The Pupil Summary

A young man named Pemberton is hired by Mrs. Moreen as tutor for her frail twelve-year-old son, Morgan, more often referred to as the pupil. As she makes the offer, she runs a pair of soiled suede gloves through her hands. Pemberton, like many of James' heroes, is weak, ineffective and afraid of his own shadow. Specifically, he is too frightened by the exotic Mrs. Moreen to even ask how much he will be paid for the job. When he finally asks Mr. Moreen, the boy's father agrees to a generous salary, perhaps too readily. Pemberton is too timid to mention that he has not been paid, even when the situation continues for months at a time.

The Moreens are a flamboyant American family far more interesting than their tutor. Mr. Moreen and his older son, twenty-year-old Ulrick, always conduct themselves...