The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen · Chapter
XIX explained
The Baron recounts his first visit to England during the present king's reign.
What happens
The Baron recounts his first visit to England during the present king's reign. After shipping goods at Wapping, he rests in a cannon on Tower Wharf and falls asleep. The cannon is fired at one o'clock on June 4th, launching him across the Thames into a farmer's haystack, where he sleeps for three months. When the hay is cut, he wakes, accidentally kills the farmer by falling on him, and later learns the farmer was a detestable hoarder.
Themes in this chapter
The Marvelous and the Absurd
The Baron's improbable journey—falling asleep in a cannon, being shot across the Thames, sleeping for three months on a haystack—epitomizes the absurd and marvelous adventures characteristic of the narrative.
Critique of Human Nature
The farmer who hoards hay for extravagant prices is portrayed as detestable, critiquing greed and exploitation in human nature.
Characters to notice
- Baron Munchausen
Narrates his first visit to England, falls asleep in a cannon, is shot across the Thames, and accidentally kills a farmer.
Key passages
“I stepped into one of the cannon to compose me, where I fell fast asleep.”
I climbed into a cannon to rest and promptly fell asleep.
The Baron's casual use of a cannon as a resting place sets up the absurd accident that follows.
“I was shot over the houses on the opposite side of the river, into a farmer's yard, between Bermondsey and Deptford, where I fell upon a large haystack, without waking, and continued there in a sound sleep till hay became so extravagantly dear...”
The cannon fired me across the Thames into a farmer's haystack, where I slept for three months until hay prices rose.
Highlights the absurdity of sleeping through a cannon shot and the extended duration of the nap.
“I afterwards found, to my great consolation, that this fellow was a most detestable character, always keeping the produce of his grounds for extravagant markets.”
I later learned, to my relief, that the farmer was a despicable man who hoarded his crops to sell at inflated prices.
The Baron justifies the accidental killing by painting the farmer as morally corrupt.