In regard to his maintaining his angle of narration so perfectly, he says this phase of his craft is rather instinctive. “Even before I became conscious of the force of a single point of view I somehow managed to achieve it without thinking about it at all.”
Plot. The story being a psychological study of a man who was untrue to himself and paid the penalty, one might expect to find a lack of external incident. Here the author accomplishes the difficult thing in that he has developed an outer action, which thus objectively exploits the mental processes.
Initial Incident. (Anticipated by the cumulative effect of the Italian’s playing.) Suvaroff visits his next door neighbor to remonstrate against the accordion. He learns that the Italian fears death at the hands of Flavio Minetti, and he goes without stating the object of his visit. (Notice that the theme is struck in the Italian’s reason for fear: he had laughed at Minetti.)
Steps toward the Climax: Suvaroff betrays to Minetti the whereabouts of the Italian. Before he does so, Minetti warns him of the results of his so doing, thus preparing for the next period of the action. Minetti kills the Italian. Suvaroff sleeps. He goes to breakfast; he hears a man has been murdered. During the day he leaves the wine-shop where he plays the violin (a significant outer act reflecting his mental state). His mind wanders; he thinks he dreamed last night. Arriving at his rooms he finds the Italian’s mother. She divulges that her son played to give pleasure to Suvaroff. Minetti enters and bestows money on the old woman. Suvaroff begs the hunchback, “Tell me in what fashion do these people laugh at you?” (This is a minor climax, one stage of the turning of Suvaroff’s fortunes. But since he is not yet able to laugh, his life is in no danger from Minetti. Had he not laughed, he would have lived.) Minetti begs Suvaroff to go away; but he declares that he cannot. Suvaroff finds a squalid wine-shop where he sits watching the shadows. He finds he may learn to laugh at them, but not “at a man’s soul.” He buys a pistol. Minetti says he will never use it. He tells Minetti of the wine-shop pictures. While Suvaroff sits studying the pictures a new one appears.
Dramatic Climax: He laughs, then turns and sees Minetti.
Steps toward the Climax of Action: Suvaroff goes home, undresses deliberately, and goes to bed—knowing he will sleep.
Climax of Action: He hears the steps pattering along the hall, and draws the bed-clothes higher.
Dénouement: Constructed by the reader, who has, however, no choice.
Setting. San Francisco. “Fancy a novel about Chicago or Buffalo, let us say, or Nashville, Tennessee! There are just three big cities in the United States that are ‘story cities’—New York, of course, New Orleans, and, best of the lot, San Francisco.”—Frank Norris is thus quoted by O. Henry at the beginning of “A Municipal Report,” which (frequently proclaimed O. Henry’s best story) has its setting in Nashville. How many of the stories in this collection have their settings in New York? in San Francisco? What other localities are represented? What do you conclude?
How has Mr. Dobie kept setting before the reader? Is it the same city as Mrs. Atherton uses in “The Sacrificial Altar”? Has it the same atmosphere?