# Aubrey Walks Part Way Home—and Rides the Rest of the Way explained — The Haunted Bookshop

> Chapter companion for The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley.

## What happens

After leaving the Haunted Bookshop, Aubrey Gilbert walks home through Brooklyn, lost in romantic thoughts about Titania Chapman. He stops at Weintraub's drug store, where he notices a torn book cover from Carlyle Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches and impulsively pockets it. Weintraub's stained fingers and a suspicious curtain movement hint at secrecy. Later, Aubrey is attacked by two men but is rescued by a motorist. He returns to his boarding house, still preoccupied with Titania's beauty and his advertising career.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Romance

Aubrey's intense infatuation with Titania dominates his thoughts, mixing admiration, rage, and worship.

### Mystery and Adventure

The discovery of the Cromwell book cover, Weintraub's suspicious behavior, and the attack on Aubrey introduce a mysterious plot.

### The Art of Bookselling as a Profession

The bookshop's cozy atmosphere and Mifflin's reading highlight the cultural role of bookselling.

## Character check-ins

### Aubrey Gilbert

Walks home from the bookshop, daydreams about Titania, visits Weintraub's drug store, pockets a Cromwell book cover, and is attacked on the street.

### Mr. Weintraub

The druggist with stained fingers, denies smoking, and acts suspiciously when Aubrey visits his shop.

### Titania Chapman

Aubrey's romantic thoughts center on her beauty and charm, which he attributes to the power of advertising.

### Roger Mifflin

Mentioned as the bookseller who read aloud from Somebody's Luggage earlier in the evening.

## Key lines

> He was not thinking: he was being thought.

Aubrey's thoughts were involuntary, as if controlled by an external force.

_Describes Aubrey's passive mental state while daydreaming about Titania._

> What right has any girl to be as pretty as that? Why—why, I'd like to beat her!

Aubrey's frustration with Titania's beauty makes him feel violent anger.

_Shows Aubrey's conflicted emotions of rage and adoration._

> Advertising had clothed her, Advertising had fed her, schooled, roofed, and sheltered her.

Aubrey believes that advertising is responsible for Titania's refined upbringing and beauty.

_Reflects Aubrey's idealization of his profession and its influence on society._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_haunted_bookshop_se/chapters/v-aubrey-walks-part-way-home-and-rides-the-rest-of-the-way
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_haunted_bookshop_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_haunted_bookshop_se/chapters