Summary
Chapter name-The snake and the mirror
- The story –The snake and the mirror is an example of narrative within narrative. The writer conveys to us the story told to him by a homeopathic doctor. The homoeopathic doctor used to live in a rented room that was in the outhouse. His room contained two windows and a tiled roof. The tiles present were supported by gables that had rested on a beam and the room doesn’t consist of any electricity. The place was also full of rats. The doctor narrated that it was a hot summer night. He completed his meals at the restaurant and returned to his home. The house had no electricity. So, the doctor lit the kerosene lamp. After that, the doctor took off his coat and shirt and opened the two windows of his room.
After a while, he sat down on a chair and took out a book. On a table, a large mirror was set. He picked up the comb and parted his hair. He looked at the mirror and started practising an attractive smile. The room was full of rats and they used to make a lot of noise. Gradually, he changed his thoughts from admiring himself to planning his marriage. He thought of marrying a wealthy doctor with good medical practice. Also, he would choose a fat lady as his wife so that if he ever made some silly mistake she could not run after him to catch him. He was so engrossed in his thoughts he didn’t pay much attention to the sudden silence. The rats had stopped running and suddenly a loud thud was heard. As he turned to look, a fat snake landed on his shoulder. Before the doctor could react to anything, the snake had coiled himself around his left arm above the elbow. The hood of the snake was spread out and his head was hardly three to four inches away from his face. The doctor, scared, sat there like a stone, afraid to move thinking that the snake could attack. He thought of various medicines he had and if they were good enough to protect him if the snake bites him.
In this fearful moment, the poet realised the presence of God. He realised that he was just a poor man and which is nothing to boast about. The moment he realised his true worth, the snake crawled and sat in the front of the mirror kept on the table. The snake thought of watching his reflection more closely. This was the right time for the doctor to save himself. He got up from the chair very slowly and ran out of the house. The next morning when he returned to his room, he realised all his belongings were robbed except the dirty vest hanging on his room’s hanger.
As the doctor concluded his story, the listeners were very eager to know about the whereabouts of the snake and asked him several questions related to it. The doctor finally wrapped up the story stating that he never saw the snake again and assumed that it was taken away by its beauty.