How It Happened

by

Arthur Conan Doyle

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How It Happened Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
A writing medium tells a story. The narrator of the medium’s story begins to recount an evening from the past. However, his memory is fuzzy, and he struggles to piece together all the details of the story. He has trouble remembering specific reasons for going to London and coming back late, but he can vividly recall everything that happened after arriving at the country station. His memory is so clear that he claims he could relive every moment of it.
By presenting this tale as something that has come from a writing medium (that is, somebody who can communicate with the dead and write down the results), “How It Happened” creates a sense of mystery for the reader from the very start. This sense of mystery is further compounded by the narrator’s inexplicably inconsistent memory. His inability to remember why he went to London contrasts with his sharp recollection of the ensuing evening, suggesting that something memorable or even traumatic must have happened. Combined with the puzzling presence of the writing medium, this sets an ominous tone for the rest of the story, foreshadowing the mysterious and supernatural events that will take later place.
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Quotes
The narrator remembers reading the station’s clock and wondering whether he could get home by midnight. He then remembers that his new car—a 30-horsepower Robur—was waiting for him outside. He proudly relates the flashy new features of the car, detailing its powerful headlights, large motor, and polished brass exterior. He remembers that, when asked, his chauffeur Perkins reported that the car had driven “excellent.”
Foreshadowing his beautiful but apocalyptic vision of the car later in the story, the narrator admires the Robur’s flashy new features. Though they seem to embody technological progress, the car’s new “features” ultimately become monstrous and deadly. As such, this scene sets the framework for the narrator’s fatal attraction to his car’s aesthetic qualities and hints at the dangers of technology when seen as an aesthetic object.
Themes
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Loyalty, Selfishness, and Inequality Theme Icon
Death and the Supernatural Theme Icon
Quotes
Perkins offers to drive due to the narrator’s unfamiliarity with the new gears, but the narrator refuses, insisting on driving the car himself. The narrator compares the gears of the new car to those of his old car, recalling how he thought he had figured out how to operate them at the time. In hindsight, he admits it was foolish to try and learn a new system in the dark, but he defends himself by saying that people don't often have to "pay the full price” for "foolish" mistakes. Despite his unfamiliarity, the narrator successfully drives the car until he arrives at Claystall Hill, which he describes as one of the worst hills in England. His house is located at the foot of the hill, and he will have to drive over it to get home.
The narrator proceeds to drive his new car and is lured into a false sense of confidence. Though in retrospect the narrator admits it was foolish to try and drive, he justifies his actions by saying that people do not often have to “pay” for the consequences of their “foolish” actions. As such, the relationship between the narrator’s arrogance and privilege becomes apparent here. While he does not explicitly say it, it seems that this belief stems from his experience as person of privilege—his wealth and social class have always allowed him to get away with his mistakes. This is further illustrated in the narrator’s decision to continue driving, despite knowing how dangerous Claystall Hill is. The narrator feels invincible, and he does not believe that anything bad could happen to him.
Themes
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Loyalty, Selfishness, and Inequality Theme Icon
Death and the Supernatural Theme Icon
Quotes
The narrator is driving the car down Claystall Hill when the brakes fail. Despite his efforts to stop the car using both the footbrake and the side-brake, both systems fail, and the car continues to accelerate down the hill. The narrator successfully navigates the first two curves but realizes he will have to negotiate a mile of straight road with a third curve at the end before he reaches the safety of his driveway. He believes that if they can make it to the driveway, the slope up to the house should bring the car to a stop.
Despite the car’s superior technological features and handling, both of its breaks fail under the narrator’s supervision. This is ironic, given the narrator’s insistence on driving the car despite Perkins’s warnings not to, as well as the fact that the car is supposedly so advanced and capable. Furthermore, this scene suggests that contrary to the narrator’s belief, people do in fact have to pay for the consequences of their actions. Though his wealth and privilege may have protected him before, the narrator’s rank and status can do nothing to stop the car now. That the narrator’s arrogant indifference to danger threatens both his and Perkins’s downfall also shows the narrator’s selfishness.
Themes
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The narrator admires Perkins's calm demeanor during the crisis and, in the story’s present, notes that he would “like that to be known.” Perkins advises the narrator not to drive onto the banks because the car will flip over. The narrator agrees, and Perkins then offers to take the wheel and let the narrator jump out to safety, saying they will not be able to get around the third and final curve. The narrator refuses to abandon the car and instead suggests that Perkins jump out if he wishes. Perkins also refuses, saying he will remain with the narrator.
Once again, Perkins gives the narrator sage advice, but this time the narrator actually takes it. This improves their situation, but only momentarily. When they both refuse to jump, it might seem as if there’s an equal amount of respect and loyalty between them, but the circumstances reveal that this isn’t quite the case. Whereas Perkins immediately thinks to sacrifice himself for his master, the narrator only makes his offer after Perkins has already done so. Furthermore, the gesture is made meaningless by the fact that he was already planning on staying in the car; offering to let Perkins jump requires no real sacrifice on his part.  
Themes
Privilege, Arrogance, and Consequences Theme Icon
Loyalty, Selfishness, and Inequality Theme Icon
Quotes
The narrator describes what he would have tried with his old car to improve the situation. As it is, however, he admits he is “helpless.” Perkins leans across the car to help, but the car is moving too fast for him to do anything. Though the car is groaning from the strain of its large frame moving at such a speed, the narrator cannot help but admire its steering abilities and bright lights. He fantasizes about how they would look to a bystander, imagining them as a “great, roaring, golden death.”
Faced with his inability to rectify the situation, the narrator admits he is helpless. His confidence and arrogance from earlier are completely gone, and he can only passively sit back and watch what is happening to him. Accordingly, the narrator’s wealth and privilege are stripped away, showing them to be useless in saving him from disaster. As such, this scene is a perfect example of cosmic irony: the narrator’s arrogant dismissal of Perkins’s warning has backfired, and now he is forced to face the consequences of his actions. This irony is true also of the narrator’s relationship to his car, and therein, technology. What initially seemed like a beacon of human progress has now become monstrous and deadly. 
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Quotes
Despite the narrator's attempts to navigate the car around the third curve, they end up running one of the wheels up onto the bank. The narrator fears the car will flip over, but the car rights itself and continues on its way. As they come down the main road, the narrator tries to turn the car towards the open gate on the left, but the damaged steering makes it difficult to control the car (or so he claims). Despite his efforts, the car crashes into the right-hand pillar of the narrator's own gate at a high speed, causing the narrator to be thrown from the car.
After narrowly avoiding crashing several times, Perkins and the narrator are confronted by their last obstacle: the front gate of the house. The narrator, speaking now in the present tense, claims that he might have been able to save them had the steering not been broken. There is no way of knowing whether this is true or not, but this does register as another instance of the narrator’s arrogance and selfishness. Having already admitted his helplessness, he wants to continue to distance himself from the blame of an accident that is almost entirely his fault.  In spite of this, the universe seems intent upon highlighting his culpability in the whole affair by sending the car crashing into the pillar of his own gate.
Themes
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The narrator wakes up from the crash in a pile of brushwood to find a man standing next to him. He thinks it's Perkins at first, but he soon realizes it's Stanley, an old college friend whom he has great affection for. He describes the fondness he feels for Stanley and feels pride that Stanley might feel the same about him. The narrator is surprised to see Stanley but is disoriented after the car crash and unprepared to question the circumstances. He describes himself as “giddy” and “shaken,” like a “man in a dream.”
This scene returns to the dreamy and mysterious atmosphere that started the story. Not only does the narrator suddenly emerge into consciousness feeling like a “man in a dream,” but he does so to find his old friend, Stanley, waiting for him. Though this in part reemphasizes the theme of loyalty, Stanley’s unexpected and inexplicable appearance mainly functions to once again instill a sense of unease in the reader. Even the narrator admits his surprise at finding Stanley standing there, though in the excitement of the crash he readily brushes this off. For the reader, however, Stanley’s sudden arrival raises questions, reminding the reader that everything might not be what it seems. Like at the beginning of the story, this scene suggests that something strange—and potentially supernatural—is taking place.
Themes
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Death and the Supernatural Theme Icon
Quotes
The narrator comments on the intensity of the crash. His friend Stanley nods in agreement, smiling his characteristically wistful smile. The narrator is unable to move, but he does not want to. His senses are sharp, however, and he sees the car wreck in the lantern light. There is a group of people speaking softly near the wreckage, and he identifies them as the lodgekeeper and the lodgekeeper’s wife, plus a few others. They appear not to notice the narrator, however, seeming preoccupied with the car. The narrator hears a cry of pain.
After recovering from the surprise of seeing Stanley, the narrator notices some more strange things about his circumstances: namely, that he's unable to move and that nobody seems to notice him. Though he brushes these details off, they begin to seem more and more suspect, especially after the inexplicable arrival of Stanley. Something seems to have happened to the narrator during the car crash, though it is not yet clear what.
Themes
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The narrator hears a voice instruct someone to lift something off “him.” The narrator recognizes Perkins’s voice exclaiming that it’s just his leg and asking where his master is. The narrator calls out, but no one appears to hear him. They seem preoccupied with something lying in front of the car. Stanley touches the narrator’s shoulder reassuringly, which makes the narrator feel better. The narrator tells Stanley that there is no pain, to which Stanley enigmatically responds, “there never is.” The narrator suddenly remembers that Stanley is dead, having died of enteric disease in the Boer War. In shock, the narrator tells Stanley of his revelation. Stanley looks at the narrator with his kind, melancholic smile and tells him that he, too, is dead.
The narrator’s increasing confusion transforms into a revelation at the end of the story, as he finally realizes he’s dead. The strange phenomena which the narrator had been experiencing up to this point—like not feeling his body or not being heard—suddenly become legible as cleverly placed “clues” of his death in the car accident. As a ghost, the narrator no longer has a body, nor can he directly communicate with the living world—only with other ghosts like his long-deceased friend Stanley. This also explains the presence of the writing medium at the beginning of the story: without her, it would be impossible for the narrator to narrate the events leading up to and after his own death. The “consciousness” which the narrator wakes into after the car crash, in other words, is that of the narrator’s ghost or spirit. As such, this section deals heavily with the themes of death and supernaturalism. Though he is dead, the narrator’s ability to communicate with readers suggests that the dead might not be as distant—nor as different—as we might typically think.
Themes
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Quotes