The Lady of the Barge · Chapter
I explained
On a cold, wet night at Laburnam Villa, the White family—Mr.
What happens
On a cold, wet night at Laburnam Villa, the White family—Mr. White, his wife, and their son Herbert—are visited by Sergeant-Major Morris, a veteran of twenty-one years in India. Morris tells them about a dried monkey's paw that has been enchanted by a fakir to grant three wishes to three separate men, but warns that interfering with fate brings sorrow. He reveals that he himself has had his three wishes and that the first owner's final wish was for death. Despite his warnings, Mr. White retrieves the paw from the fire and keeps it. After Morris leaves, the family jests about the paw, and Mr. White makes a first wish for two hundred pounds. He feels the paw twist in his hand like a snake, unsettling him. Herbert later sees a horrible simian face in the fire before retiring.
Themes in this chapter
Fate and Superstition
The monkey's paw is introduced as a talisman meant to show that 'fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow,' setting up the central conflict between human desire and destiny.
Greed and Its Consequences
Mr. White's wish for two hundred pounds, made despite Morris's warnings, foreshadows the tragic outcomes that arise from trying to alter one's fortune.
Characters to notice
- Mr. White
Hosts Sergeant-Major Morris, retrieves the monkey's paw from the fire despite warnings, and makes the first wish for two hundred pounds.
- Mrs. White
Knits by the fire, listens to Morris's tales, and later regards her husband anxiously after his wish.
- Herbert White
Plays chess with his father, jokes about the paw, and sees a horrible simian face in the dying fire before bed.
- Sergeant-Major Morris
Visits the Whites, tells of the monkey's paw's origins and his own three wishes, and warns Mr. White against keeping it.
Key passages
“He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow.”
The fakir enchanted the paw to demonstrate that destiny controls human existence, and meddling with it brings grief.
Morris explains the moral lesson behind the monkey's paw's magic.
“I wish for two hundred pounds.”
Mr. White makes his first wish aloud, hoping to clear the mortgage on his house.
This is the pivotal moment when the Whites set the paw's curse in motion.
“It moved... As I wished, it twisted in my hand like a snake.”
Mr. White feels the paw writhe in his grasp immediately after making his wish, startling him.
The physical reaction of the paw suggests that the wish has been heard and may be granted.