Chapter 4 Summary

May's health is failing rapidly now; she has become frail and confined to her house. He goes to see her one afternoon, and they discuss the "thing." She seems to be trying to tell him what she knows—who the Beast is—but is too weak.

Chapter 4 Analysis

There are few characters in this story. The major one, the protagonist, of course, is John Marcher, who is joined by May Bartram, and the two of them become one character, in a sense, in their "watching" for the Beast. They separate and become distinct characters after she becomes ill in this chapter and it is obvious that she knows who the Beast is, yet is unable to communicate that knowledge to the thickheaded Marcher.