The Small Bachelor · Theme
Authority and Rebellion
How The Small Bachelor develops Authority and Rebellion.
Characters frequently challenge or subvert authority figures, such as Mrs. Waddington's control over her household, the bumbling policeman Garroway, and the butler Ferris's secret journalism, creating comedic tension between order and chaos.
Where it surfaces
- IV
Hamilton Beamish defies the police and the law, ordering Garroway to drop the arrest and alter the law.
- IV
George's fear of Officer Garroway and his defiance of the law by hiding reflect tension with authority.
- I
Officer Garroway asserts police authority, arresting Mrs. Waddington and Lord Hunstanton, while Ferris subtly defies Mrs. Waddington's demands.
- III
Officer Garroway asserts authority by appointing Ferris as deputy, while Mrs. Waddington and Lord Hunstanton rebel against their confinement.