Memoirs of a Midget · Chapter
II explained
The narrator reflects on her secluded childhood in a large garden, her small stature, her relationship with her parents, and the gifts from her French grandfather.
What happens
The narrator reflects on her secluded childhood in a large garden, her small stature, her relationship with her parents, and the gifts from her French grandfather. She describes her early self-awareness, her love of nature, and her encounters with others like Adam Waggett and Miss Fenne.
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 Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
This passage marks the dramatic climax because the narrator achieves a psychological turning point by explicit…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Solitude and Self-Discovery
The narrator finds peace and self-awareness in her solitary garden retreat, where she forgets the burden of her birth and feels at one with nature.
- Otherness and Identity
The narrator becomes aware of her small stature as a source of difference and disappointment to her parents, and grapples with her identity as a 'midget.'
- Nature and the Sublime
The narrator's detailed descriptions of the garden, stream, and creatures evoke a profound, almost mystical connection with the natural world.
Characters to notice
- Unknown (Narrator)
Reflects on her childhood, her size, her love of solitude in the garden, and her relationship with her parents and grandfather.
- Pollie
The narrator's nursemaid, who sometimes leaves her alone in the garden.
- Miss Fenne
The narrator's godmother, who visits on Christmas morning and calls her a 'Shrimp,' causing distress.
- Adam Waggett
A bumpkin son of a village friend, invited to tea in the kitchen; the narrator finds him coarse and distasteful.
- Mr. Bowater
The narrator's father, who reads lessons 'like a miner prophet' and has a round red face.
- Mrs. Bowater
The narrator's mother, who is shy of her and seldom takes her abroad; she answers the narrator's questions about her origins.
Key passages
“A stream of water ran on the southern side all the length of the garden, under a high, rocky bank (its boundary) which was densely overhung with ash and willow, and hedges of brier and bramble looped with bindweed, goose-grass, and traveller’s joy.”
A stream bordered the southern edge of the garden, shaded by a rocky bank thick with trees and tangled vines.
Describes the natural setting where the narrator often sits alone.
“But then, does anyone ask questions like that until they cannot be answered?”
People only ask such painful questions when it's too late to get a truthful answer.
Reflects the narrator's regret about not asking her mother directly about her size.
“Shrimp! I had seen the loathsome, doubled-up creatures (in their boiled state) on a kitchen plate. My blood turned to vinegar; and in”
The word 'Shrimp' horrified her, as she associated it with the boiled, curled-up creatures on a plate, and it made her feel bitter.
Reaction to Miss Fenne's insulting nickname.
