CHAPTER XIII. -Crome yellow

Henry Wimbush concludes his lifelong project, the “History of Crome,” and shares its completion with his dinner guests, sparking interest and modest pride. His history spans over three centuries, meticulously detailed from archival records, right down to the advent of the three-pronged fork, a testament to his exhaustive scholarship. The assembled company, consisting of family and a close circle of friends, reacts with a mix of admiration and curiosity to Wimbush’s monumental achievement, touching on historical family trivia, including minor scandals and tragedies that punctuated the otherwise staid lineage of the Crome estate.

In contrast, the narrative transitions into the peculiar life of Sir Hercules Lapith, a dwarf whose stature significantly influenced his existence and decisions. Born to disappointed parents who sought vainly to “correct” his size, Hercules’s life became a quest for a sense of belonging and purpose, reflecting on the societal challenges faced by those deemed physically different. His proactive stance, transforming Crome into a refuge where he surrounded himself with other dwarfs, finds its parallel in his search for a wife, leading him to Venice to marry the diminutive, yet equally refined, Filomena.

Their harmonious life, filled with shared passions for music, literature, and the outdoors, underscores a utopian reimagining of society by those who have felt marginalized. This tranquility, however, is shadowed by the growth of their son, Ferdinando, who defies his parents’ dwarfism, endangering Sir Hercules’s vision of a proportional world. Ferdinando’s eventual return from school, a full-sized man with equally large companions, marks a turning point. Their insensitivity and the disruption they bring to Crome underscore the fragility of Sir Hercules’s constructed idyll.

The stark contrast between the generations and the irreconcilable differences in their physical and social worlds culminate in a moment of crisis for Sir Hercules and Filomena. The younger men’s rowdiness, oblivious to the dignity of their hosts, signifies not just a personal affront but a symbolic displacement of Sir Hercules’s ideals by the larger, unrefined forces represented by Ferdinando and his friends. The narrative closes on a note of poignant resignation, as Sir Hercules and Filomena confront the end of their envisioned way of life, choosing a dignified exit over witnessing the erasure of their legacy and values. This chapter poignantly addresses themes of legacy, difference, and the quest for acceptance, illustrating how personal visions can clash with unyielding societal norms.