# VIII: Of a Trifle Found in Twilight explained — The Cream of the Jest

> Chapter companion for The Cream of the Jest by James Branch Cabell.

## What happens

Felix Kennaston, walking in the twilight gardens of Alcluid, reflects on his dissatisfaction with his waking life and the droll ending he has written for the romance of Ettarre and Guiron. He picks up a broken metal disk inscribed with tiny characters, which he later realizes he had unconsciously woven into his story as a breast-ornament for Ettarre, and pockets it without fully understanding his motive.

## Themes in this chapter

### Dream vs. Reality

Kennaston regrets that in his own country he is called Felix, meaning 'happy,' yet he is not happy there; he prefers the dream-world of his romance where he is Horvendile.

### Art and Illusion

Kennaston reflects on the irrational processes of inspiration and how he unconsciously wove the found metal disk into his story, blurring the line between life and art.

### The Power of Storytelling

Kennaston muses on the ending he has devised for his romance, considering its aesthetic satisfaction and the way stories shape and are shaped by the storyteller's unconscious mind.

## Character check-ins

### Felix Kennaston

Walks in twilight at Alcluid, musing on his unhappiness in his own country and the unsatisfactory ending he has given to the story of Ettarre and Guiron; discovers and pockets a broken metal disk.

### Horvendile

Kennaston imagines Horvendile walking out of Storisende carrying a bauble similar to the one he has just found; Horvendile is the name Kennaston regrets he must not bear in his own country.

### La Beale Ettarre

Ettarre is the heroine of Kennaston's romance; he has ended her love-business with Guiron, and the found disk is woven into the tale as her breast-ornament.

### Sir Guiron des Rocques

Guiron is the hero of Kennaston's romance; his love-business with Ettarre has been concluded by Kennaston in a droll and unsatisfactory manner.

## Key lines

> Thus he walked in twilight, regretful that he must return to his own country, and live another life, and bear another name than that of Horvendile.

He walked in the twilight, sad that he had to go back to his real world, live a different existence, and be called something other than Horvendile.

_Kennaston's longing for his fictional identity over his mundane life._

> It is droll how all great geniuses instinctively plagiarize.

It's amusing how all great creative minds unconsciously borrow from their surroundings.

_Kennaston's reflection on the unconscious process of artistic creation._

> Later Felix Kennaston was destined to puzzle over his inability to recollect what motive prompted him to slip this glittering trifle into his pocket.

Later, Felix Kennaston would be baffled by his failure to remember why he put this shiny little object into his pocket.

_The mysterious, almost involuntary act of picking up the sigil._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_cream_of_the_jest_se/chapters/viii-of-a-trifle-found-in-twilight
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