Summary of Hearts and Hands

 

Summary of Hearts and Hands

O. Henry, the son of a physician, was born on September 11, 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was just three years old. After his mother’s death he and his father began to live with his paternal grandmother.

He came under the care of his aunt Evelina Maria Porter and completed his graduation from her elementary school in 1876. Thereafter, he studied at the ‘Lindsey Street High School’. He was an avid reader since his childhood and enjoyed reading Anatomy of Melancholy and One Thousand and One Nights. He drugstore of his uncle in 1879. He became a licensed pharmacist in 1881.

While serving the ‘First National Bank’, he founded The Rolling Stone, a humorous weekly, and after losing his bank job, he devoted full time in the weekly that published his sketches, short stories apart from satirical and political works. In 1907, he married Sarah Lindsey Coleman, a writer and his childhood sweetheart, but she left him in 1909. He died on June 5, 1910 of several complications including an enlarged heart, cirrhosis of liver and diabetes. He was buried in Asheville, North Carolina, at the ‘Riverside Cemetery’.

In 1902 he relocated to New York and became a prolific writer penning around 381 short stories. For over a year he submitted one story every week to the New York World Sunday Magazine. His remarkable compilations of short stories are Cabbages and Kings (1904), The Four Million (1906), The Gentle Grafter (1908), Roads of Destiny (1909) and Whirligigs (1910). His most famous short stories are ‘The Gift of the Magi’, ‘The Ransom of Red Chief’, ‘The Caballero’s Way’ and ‘The Duplicity of Hargraves’ among others.

Hearts and Hands About the Story

All about the Story Hearts and Hands:
The story, ‘Hearts and Hands’ describes the chance encounter on a train, between two acquaintances – Miss Fairchild and Mr Easton. The story presents an ironical situation with a surprise ending.The irony at the end of the story makes the story interesting.

The story ‘Hearts and Hands’ is set in a train to Denver. At Denver there is an influx of passengers into the coaches on the eastbound B & M. express. An elegantly attired woman named Miss Fairchild is seated on the train when two men arrive and take the seat facing her. It quickly becomes apparent that the woman knows one of them. She speaks to the man, Mr Easton, and then she is surprised to discover that he is handcuffed to the man seated beside him. As Easton greets the young woman, he raises his right hand, bound at the wrist by the shining ‘bracelet’ to the left one of his companion. The man with Easton senses Easton’s embarrassment and gives an explanation. He says that Easton is the marshal, and the two are headed for Leavenworth prison. “It’s seven years for counterfeiting,” he adds.

The young woman continues to chat with her acquaintance, but she continues to stare at the handcuffs. “Don’t you worry about them, miss,” said the other man. “All marshals handcuff themselves to their prisoners to keep them from getting away. Mr Easton knows his business.” As the two men stand to go to the smoker car, the young woman bids Mr Easton goodbye.

All the while two passengers seated nearby have listened to the conversation. One says that he seems too young to be a marshal. The other says, “Mr Easton is not a marshal; he is the counterfeiter. Did you ever know an officer to handcuff a prisoner to his right hand ?” The comments of these two characters reveal the irony at the end of the story. This surprise ending makes the story interesting.

Hearts and Hands Summary in English

On a Train to Denver
The story ‘Hearts and Hands’ revolves around three main characters and two minor characters. The story is set in a train to Denver. An elegantly attired woman named Miss Fairchild is seated on the train when two men arrive and take the seat facing her. One is of handsome presence with a bold, frank countenance and manner and the other is a ruffled, glum-faced person, heavily built and roughly dressed. It quickly becomes apparent that the woman knows one of them. She speaks to this man whose name is Mr Easton. She says, “Well, Mr Easton, if you will make me speak first, I suppose, I must. Don’t you ever recognize old friends when you meet them in West ?” The man rouses himself sharply at the sound of her voice. He overcomes his embarrassment and then clasps her fingers with his left hand.

A Surprise for Miss Fairchild
Miss Fairchild is rather surprised to discover that he is handcuffed to the man seated beside him. As Easton greets the young woman, he slightly raises his right hand, bound at the wrist by the shining ‘bracelet’ to the left one of his companion. The glad look in the girl’s eyes slowly changes to bewildered horror. The glow fades from her cheeks. Easton, with a little laugh, as if amused, is about to speak again when the other man forestalls him. The glum-faced man has been watching the girl’s countenance with his shrewd eyes. He senses Easton’s embarrassment and volunteers an explanation that Easton is the marshal, and the two are headed for Leavenworth prison.
“It’s seven years for counterfeiting,” he tells her.

Conversation with Easton
As the conversation continues, the woman is surprised to learn that Easton has discarded his life in Washington to become a marshal in the West, but she finds the West agreeable as well. The young woman continues to chat with her acquaintance, but she continues to stare at the handcuffs. To ease her concern, the rough looking older man tells her, “Don’t you worry about them, Miss. All marshals handcuff themselves to their prisoners to keep them from getting away. Mr Easton knows his business.”
“Will we see you again soon in Washington ?” asked the girl.
“Not soon, I think,” said Easton. “My butterfly days are over, I fear.”
As the two men stand to go to the smoker car, the young woman bids Mr Easton goodbye.

A Shocking Revelation : All the while, two passengers seated nearby have listened to the conversation. One remarks that Mr Easton seems too young to be a marshal. The other eavesdropping passenger corrects the mistake – one that the young woman and readers have likely made as well – saying that Mr Easton is not the marshal; he is the counterfeiter.
“Oh! Didn’t you catch on ?” the passenger says.

“Say – did you ever know an officer to handcuff a prisoner to his right hand ?” These subtle remarks by the two minor characters reveal the irony in the story and make the story interesting.

Hearts and Hands Word Notes and Explanations

influx – many people arriving
elegant – stylish/ attractive
countenance – face
ruffled – frilled
aisle – passage
embarrassment – awkward feelings
bracelet – handcuff/a piece of jewellery worn around the wrist
bewildered – confused
counterfeiting – making an exact copy of something to deceive someone
glittering – shining

Hearts and Hands Theme

O’Henry presents an ironical situation in the story ‘Hearts and Hands’. The subtle comments by the two minor characters at the end of the story make the story interesting. The unexpected revelation about the real situation in which Mr Easton is placed surprises the readers.

The story is set in a train to Denver. An elegantly dressed woman named Miss Fairchild is seated on the train when two men arrive and take the seat facing her. It quickly becomes apparent that the woman knows one of them. She speaks to this man, Mr Easton, and then, she is rather surprised to discover that he is handcuffed to the man seated beside him. As Easton greets the young woman, he slightly raises his right hand, bound at the wrist by the shining bracelet to the left one of his companion.

The man with Easton senses the lady’s embarrassment and gives an explanation. He says that Easton is the marshal and the two are headed for Leavenworth prison. “It’s seven years for counterfeiting,” he says. The young woman continues to stare at the handcuffs. To ease her concern, the other man tells her that all marshals handcuff themselves to their prisoners to keep them from getting away.

Two passengers seated nearby have listened to the conversation. One remarks that Easton seems to be too young to be a marshal. The other remarks that he is not the marshal, but is the counterfeiter. He says, “Did you ever know an officer to handcuff a prisoner to his right hand ?” This unexpected remark deepens the mystery, points out the irony and surprises the readers.

Hearts and Hands Title

The title of the story ‘Hearts and Hands’ is suitable and suggestive. The story revolves around a young girl who is emotionally attached to a counterfeiter. Miss Fairchild, the young girl, is seated on the train when two men arrive and take the seat facing Miss Fairchild. She begins to chat with one of them whose name is Easton.

She is surprised to see that he is handcuffed to the man seated beside him. She sees that his right hand is bound at the wrist by the shining ‘bracelet’ to the left hand of his companion. She gets hurt and becomes tense. To ease her tension, the man with Easton gives an explanation that Easton is the marshal and the two are headed for Leavenworth prison. Miss Fairchild is relieved of the tension. Thus the story has a suitable title.

Hearts and Hands Message

In this story ‘Hearts and Hands’, the writer deals with an ironical situation. The irony is subtle and intelligent. The story is set in a train to Denver. An elegantly dressed woman named Miss Fairchild is seated on the train when two men arrive and take the seat facing her. It quickly becomes apparent that the woman knows one of them. His name is Easton. He speaks to Easton and then she is rather surprised to discover that he is handcuffed to the man seated beside him.

As Easton greets the young woman, he slightly raises his right hand, bound at the wrist by the shining bracelet to the left one of his companion. The man with Easton senses the lady’s tension and gives an explanation. He says that Easton is the marshal and the two are headed for Leavenworth prison. Both Miss Fairchild and Easton are relieved of their tension and embarrasment by the man’s remark.

Two passengers seated nearby have listened to the conversation. One remarks that Easton seems to be too young to be marshal.

The other remarks that he is not the marshal but a counterfeiter. He says, “Did you ever know an officer to handcuff a prisoner to his right hand. This unexpected remark deepens the mystery, points out the irony and surprises the readers.

Hearts and Hands Character Sketch

1. MR EASTON

• handsome person with frank countenance and manners
• feels embarrassed in handcuffs
• the glow fades away
• a counterfeiter in reality
• two passengers reveal his real identity

Mr Easton, the main character in the story ‘Hearts and Hands’, is a handsome person with frank countenance and manner. The story is set in a train to Denver.

An elegantly dressed woman named Miss Fairchild is seated in the train when two men arrive and take the seat facing her. One of the two men is Easton. He is handcuffed to the other man seated beside him. Easton greets the young woman as he knows her. He feels embarrassed and uncomfortable before the young woman due to his handcuffs. She begins to chat with him but continues to stare at the handcuffs. The glow fades from her cheeks and the glad look in her eyes changes to bewildered horror. The other man senses Easton’s embarrassment and gives an explanation that Easton is a marshal and the two are headed for Leavenworth prison.

But Easton is not really a marshal. It is the real marshal who presents him as a marshal. He is a counterfeiter in reality. The two passengers in the train reveal that he is a counterfeiter. One observes that he is too young to be a marshal and the other says, “Did you ever know an officer to handcuff a prisoner to his right hand.” These remarks by the two passengers reveal the true identity of Mr Easton.

2. MISS FAIRCHILD

• charming and pretty woman
• rich, materialistic and self-centred
• sees Mr Easton in handcuffs
• tense, uncomfortable and embarrassed
• glow from her cheeks fades away
• bewildered, unable to reconcile with the situation
• relieved by the marshal

Miss Fairchild, the most important character in the story ‘Hearts and Hands’ is a charming woman. She is a pretty young woman and is elegantly dressed. She is travelling in a train to Denver. She is rich, materialistic and self-centred. She is seated on the train when two men arrive and take the seat facing her. She knows one of them, whose name is Easton. She begins to chat with him but is surprised to discover that he is handcuffed to the man seated beside him.

She becomes tense and feels embarrassed. The glow fades from her cheeks and the glad look in her eyes changes to bewildered horror. She is unable to reconcile with the situation and stares at him in disbelief. To ease her bewilderment and embarrassment, the other man reveals that he is a marshal and all marshals handcuff themselves to their prisoners to keep them from getting away. She is slightly relieved. As the two men stand to go to the smoker car, the young woman bids goodbye to Mr Easton and goes away.

3. THE OTHER MAN (MARSHAL)

• ruffled-glum faced person
• heavily built, roughly dressed
• yet kind and helpful
• observant and intelligent
• sympathetic
• comes forward to help Miss Fairchild
• marshal
• saves the unpleasant situation

The other man (Marshal) who plays a significant role in the story ‘Hearts and Hands’ is a ruffled, glum-faced person. He is heavily built and roughly dressed, yet he is kind and helpful. He has his heart in the right place and so extends the hand of help to his companion. He is handcuffed with Mr Easton. Both are going in a train to Denver. They enter the train and seat themselves in front of an elegantly dressed woman named Miss Fairchild. Mr Easton and Miss Fairchild engage themselves in conversation because they know each other.

Miss Fairchild is surprised to see Mr Easton in handcuffs. She is tense and embarrassed and stares at him in disbelief. The other man is observant and intelligent. He observes that both Miss Fairchild and Mr Easton are feeling embarrassed. So he comes to their rescue. He is sympathetic and helpful. To ease the concern of Miss Fairchild and remove the embarrassment of Easton, he comes forward with an explanation that Easton is a marshal and is taking him to Leavenworth prison. Both feel relaxed. He saves the otherwise unpleasant and uncomfortable situation. It is in this way that he plays a significant role in the story.

Hearts and Hands Critical Appreciation

A Single Episode
The story ‘Hearts and hands’ depicts a brief episode on a train to Denver. It involves three main characters and two minor characters. An elegantly dressed woman named Miss Fairchild is seated on the train when two men arrive and take the seat facing her. One of them is Mr Easton.

Miss Fairchild and Mr Easton engage themselves in conversation as they know each other. When she sees Mr Easton in handcuffs, she is baffled and surprised. She stares at the handcuffs in disbelief. Mr Easton also feels embarrassed and uncomfortable. In order to ease the concern of Miss Fairchild and remove the embarrassment of Easton, the other man comes to their rescue. He comes forward with an explanation that Mr Easton is a marshal and is taking the prisoner to Leavenworth prison. Both are relaxed. Thus the story deals with a single episode.

Irony
‘Hearts and Hands’ presents an ironical situation with a surprise ending. The irony at the end of the story makes the story interesting. The unexpected revelation about Mr Easton surprises the readers, when the two passengers in the train remark that Mr Easton is not a marshal, but a counterfeiter. They strike an ironical note. One says that he is too young to be a marshal, and the other says, “Did you ever know an officer to handcuff the prisoner to his right hand ?” These remarks point out the irony in the story.

Narrative
The story is narrated in a simple language and lucid style. The episode begins and ends in a straightforward manner. The remarks by the two passengers at the end of the story are significant because they reveal the irony in the story. These unexpected remarks reveal the truth about the character of Mr Easton. The simple sentence at the end of the story is brilliant and surprises the readers. The sting in the story is really effective.