The Lady of the Barge · Chapter
The Monkey's Paw explained
The White family receives a visit from Sergeant-Major Morris, who tells them about a magical monkey's paw that grants three wishes.
What happens
The White family receives a visit from Sergeant-Major Morris, who tells them about a magical monkey's paw that grants three wishes. Mr. White makes a wish for two hundred pounds, which later comes true through the tragic death of his son Herbert in a machinery accident. Grief-stricken, Mrs. White forces Mr. White to wish for Herbert's return, but the horrifying knocking at the door leads to a final wish to send the corpse away.
Themes in this chapter
Fate and Superstition
The monkey's paw is a supernatural object that interferes with fate, granting wishes in a twisted and tragic manner.
Greed and Its Consequences
Mr. White's wish for money leads directly to his son's death, showing the destructive cost of greed.
Characters to notice
- Mr. White
The patriarch who makes the first wish for money and later wishes for his son's return, only to wish him away again.
- Mrs. White
The grieving mother who insists on using the second wish to bring Herbert back from the dead.
- Herbert White
The son who dies in a machinery accident after the first wish, and whose corpse is summoned by the second wish.
- Sergeant-Major Morris
The soldier who brings the monkey's paw to the White family and warns them of its dangers.
Key passages
“He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it.”
The paw was enchanted to grant three wishes to three different people.
Sergeant-Major Morris explains the origin of the monkey's paw.
“The first man had his three wishes. Yes, I don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death.”
The previous owner's final wish was to die, suggesting the paw's wishes bring ruin.
Morris hints at the deadly consequences of using the paw.
“He was caught in the machinery.”
Herbert died when his body became trapped in factory equipment.
The company representative informs the Whites of Herbert's fatal accident.
“I wish my son alive again.”
Mrs. White forces Mr. White to use the second wish to resurrect Herbert.
The desperate wish to undo Herbert's death.
“He heard the creak of a bolt as it was slowly withdrawn, and at the same moment he found the monkey's paw, and frantically breathed his third and last wish.”
As the door begins to open, Mr. White makes the final wish to send the undead Herbert away.
The climax where Mr. White uses the third wish to stop the horror at the door.