October in the Chair

Dearly is the Runt’s companion and mirror, and their interaction introduces the Runt to an alternative to his life and dreams. Dearly is a ghost child who has lost his life and his original name, and he is confined to the ghost town and graveyard, where he is the only child. He is lonely and immediately drawn to the Runt’s presence. He is of similar age, and they become quick friends. He also acts as a guide, not only through town but possibly into the afterlife, as their friendship makes the Runt consider becoming a ghost himself. 

Dearly is a flat, static character who shows no substantial development throughout the tale. He died at least a hundred years before his encounter with the Runt, so he has not had the opportunity to experience life or aging. In addition, the other townspeople also died, and the town was abandoned, leaving no living people around him. Even the graveyard he occupies is lonely, with most ghosts sleeping through their afterlives.

While the Runt and Dearly parallel each other in their loneliness and lack of real names, Dearly’s being dead is a major difference between them. The Runt can leave if he wants to, but Dearly cannot. He may have had a spectacular day with the Runt, but his life would go back to the way it was if the Runt left. Dearly himself does not grow during the tale, but he helps the Runt develop and make his big decision, making him a central character.

October narrates the embedded narrative in “October in the Chair” and is the titular character. October chairs the monthly storytelling meeting and spends most of the story relating the Runt’s tale. October represents his month not only through his appearance—his beard is the color of falling leaves—but in his menu for the night. Everyone is drinking apple cider and roasting sausages over a fire. October is anthropomorphized, using his time to tell a story that leaves his audience with a chill crisper than the autumn air. While other months are more outspoken, October remains fairly quiet and is comfortable breaking the rules that usually govern the storytelling process the months observe.

While October is the titular character, he is static and flat. His primary purpose is to frame the real story within the story. Outside of his story, he does not spend much time speaking and develops no new ideas or qualities. He does comfort his successor, November, expressing the notion that the anthropomorphized months cannot develop or change; October approves of November’s sentiment that, “I suppose we can’t help who we are” (43), with a “That’s the spirit” (43). This solidifies the notion that October and the other months are constricted by their identities and are not able to separate themselves from the months they represent.