Worth the Consideration of Those to Whom It May Prove Worth Considering
- The narrator has a lot to tell us, and in this chapter, the interruption is presented as direct commentary from the author.
- The narrator professes to be concerned with what the reader might see as inconsistency in the character of Mr. Roberts, once so trusting in his fellow man, now so doubtful.
- The narrator argues a few things: 1) Readers expect consistency in order to create the illusion of realism. 2) Inconsistency in a fictional character is more realistic because humans are inconsistent IRL. 3) Really, it's the writer's job to portray this inconsistency as believable.
- The narrator argues that this is a sort of map to human nature, which is as confounding a task as understanding divine nature.
- Even if there are a million ways to be inconsistent, humans have consistently been inconsistent in the same ways for thousands of years.
- Now, it's time to get back to our comedy. Yes, the author calls this a comedy. And so do we.