Analysis and interpretation of the “Episode” by Somerset Maugham
Analysis and interpretation of the “Episode” by Somerset Maugham The “Episode” is a short story that keeps you in a tension till the last sentence, which without any doubt is surprising. Although the main story that we are given had at least two narrators before, the main narrator that is conveying us the whole story, from the beginning to the end is probable to represent the author’s point of view. For sure he is omniscient, while he is giving lots of comments and details, he knows a lot about the characters and we know his attitude towards the story. He is also infallible because the information imparted by him are reliable and trustworthy. But why does someone else, who had never even met them, tell the story of Fred and Gracie? Maybe because at least two characters are already dead, and we don’t know what has happened to the third. Our narrator is a friend of Ned and he was touched by that story just as Ned was. Maybe reporting it was a kind of memorizing how did Ned differ from the others. Isn’t it the answer why we get such a complete picture of his features? Ned Preston was a lively bachelor who suffered from the chronic tuberculosis but couldn’t suit to the life of an invalid. His “febrile vitality” made him look for an activity, so he voluntary worked in a Wormwood Scrubs as a prison visitor. He is an important character for the whole story but the central figures were Fred Manson and Grace Carter, the two dynamic characters, who changed their lives completely because of love. We have a very vivid picture of Fred. We know that he was a vital, strong, handsome and very charming young postman, “giving the impression of just loving to be alive”.