The phenomenon of mistaken or unknown identity, often employed to establish a clever plot turn or a striking irony, can be found in many variations in the earliest recorded literature: the stable boy turns out to be the king's son; the farm girl is really the princess; and in a more modern example, Tom is really of genteel birth in Henry Fielding's novel, Tom Jones (1749). Red's cynicism, however, probably stems from both Maugham's personal vision of life and from his intense readings of Guy de Maupassant (especially "The Piece of String" and "The Necklace"), whom Maugham recognized as a powerful influence—both as to technique (particularly stylistic economy) and attitudes.

The device of the semi-narrator (Neilson shifts into third person in telling Red's story) is also time-honored. Numerous writers have utilized this device of having one character relate important events to one or several other...