The Green Door (Henry): Difference between revisions

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| Cycle = [[The Four Million (Henry)|The Four Million]]
| Cycle = [[The Four Million (Henry)|The Four Million]]
| Author = O. Henry
| Author = O. Henry
| Genre = short story
| Literary form = short story
| Year of publication =
| Year of publication =
| Microsummary = A young adventurer, intrigued by mysterious cards, discovered a starving girl behind a green door. He provided her food and comfort, and they bonded over their shared loneliness in the city.
| Microsummary = A young adventurer followed a mysterious clue to a green door, where he found a starving girl. He helped her by providing food and company, believing fate had brought them together.
| Wikidata =  
| Wikidata =  
| Wikisource = The Four Million/The Green Door
| Wikisource = The Four Million/The Green Door
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{{Start of text}}
{{Start of text}}


Rudolf Steiner is a true adventurer, always looking for the unexpected and the egregious. One evening, he is handed a card by a giant African man, dressed in a red embroidered coat, yellow trousers and a military cap, who is discreetly distributing cards to those of the passing crowd who consent to take them.  
Rudolf Steiner, a young piano salesman and true adventurer, was walking down the street one evening when he encountered a giant African man dressed in a colorful outfit. The man handed him a mysterious card with the words "The Green Door" written on it.


{{Character
{{Character
| Name = Rudolf Steiner
| Name = Rudolf Steiner
| Description = young adventurer in his 20s; piano salesman; pleasing presence, topaz ring in his tie; true follower of adventure; grey eyes, chestnut hair, pert nose
| Description = young piano salesman; true adventurer; pleasing presence, watchful; curious, romantic, helpful
| Emoji = 🧔🏼‍♂️
| Emoji = 👨🏻‍💼
}}
}}
Intrigued, Rudolf decided to follow the clue and found himself in a building with several green doors. He knocked on one of them and discovered a young woman inside, who was starving and alone in the city.


{{Character
{{Character
| Name = African
| Name = The Girl
| Description = giant negro, fantastically dressed in a red embroidered coat, yellow trousers and a military cap; discreetly distributed cards to those of the passing crowd; cold, contemptuous disdain
| Description = young woman in her late teens; starving, alone in the city; thin, pale, grey eyes, chestnut hair; resilient, grateful, honest
| Emoji = 🤴🏿
| Emoji = 👩🏻
}}
}}


Rudolf looks at the card and sees that it is blank, except for the words "The Green Door" written in ink. He notices that other people are being handed the same card, and when he turns them over, they all bear the printed legend of a dentist's parlours.
Rudolf quickly went out to buy food for the girl, bringing back an array of groceries and restaurant items. They shared a meal together, and the girl began to regain her strength. She told Rudolf her story of being a shop girl with insufficient wages, losing her job due to illness, and eventually finding herself in desperate circumstances.


Rudolf is intrigued and decides to investigate. He walks up the steps of the building and finds a green door at the top of the stairs. He knocks and a young girl, not yet twenty, answers the door.  
{{Quote|
"You try going without anything to eat for three days and see!"
}}
 
Rudolf sympathized with her and promised to return the next day to check on her.
 
{{Quote|
"I'm coming back to-morrow to see how you are getting along. You can't get rid of me so easily."
}}
 
When he left the girl's apartment, Rudolf continued to explore the building and discovered that all the doors were painted green. He then confronted the giant African man, who revealed that the mysterious cards were actually advertisements for a play called "The Green Door."


{{Character
{{Character
| Name = Girl
| Name = The Giant African Man
| Description = not yet 20; white-faced and tottering; grey eyes, little nose, chestnut hair; extreme poverty; frank, grey eyes, little nose, chestnut hair; woefully thin and pale
| Description = large, fantastically dressed man; distributes cards for a dentist and a play; dignified, good-natured, mysterious
| Emoji = 👩🏻
| Emoji = 👳🏿‍♂️
}}
}}


She is pale and weak, having gone without food for three days. Rudolf takes her inside and brings her food from the grocery and the restaurant. As she eats, she tells him her story of being a shop girl with insufficient wages, further reduced by "fines" that go to swell the store's profits, and of time lost through illness, leading to her losing her job and ending up at the green door.
Despite this revelation, Rudolf still believed that fate had led him to the girl.
 
Rudolf is moved by her story and promises to come back the next day to check on her. As he leaves, he notices that all the doors in the building are painted green. He confronts the African man with the cards and the man tells him that the cards were for a play called "The Green Door" at a nearby theatre.


At the corner of the block, Rudolf stops for a glass of beer and a cigar. As he smokes, he reflects that it was the hand of Fate that led him to the green door.
The next day, Rudolf returned to the girl's apartment as promised. They continued to bond over their shared experiences of being alone in the city, and Rudolf lied about how he had found her, saying it was a mistake. The girl seemed to accept his explanation, and they continued to grow closer. Throughout the story, Rudolf's adventurous spirit and willingness to help the girl in need demonstrated his kind and caring nature, while the girl's resilience and honesty made her a sympathetic character. The mysterious cards and the giant African man added an element of intrigue to the story, ultimately leading Rudolf to believe that fate had played a role in bringing them together.


{{End of text}}
{{End of text}}

Latest revision as of 09:11, 14 May 2023

Disclaimer: This summary was generated by AI, so it may contain errors.
The Green Door
 
Summary of the Short Story
from the Collection «The Four Million»
Microsummary: A young adventurer followed a mysterious clue to a green door, where he found a starving girl. He helped her by providing food and company, believing fate had brought them together.

Rudolf Steiner, a young piano salesman and true adventurer, was walking down the street one evening when he encountered a giant African man dressed in a colorful outfit. The man handed him a mysterious card with the words "The Green Door" written on it.

👨🏻‍💼
Rudolf Steiner — young piano salesman; true adventurer; pleasing presence, watchful; curious, romantic, helpful.

Intrigued, Rudolf decided to follow the clue and found himself in a building with several green doors. He knocked on one of them and discovered a young woman inside, who was starving and alone in the city.

👩🏻
The Girl — young woman in her late teens; starving, alone in the city; thin, pale, grey eyes, chestnut hair; resilient, grateful, honest.

Rudolf quickly went out to buy food for the girl, bringing back an array of groceries and restaurant items. They shared a meal together, and the girl began to regain her strength. She told Rudolf her story of being a shop girl with insufficient wages, losing her job due to illness, and eventually finding herself in desperate circumstances.

"You try going without anything to eat for three days and see!"

Rudolf sympathized with her and promised to return the next day to check on her.

"I'm coming back to-morrow to see how you are getting along. You can't get rid of me so easily."

When he left the girl's apartment, Rudolf continued to explore the building and discovered that all the doors were painted green. He then confronted the giant African man, who revealed that the mysterious cards were actually advertisements for a play called "The Green Door."

👳🏿‍♂️
The Giant African Man — large, fantastically dressed man; distributes cards for a dentist and a play; dignified, good-natured, mysterious.

Despite this revelation, Rudolf still believed that fate had led him to the girl.

The next day, Rudolf returned to the girl's apartment as promised. They continued to bond over their shared experiences of being alone in the city, and Rudolf lied about how he had found her, saying it was a mistake. The girl seemed to accept his explanation, and they continued to grow closer. Throughout the story, Rudolf's adventurous spirit and willingness to help the girl in need demonstrated his kind and caring nature, while the girl's resilience and honesty made her a sympathetic character. The mysterious cards and the giant African man added an element of intrigue to the story, ultimately leading Rudolf to believe that fate had played a role in bringing them together.