# The Inn Kitchen explained — The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.

> Chapter companion for The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. by Washington Irving.

## What happens

The narrator, traveling through the Netherlands, spends a dull evening at a Flemish inn and seeks entertainment in the kitchen, where a group of travelers and locals gather around a stove. A corpulent old Swiss traveler tells a story, which the narrator attempts to recount.

## Themes in this chapter

### Travel and Exploration

The chapter depicts the narrator's journey through the Netherlands and his experience in a Flemish inn kitchen, highlighting the social aspects of travel.

## Character check-ins

### Geoffrey Crayon

The narrator who seeks refuge in the inn kitchen from a tedious evening.

### The Swiss Traveler

A corpulent old Swiss man who tells the story that the narrator recounts.

## Key lines

> Shall I not take mine ease in mine inn?

Why shouldn't I relax and enjoy myself at this inn?

_The narrator quotes Falstaff to set a tone of leisure and comfort._

> It was covered with various kitchen vessels of resplendent brightness, among which steamed and hissed a huge copper teakettle.

The stove was adorned with gleaming kitchen utensils, and a large copper kettle steamed and hissed among them.

_Describes the lively and warm atmosphere of the inn kitchen._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se/chapters/the-inn-kitchen
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se/chapters