"God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" Summary

Horace returns to the clinic of Dr. Wilcox and Dr. Fischer. Dr. Wilcox is not a very good doctor and carries around a medical guide to help him treat patients. The two doctors explain to Horace that they recently had a patient come in to the clinic asking to be castrated. This patient feels guilty about his sexual thoughts and feelings. The doctors assure him that his is perfectly normal, but the patient is not convinced. The next day, which also happens to be Christmas, the patient tries to castrate himself at home. He bleeds to death because Dr. Wilcox is unable to find the proper treatment in his medical guide.

"God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" Analysis

The patient seeking to be castrated is a symbol of the oppression of Christian teachings about...