The Jolly Corner story
A gentleman prowls the now-empty New York house where he grew up. It is based on the 1908 Henry James short story of the same name.
12 total · 2 choice · 3 major · 7 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| coming to terms with one's past | choice | Spencer pondered to the point of obsession what sort of man he would have become had he stayed in New York instead of spending 33 years abroad as he had done. |
| reflecting on the person one might have been | choice | Spencer contemplated about the man he might have become had he not spent the duration of the Civil War living comfortably in Europe. |
| confronting an old ghost | major | Spencer was haunted by a decision he'd made years ago to move abroad to avoid fighting in the civil war. |
| friendship | major | Spencer rekindled a relationship with his old friend, Alice Staverton. |
| what if my personal identity came into question | major | Spencer grappled with an imagined alter ego, the man who stayed and fought in the war. |
| American Civil War | minor | One gathers that Spencer had fled to Europe to avoid involving himself in this war. |
| cowardice | minor | Spencer stated that some men considered him to be a coward (for having scuttled off to Europe before the outbreak of the civial war). |
| cross cultural issue | minor | A clear distinction between the character of European culture and American culture was noted by Spencer many times. |
| discovering a hidden talent | minor | Spencer was surprised to find that he had an innate talent for business. |
| ghost | minor | One interpretation of the story is that the house was haunted by Spencer’s American alter ego. |