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Memoirs of a Midget · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for Memoirs of a Midget by Walter de la Mare.

Each chapter has a companion in the reader — open a free preview to see notes beside the text.

  1. Chapter 1

    Dedication

    The author dedicates the work to the memory of their mother.

  2. Chapter 2

    Epigraph

    The epigraph presents three quotations that evoke themes of wildness, captivity, and the tension between earthly existence and celestial grace, setting a contemplative and somewhat melancholic tone for the book.

  3. Chapter 3

    Memoirs of a Midget

    The narrator reflects on their unique perspective as a person of small stature, navigating a world not built for them. The chapter explores themes of otherness, performance, and self-discovery through the narrator's interactions with society and their own internal world.

  4. Chapter 4

    Lyndsey

    The chapter introduces Midget Lyndsey, a performer at the circus, and explores the dynamics of the circus world, touching on themes of performance, otherness, and the strange allure of being on display.

  5. Chapter 5

    I

    The narrator introduces herself, correcting a false newspaper account of her life. She describes her birthplace in Lyndsey, Kent, and her childhood home, Stonecote. She recounts early memories: watching her father shave, a jackdaw at the window, and an encounter with the cat Miaou. She portrays her father as a gentle, scholarly man with many unfinished projects, and her mother as a beautiful, sometimes distant figure. The chapter establishes the narrator's small stature, her love of nature, and the bittersweet atmosphere of her early years.

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  1. Chapter 6II
  2. Chapter 7III
  3. Chapter 8IV
  4. Chapter 9V
  5. Chapter 10VI
  6. Chapter 11VII
  7. Chapter 12Beechwood
  8. Chapter 13VIII
  9. Chapter 14IX
  10. Chapter 15The Night Watch and the Return of Fanny
  11. Chapter 16XI
  12. Chapter 17XII
  13. Chapter 18XIII
  14. Chapter 19XIV
  15. Chapter 20XV
  16. Chapter 21XVI
  17. Chapter 22XVII
  18. Chapter 23Wanderslore
  19. Chapter 24XVIII
  20. Chapter 25XIX
  21. Chapter 26XX
  22. Chapter 27XXI
  23. Chapter 28XXII
  24. Chapter 29XXIII
  25. Chapter 30XXIV
  26. Chapter 31XXV
  27. Chapter 32XXVI
  28. Chapter 33XXVII
  29. Chapter 34XXVIII
  30. Chapter 35Lyme Regis
  31. Chapter 36XXIX
  32. Chapter 37The Inquest
  33. Chapter 38XXXI
  34. Chapter 39London
  35. Chapter 40XXXII
  36. Chapter 41XXXIII
  37. Chapter 42XXXIV
  38. Chapter 43XXXV
  39. Chapter 44XXXVI
  40. Chapter 45XXXVII
  41. Chapter 46XXXVIII
  42. Chapter 47XXXIX
  43. Chapter 48XL
  44. Chapter 49XLI
  45. Chapter 50XLII
  46. Chapter 51XLIII
  47. Chapter 52Monks’ House
  48. Chapter 53XLIV
  49. Chapter 54XLV
  50. Chapter 55XLVI
  51. Chapter 56XLVII
  52. Chapter 57XLVIII
  53. Chapter 58XLIX
  54. Chapter 59Wanderslore
  55. Chapter 60L
  56. Chapter 61LI
  57. Chapter 62LII
  58. Chapter 63LIII
  59. Chapter 64LIV
  60. Chapter 65Lyndsey
  61. Chapter 66LV
  62. Chapter 67Endnotes