# III explained — The Green Hat

> Chapter companion for The Green Hat by Michael Arlen.

## What happens

The narrator escorts Iris Storm down the stairs after their first meeting, and she unexpectedly enters his room. They engage in a deep conversation about vulgarity, writing, money, and enchantment. Iris reveals her four laws and tells the story of how her husband Hector Storm gave her an emerald ring as a charm against suspicion, recounting a night in Algeria.

## Themes in this chapter

### Appearance vs. Reality

The narrator struggles to 'place' Iris, finding her composed of contradictory sides, each belonging to a different woman.

### Gender and Sexual Double Standards

Iris's story of the emerald ring reveals Hector's suspicion and the double standard of trust in marriage.

### Social Class and Decadence

Discussion of Jews and Americans as purveyors of enchantment and luxury, and critique of middle-class morality.

## Character check-ins

### Iris March

Referred to as Mrs. Storm; the narrator reflects on her elusive, multi-faceted nature and her quiet self-invention.

### Gerald March

Mentioned as Iris's brother; the narrator recalls hearing about a sister but not connecting her to Mrs. Storm.

### Hilary Townshend

Mentioned as having told Iris about the narrator and as someone who also felt her unique presence.

### Hector Storm

Iris's husband; appears in her story about giving her the emerald ring in Algeria.

### Lord Portairley

Mentioned as Gerald's uncle, with whom the narrator had imagined Gerald's sister living.

## Key lines

> She showed you first one side of her and then another, and each side seemed to have no relation with any other, each side might have belonged to a different woman; indeed, since then I have found that each side did belong to a different woman.

Iris presented herself in fragments, each facet disconnected from the others, as if each belonged to a separate person.

_The narrator's attempt to understand Iris's multifaceted personality._

> Desire is a child with hungry eyes, and for him a dragon lies waiting. This ring is a charm against dragons.

Desire is like a needy child, and danger lurks for it; the emerald ring protects against that danger.

_Iris explains the symbolic meaning of her emerald ring as a protective charm._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_green_hat_se/chapters/iii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_green_hat_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_green_hat_se/chapters