the scene for Percy's obsessive recounting of his love life.
“I had caught sight of a cat crouching in the shadow of the railings—a black one. That cat was my quarry. Either the creature was unusually sleepy, or slow, or stupid, or it had lost its wits—which a cat seldom does lose!—anyhow, without making an attempt to escape it allowed me to grab it by the nape of the neck.”
Atherton spotted a black cat near Lessingham's house and easily captured it, claiming it as his target for the experiment.
Highlights Atherton's impulsive and cruel determination to use the cat as a stand-in for Lessingham.
“I am going to demonstrate, on a small scale, the action of the force which, on a large scale, I propose to employ on behalf of my native land.”
Atherton announces that his experiment is a small-scale demonstration of a weapon he intends to develop for England.
Reveals Atherton's patriotic and destructive ambitions for his vapour invention.