The Three Impostors · Chapter
Adventure of the Missing Brother explained
Mr.
What happens
Mr. Charles Phillipps, a scientific materialist, is skeptical of Dyson's tale but is drawn into a mystery when a distressed young woman in Leicester Square recounts her brother's disappearance. She describes seeing her brother accompanied by a figure with a decayed, corpse-like hand. Despite Phillipps's rationalist objections, she invokes the name of Professor Gregg, whose own mysterious disappearance involved a parcel with undecipherable cuneiform characters, hinting at occult forces.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Identity
The woman's story blurs the line between reality and hallucination; Phillipps's rationalist dismissal contrasts with her insistence on the truth of her senses, questioning what is real.
The Occult and Forbidden Knowledge
The description of a corpse-like hand and the mysterious parchment with undecipherable cuneiform characters point to forbidden or supernatural knowledge, linked to Professor Gregg's disappearance.
Madness and Psychological Horror
The woman's terror and the image of a decayed hand gripping her brother evoke psychological horror; Phillipps's insistence on scientific explanation creates tension with her perceived madness.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Charles Phillipps
The protagonist of the chapter, a scientific materialist who initially dismisses the woman's story but becomes intrigued by the mention of Professor Gregg.
- Mr. Dyson
Mentioned in Phillipps's thoughts as a friend with 'disordered fancies' who told him a story of pursuit; their debate on skepticism vs. credulity frames the chapter.
- Miss Leicester
The distressed young woman in Leicester Square who recounts her brother's disappearance and the horrifying figure with a decayed hand.
- Professor Gregg
An ethnologist whose mysterious disappearance is described by Miss Leicester; his watch, ring, and a parchment with undecipherable cuneiform were found on a hillside.
- Mr. Joseph Walters
The missing brother, described as pale, with small black whiskers and spectacles, and a timid expression.
- Mrs. Brown
Phillipps's landlady, who mistakenly threw away his stone implements, calling him 'poor Mr. Phillipps.'
Key passages
“He laughed at the witch, but quailed before the powers of the hypnotist, lifting his eyebrows when Christianity was mentioned, but adoring protyle and the ether.”
Phillipps dismissed supernatural beliefs like witchcraft but was awed by scientific concepts like hypnotism, and while he was skeptical of religion, he revered abstract scientific ideas.
Highlights Phillipps's contradictory nature as a materialist who is credulous toward science.
“The flesh was peeled in strips from the bones, and hung apart dry and granulated, and the fingers that encircled my brother's arm were all unshapen, claw-like things, and one was but a stump from which the end had rotted off.”
The hand gripping the brother's arm was decayed, with flesh peeling from the bones and fingers that were deformed and rotting.
Key horror imagery that challenges Phillipps's rationalism.
“I will never believe, nor will I pretend to believe, that two and two make five, nor will I on any pretences admit the existence of two-sided triangles.”
Phillipps declares he will never accept logical impossibilities or supernatural claims.
Illustrates his rigid scientific worldview.