The Secret History

Richard dreads the end of his first semester at Hampden. As the weather starts to get colder, he wonders what he will do over winter break. He doesn’t want to return to Plano, where his parents have made friends with the MacNatts, “a gabby, childless couple.” Meanwhile, Henry and Bunny are planning a trip to Italy, and Francis and the twins intend to travel within the U.S. to see their respective families. Francis and the twins both invite Richard to stay with them, but Richard is concerned about money and doesn’t want to tell his friends the truth about his finances. Richard knows he needs to make money over break if he wants to continue living like he has over the past semester. Richard’s plan is to continue working for Dr. Roland and live in a warehouse owned by an old hippie for free.

The last week of the semester is busy for everyone except Richard. In particular, Bunny is occupied by a paper on John Donne, which Richard describes as “the worst of all the bad papers he ever wrote.” Ironically, a reworked version of this paper ended up in People magazine after Bunny’s death. The paper is about the relationship between John Donne and Isaak Walton, whom Bunny argues are connected by “Metahemeralism.” Everyone tells Bunny that the paper is not a good idea—in fact, they are unsure whether Metahemeralism is even a word—but he writes it anyway. The final product is triple-spaced and ends with the sentence, “And as we leave Donne and Walton on the shores of Metahemeralism, we wave a fond farewell to those famous chums of yore.” The other Greek students are unsure of whether Bunny will pass.

In the following days, everyone leaves campus except Richard. The twins are the last to leave, and Richard sees them off on a cold, snowy morning. Camilla gives Richard a big hug before departing and Richard recalls, “I had never seen anyone so maddeningly beautiful as she was at that moment.” After the twins leave, Richard is left alone on the cold, dark campus. He is “as depressed as [he’s] ever been” as he makes his way back to his dorm room and falls into bed.

Richard packs up all of his things—which don’t amount to much—and begins a trek through the snow to get to his new living quarters. It is a long walk, especially with two suitcases in the snow, and Richard is alarmed by the location. The warehouse is near Prospect Street in East Hampden, a place Richard has never been before. Prospect Street is located in a run-down section of Hampden, which is known as an epicenter for violent crime. When Richard arrives at his new accommodations, things only get worse. There is trash all over the floor of his room and the roof has a large hole in it where the cold and the snow can get in.

Only in retrospect does Richard recognize how dangerous these living arrangements were. It would’ve been fairly easy for him to freeze to death. Previous students who lived in the room came equipped with blankets and heaters to survive the winter. However, Richard brought almost nothing to keep himself warm and doesn’t have the wherewithal to buy anything. Furthermore, the hole in the roof is apparently a new addition to the space, which previous students didn’t have to deal with.

To combat his terrible living conditions, Richard spends as much time elsewhere as possible. He works long hours for Dr. Roland, who eventually gives him a raise because he is impressed with his work ethic. Dr. Roland is unaware of Richard’s living situation and doesn’t realize that his efforts will revert to the way they were before as soon as break is over. However, eventually, Richard is forced to return to the warehouse where he experiences the worst cold weather of his life. Leo, the old hippie, is regularly angry with Richard because he doesn’t spend any time carving boards—which Richard is supposed to do as payment for living in the warehouse—but Richard doesn’t feel bad because the accommodations are terrible. One day, Richard tries to fix the hole in the roof, but in doing so he falls, cuts himself, and has to get a tetanus shot.

Throughout the winter, Richard receives mail from his friends. Charles and Camilla send him cookies from their grandmother and Bunny sends a postcard from Rome. Charles and Camilla write letters, some of which inquire about Richard’s housing situation, but he responds vaguely so as not to give them an idea of what is really going on. Richard writes his letters whenever he gets a chance, which is often while he is in the Commons where he spends his evenings until he is told to leave.

Richard doesn’t interact within anyone over the course of winter break—mostly by choice—and this only makes him more depressed. Every day, on his way back and forth from work, he stops on a bridge and looks down at the river. He thinks about what it would be like to jump off the bridge and kill himself. In his dreams, he pictures himself as a corpse, frozen to death. Although Dr. Roland is supposed to be a psychologist, he never seems to notice that something is wrong with Richard. However, he does repeatedly mention that he’s seen Richard’s friend in town— “Great big boy. Wears glasses”—though Richard thinks that he must be mistaken. On one occasion, Richard decides to call his parents, hoping they will cheer him up, but when his dad answers the phone with a “beery and irritated” voice, Richard changes his mind and hangs up.

Eventually, the temperature drops so low that Richard is forced to stay in a cheap motel. He is the only resident other than the owner. One night, while sleeping in the motel, he wakes up from a nightmare to find his door handle slowly turning. He shouts, “Who’s there?” and it stops. After this incident, Richard decides that he would rather risk death from sleeping in the cold than spend another night in the motel.

February arrives and the cold begins to make Richard delirious. While working, he thinks he sees Henry outside, but he decides that it must be his imagination. Shortly afterward, Dr. Roland leaves for a long weekend, which means Richard will have to spend more time in the warehouse. Richard makes his way home but worries he might freeze to death. Begrudgingly, he tries to call a cab to take him back to the cheap motel. However, while doing so, he drops a quarter, tries to pick it up, but then falls and hits his head. Slowly, Richard manages to get up, though his head is bleeding. Now without money and barely conscious, Richard makes his way back to the warehouse.

Richard enters the warehouse and is shocked to find Henry. Henry looks jovial until he registers Richard’s condition. Barely conscious, Richard starts to fall, but Henry catches him before he can hit the ground. Then, Henry takes Richard to the hospital where he gets stitches. When Richard comes to, Henry tells Richard that he came back early from Italy. Henry spent several days trying to find Richard in Hampden but had trouble because Richard hadn’t told anyone where he’s been living. Henry offers to call Richard’s parents, but Richard tells him not to bother. Instead, he asks Henry to tell him about Rome, which Henry does.

Richard spends four nights in the hospital with Henry by his side. Henry brings him books and magazines to read, while Henry does some reading himself. Richard is impressed that Henry can read for hours on end without taking a break. One night, Richard’s nurse is late giving him his medicine, so Henry gives her an “eloquent reprimand.” Afterwards, the nurse treats Richard much better. Additionally, the ER doctor tells Richard that Henry saved his life, and although in that moment Richard thinks this is an overstatement, he later comes to realize that it is likely true.

When Richard is discharged from the hospital, Henry takes him to his apartment, which is large but bare. In the apartment, Richard spots a picture of Julian whispering to Vivian Leigh. Interested, Richard questions Henry about Julian’s past. Henry tells him that he’s seen pictures of Julian with the Sitwells, T. S. Eliot, and someone who may or may not be Marilyn Monroe. After, Henry offers Richard his room and says that he’d prefer to sleep on a bed in one of the back rooms. Richard protests, but Henry insists.

The next few days are uneventful. Richard finds Henry easy to live with because he spends much of his time working. They have few interactions with one another except at mealtimes. During one dinner, Richard asks Henry if Bunny is still in Rome. Henry says that he thinks so. He also tells Richard that Bunny’s family is not wealthy. Though they like to affect the appearance of wealth, Henry thinks that they likely borrowed beyond their means and are now in considerable debt. Henry believes that Bunny’s father made a mistake by sending him to college because “he certainly has no gift for scholarship.”

The Saturday before college resumes, Richard hears a loud banging on the door. He answers it and finds Bunny who is surprised to see him. Bunny is looking for Henry who isn’t around. He asks Richard why he’s staying with Henry and Richard tells him about his accident. Richard invites Bunny inside and the two of them drink coffee together while discussing Rome. Before long, Henry returns, and Bunny starts questioning him about where he’s been. Henry lies to Bunny and then asks Richard if he’ll drive him to an eye appointment. Richard says yes, and the two of them start to leave. Before they can go, Bunny tells Henry he needs to talk to him and so Henry tells Bunny that he can come by in the evening. After, Richard drives Henry to the optometrist. Henry laughs when he sees where they are, saying, “Keep driving.”

That night, Richard wakes up to more loud banging on the front door. He gets up to see who it is and runs into Henry, who is carrying a kerosene lamp, in the hallway. Henry motions to Richard to be quiet, and neither of them answer the door. The knocking stops and then they go back to bed. The following day, there is more knocking on the door. However, the knocking is much less aggressive, so Richard and Henry assume that it isn’t Bunny. They decide to open the door for their guest, who turns out to be Francis. 

Francis enters and then goes into the back of the apartment to talk to Henry. Richard only catches fragments of what they are saying, but both sound unhappy. They are concerned about the “state” that someone is in and what that person might do, but Richard doesn’t hear this person’s name. After their conversation, Francis returns and tells Richard that he has to leave. Then, Henry asks Richard for a favor; he wants Richard to call Bunny and tell him to come over. He heavily implies that Richard should not be present when Bunny arrives. Richard happily agrees to do so. Henry gives a heartfelt thanks and then Richard leaves to take his things to school and call Bunny.