Can Such Things Be? · Chapter
I: One Does Not Always Eat What Is on the Table explained
An inquest is held in a remote cabin for the deceased Hugh Morgan.
What happens
An inquest is held in a remote cabin for the deceased Hugh Morgan. The coroner reads from an old account book found among Morgan's effects. A young journalist, William Harker, arrives late, having posted an account of the events to his newspaper as fiction. He is sworn in and begins to testify about the circumstances of Morgan's death.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.
- Setup
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This passage marks the dramatic climax because it presents the emotional and psychological peak of the narrato…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Death and the Supernatural
The chapter opens with a dead body and an inquest, setting a somber and mysterious tone.
- Isolation and Terror
The remote cabin and the wilderness sounds emphasize the isolation and eerie atmosphere surrounding the death.
Characters to notice
- Hugh Morgan
Deceased; the subject of the inquest.
- William Harker
Witness; a journalist who was visiting Morgan and has written an account of his death.
Key passages
“One Does Not Always Eat What Is on the Table”
Things are not always as they appear or as one expects.
The chapter title hints at deception or hidden truths.
“Against a sombre background humor shows high lights. Soldiers in the intervals of battle laugh easily, and a jest in the death chamber conquers by surprise.”
Humor stands out in grim situations, just as soldiers laugh during lulls in battle; a joke in a death chamber is unexpected and disarming.
The narrator comments on the jurors' laughter at the coroner's dry remark.
