The Leavenworth Case · Chapter
XX: “Trueman! Trueman! Trueman!” explained
Mr.
What happens
Mr. Harwell visits the narrator to apologize for his previous accusation against Henry Clavering, but under pressure reveals that his denunciation was based on a prophetic dream he had the night before the murder. In the dream, he saw a woman's face and then experienced the murder from Mr. Leavenworth's perspective, finally glimpsing the murderer's face—which he recognized as Henry Clavering's when he saw him in the hall.
Themes in this chapter
Secrecy and Truth
Mr. Harwell struggles with whether to reveal his dream-based suspicions, torn between conscience and the desire for justice.
Guilt and Innocence
The dream implicates Henry Clavering as the murderer, while Mr. Harwell's hesitation reflects the tension between perceived guilt and actual innocence.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Presses Mr. Harwell to explain his accusation against Henry Clavering, listens to the account of the prophetic dream.
- Mr. Harwell
Visits to apologize for his outburst, but eventually reveals that his accusation was based on a dream in which he saw the murderer's face—the face of Henry Clavering.
- Henry Clavering
Identified by Mr. Harwell as the man he saw in his dream and later recognized in the hall of Miss Leavenworth's house.
- Horatio Leavenworth
The murder victim; Mr. Harwell dreams of being him and feeling his doom.
- Mary Leavenworth
Mentioned as the person from whose presence Henry Clavering was seen leaving.
Key passages
“Often do the spirits Of great events stride on before the events, And in today already walks tomorrow.”
Great events are often foreshadowed by premonitions or signs that appear before they actually happen.
Coleridge epigraph sets the tone for Harwell's prophetic dream.
“I experienced in a dream all that afterwards occurred; saw him murdered, saw the face of his murderer!”
I dreamed the entire murder scene before it happened, including the face of the killer.
Harwell reveals the source of his certainty about Clavering's guilt.
“Trueman, Trueman, Trueman, repeated three times in a voice I did not recognize”
A strange voice called my name three times.
The supernatural cry that begins Harwell's dream.