Summary

This short story is structured like a play, with pauses for stage direction and all. For the vast majority of the story, the only speaker is identified as "The Father," and the only stage directions describe how nurses attending The Father have to interrupt to care for him.

The Father enters into a vicious and lengthy monologue about how he always hated his son, who appears to be his only child. Specifically, The Father notes his frustration with his son's poor hygiene -- specifically, an always-running nose, and flaky skin -- and what The Father perceives as an all-encompassing sense of selfishness. Particularly, The Father is frustrated with how his son would demand so much of his wife's attention and emotions, recalling how, when the son was sick as...