The Skylight Room (Henry): Difference between revisions

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The Skylight Room

Summary of the book
from the Collection «The Four Million»

Microsummary: A young woman rented a small, dark room with a skylight and named a star she could see through it. Struggling to find work, she became weak from starvation until a doctor saved her life.

In a house with various rooms for rent, Mrs. Parker, the landlady, showed potential tenants around, always starting with the double parlors. She preferred renting to doctors or dentists and looked down on those who did not fit her criteria.

👩🏼‍🦳

Mrs. Parker — landlady of the house with the Skylight Room; strict, judgmental, and focused on renting to doctors or dentists.

When a young woman named Miss Elsie Leeson came looking for a room, she was shown the more expensive options first. Unable to afford them, Miss Leeson was eventually taken to the small, dark "Skylight Room" by Clara, the maid.

👩🏻‍💼

Miss Elsie Leeson — young woman who rents the Skylight Room; struggling to find work; small, with large eyes and hair; gay-hearted, whimsical, imaginative.

Despite its size and darkness, Miss Leeson took the room, as it had a skylight through which she could see a star she named "Billy Jackson."

Good-bye, Billy," she murmured faintly. "You're millions of miles away and you won't even twinkle once.

Miss Leeson worked as a typist, but soon struggled to find work and became weak from starvation. In the evenings, she would sit on the steps outside the house with other tenants, including Mr. Skidder, a playwright; Miss Longnecker, a tall blonde school teacher; Miss Dorn, a department store worker; Mr. Hoover, a 45-year-old man; and Mr. Evans, a very young man. They all enjoyed Miss Leeson's company, but Miss Longnecker and Miss Dorn were often critical of her.

One evening, Miss Leeson mentioned the star she named "Billy Jackson," which Miss Longnecker corrected as Gamma of the constellation Cassiopeia. Despite the correction, Miss Leeson continued to call the star "Billy Jackson." Eventually, Miss Leeson's health deteriorated due to her lack of work and food. One day, she collapsed in her room, and an ambulance was called.

Dr. William Jackson, the ambulance doctor, arrived and carried Miss Leeson out of the house. He was furious with Mrs. Parker for allowing her tenant to reach such a state of weakness.

👨🏻‍⚕️

Dr. William Jackson (Billy) — ambulance doctor who saves Miss Leeson; capable, confident, and caring; has a serious demeanor when attending to patients.

Dr. Jackson took Miss Leeson to Bellevue Hospital, where he said she would recover. The coincidence of the doctor's name being the same as the star Miss Leeson named added a layer of connection to the story, as the star had been a source of comfort for her during her difficult times.

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 | Genre = short story
 | Year of publication =
-| Microsummary = A landlady showed a small working girl a room on the third floor, which she took. The next morning, she was found unconscious and taken to the hospital, where the doctor said she would recover.
+| Microsummary = A young woman rented a small, dark room with a skylight and named a star she could see through it. Struggling to find work, she became weak from starvation until a doctor saved her life.
 | Wikidata =
 | Wikisource = The Four Million/The Skylight Room
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 {{Start of text}}
+In a house with various rooms for rent, Mrs. Parker, the landlady, showed potential tenants around, always starting with the double parlors. She preferred renting to doctors or dentists and looked down on those who did not fit her criteria.
-== Plot Summary ==
-A strict landlady showed a hopeful renter around her building, and eventually took her to the fourth floor, where a coloured maid showed her a small room with an iron cot, a washstand, and a chair. The renter, a small working girl, took the room and every day she went out to work. At night, she would bring home papers with handwriting on them and make copies with her typewriter. One summer evening, the small working girl pointed up to the sky and exclaimed that she could see a star that she had named Billy Jackson. The next day, the fat, flush, and foolish man seized his chance and asked her to marry him. The next morning, the coloured maid found the door to the small working girl's room locked and they had to force it open. An ambulance doctor arrived and quickly took the small working girl away in his arms, and the next morning there was a news item in the paper about the small working girl being taken to Bellevue Hospital, and the last sentence of it said that the ambulance physician who attended the case said that the patient would recover.
-== Chapter-by-Chapter Summary ==
-=== Chapter 1 ===
-Mrs. Parker was a landlady who rented out rooms in her building.
 {{Character
 | Name = Mrs. Parker
-| Description = proprietor of the boarding house; a woman in her 50s; icy stare; demon's smile
+| Description = landlady of the house with the Skylight Room; strict, judgmental, and focused on renting to doctors or dentists
-| Emoji = 👩🏼
+| Emoji = 👩🏼‍🦳
-}}
-She was very particular about who she rented to, only allowing doctors and dentists to rent the double parlours. She showed a prospective tenant the second-floor-back at $8, but the tenant wanted something cheaper. Mrs. Parker then took the tenant to look at Mr. Skidder's large hall room on the third floor, where the tenant admired the lambrequins.
-One day, Miss Leeson came hunting for a room.
-{{Character
-| Name = Miss Leeson
-| Description = a very small girl in her late teens; eyes and hair that had kept on growing; gay-hearted and full of tender, whimsical fancies; a poor little working girl; vivacious features
-| Emoji = 👧🏼
 }}
-She was a very small girl with eyes and hair that seemed to be saying, "Goodness me! Why didn't you keep up with us?" Mrs. Parker showed her the double parlours, but Miss Leeson could not afford them. Mrs. Parker then took her to Mr. Skidder's room, where Miss Leeson admired the lambrequins.
+When a young woman named Miss Elsie Leeson came looking for a room, she was shown the more expensive options first. Unable to afford them, Miss Leeson was eventually taken to the small, dark "Skylight Room" by Clara, the maid.
 {{Character
-| Name = Mr. Skidder
+| Name = Miss Elsie Leeson
-| Description = one of the roomers; wrote plays and smoked cigarettes all day; cast Miss Leeson in his mind for the star part in a private, romantic drama
+| Description = young woman who rents the Skylight Room; struggling to find work; small, with large eyes and hair; gay-hearted, whimsical, imaginative
-| Emoji = 👨🏼‍🎤
+| Emoji = 👩🏻‍💼
 }}
-After they had gone, Mr. Skidder changed the tall, black-haired heroine in his latest play to a small, roguish one with heavy, bright hair and vivacious features.
+Despite its size and darkness, Miss Leeson took the room, as it had a skylight through which she could see a star she named "Billy Jackson."
-Mrs. Parker then took Miss Leeson to the fourth floor, where Clara, the coloured maid, showed her the Skylight Room. It was a small room with an iron cot, a washstand, and a chair. There was a shelf that served as a dresser, and a skylight that let in a square of blue infinity. Miss Leeson took the room, and every day she went out to work. At night, she would bring home papers with handwriting on them and make copies with her typewriter.
+{{Quote|Good-bye, Billy," she murmured faintly. "You're millions of miles away and you won't even twinkle once.}}
-When Miss Leeson had time to sit on the steps of the building, the gentlemen roomers would quickly group around her. Especially Mr. Skidder, who had cast her in his mind for the star part in a private, romantic drama in real life. And especially Mr. Hoover, who was forty-five, fat, flush and foolish. And especially very young Mr. Evans, who set up a hollow cough to induce her to ask him to leave off cigarettes. The men voted her "the funniest and jolliest ever," but the other women in the building sniffed.
+Miss Leeson worked as a typist, but soon struggled to find work and became weak from starvation. In the evenings, she would sit on the steps outside the house with other tenants, including Mr. Skidder, a playwright; Miss Longnecker, a tall blonde school teacher; Miss Dorn, a department store worker; Mr. Hoover, a 45-year-old man; and Mr. Evans, a very young man. They all enjoyed Miss Leeson's company, but Miss Longnecker and Miss Dorn were often critical of her.
-=== Chapter 2 ===
+One evening, Miss Leeson mentioned the star she named "Billy Jackson," which Miss Longnecker corrected as Gamma of the constellation Cassiopeia. Despite the correction, Miss Leeson continued to call the star "Billy Jackson." Eventually, Miss Leeson's health deteriorated due to her lack of work and food. One day, she collapsed in her room, and an ambulance was called.
-It was a summer evening and Mrs. Parker's roomers were gathered together. Miss Leeson, a small working girl, pointed up to the sky and exclaimed that she could see a star that she had named Billy Jackson. Miss Longnecker, another tenant, corrected her, saying that it was Gamma of the constellation Cassiopeia. Mr. Hoover, a forty-five year old man who was fat, flush, and foolish, defended Miss Leeson, saying that she had just as much right to name stars as any of the old astrologers.
+Dr. William Jackson, the ambulance doctor, arrived and carried Miss Leeson out of the house. He was furious with Mrs. Parker for allowing her tenant to reach such a state of weakness.
-Miss Leeson then began to tell them about how she could see Billy Jackson from her skylight room. She said that it was like the shaft of a coal mine, and that it made Billy Jackson look like a big diamond pin.
+{{Character
+| Name = Dr. William Jackson (Billy)
-The next day, Miss Leeson had not had dinner and when she returned to the building, Mr. Hoover seized his chance and asked her to marry him. She dodged and caught the balustrade, and then slowly made her way up the stairs to her skylight room. She was too weak to light the lamp or to undress, so she just lay on the iron cot and looked up at Billy Jackson. She tried to raise her arm and blew a kiss out to the star, saying goodbye.
+| Description = ambulance doctor who saves Miss Leeson; capable, confident, and caring; has a serious demeanor when attending to patients
+| Emoji = 👨🏻‍⚕️
-The next morning, Clara, the coloured maid, found the door to Miss Leeson's room locked and they had to force it open. Vinegar, and the slapping of wrists and burnt feathers proving of no avail, someone ran to 'phone for an ambulance. The ambulance doctor arrived and quickly took Miss Leeson away in his arms. Mrs. Parker followed slowly, and when she met the doctor coming back down the stairs, he let loose the practised scalpel of his tongue.
+}}
-The next morning, there was a news item in the paper about Miss Leeson being taken to Bellevue Hospital, and the last sentence of it said that Dr. William Jackson, the ambulance physician who attended the case, said that the patient would recover.
+Dr. Jackson took Miss Leeson to Bellevue Hospital, where he said she would recover. The coincidence of the doctor's name being the same as the star Miss Leeson named added a layer of connection to the story, as the star had been a source of comfort for her during her difficult times.
 {{End of text}}