The Black Mask · Chapter
I explained
Bunny, living in poverty and writing articles on prison life, receives a telegram from his estranged relative urging him to apply for a male nurse position advertised in the Daily Mail.
What happens
Bunny, living in poverty and writing articles on prison life, receives a telegram from his estranged relative urging him to apply for a male nurse position advertised in the Daily Mail. After pawning his suit, he travels to Earl's Court and meets Dr. Theobald, who interviews him for the job. Theobald introduces him to the patient, a querulous invalid, whom Bunny shockingly recognizes as his old friend A. J. Raffles.
Themes in this chapter
Class and Social Mobility
Bunny's fall from a gentleman's life to a garret, and his desperate application for a male nurse job, highlight the precariousness of social status.
Deception and Performance
Bunny conceals his past during the interview, and the entire situation is a front for Raffles' hidden identity.
Characters to notice
- Bunny
Narrator; living in a garret, writing articles on prison life; receives a telegram from his relative and applies for a male nurse position.
- Dr. Theobald
The patient's doctor; interviews Bunny and introduces him to the invalid.
- A. J. Raffles
Revealed at the end of the chapter as the invalid patient; Bunny recognizes him by his distinctive smoke ring.
Key passages
“I am still uncertain which surprised me more, the telegram calling my attention to the advertisement, or the advertisement itself.”
Bunny is equally astonished by the telegram urging him to see the ad and by the ad itself.
Opening line sets up the dual surprise that leads to the chapter's revelation.
“I cannot repeat what I said. I have no idea what I did. I only know—I only knew—that it was A. J. Raffles in the flesh!”
Bunny is so shocked to recognize Raffles that he cannot recall his own reaction.
Climactic moment of the chapter, revealing the invalid's true identity.