The Trimmed Lamp Flashcards
by O. Henry — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: The Trimmed Lamp
Why do Nancy and Lou come to New York City?
There was not enough to eat at their homes to go around. They came seeking work and better opportunities.
What are Nancy and Lou's respective jobs and wages?
Nancy is a shop girl at a department store earning $8 a week. Lou is a piece-work ironer in a hand laundry earning $18.50 a week.
Who is Dan Owens?
Lou's steady boyfriend, a serious young electrician earning $30 per week who faithfully waits for her outside the laundry every evening.
What is Nancy's "life's ambition" as stated by the narrator?
The drawing of a matrimonial prize — she wants to marry a wealthy man.
What does Nancy learn from Mrs. Van Alstyne Fisher?
She copies her gestures, walk, manner of greeting, and especially her "soft, low voice as clear as silver and as perfect in articulation as the notes of a thrush."
How does the department store function as an "educational institution" for Nancy?
It surrounds her with refined people and luxury goods, teaching her taste, manners, and how to judge character — a kind of finishing school funded by proximity rather than tuition.
What distinguishes Nancy's clothing style from Lou's?
Nancy wears plain, inexpensive copies of wealthy women's outfits that look elegant from ten feet away. Lou buys flashy, expensive but garish clothes like a $25 ermine muff and a $16 embroidered waist.
How does Nancy test whether a man at her counter is truly wealthy?
She looks out the window to see what kind of automobile he arrived in, what type of handkerchiefs he buys, and checks for tells like "dactylis" — clues that distinguish real wealth from pretenders.
Who proposes to Nancy at the department store, and how?
A young nephew of "old Van Skittles" with a $20,000 annual allowance proposes over a box of hem-stitched Irish linens at the handkerchief counter.
Why does Nancy turn down a man worth $20,000 a year?
She caught him in a lie about a girl he denied taking to the theater. She says she needs someone who "sits up in a chair like a man" — honesty and character matter more than money.
What does Carrie (the "brown pompadour") think of Nancy's rejection?
She calls Nancy a "terrible little fool" and suggests she belongs in "the physiopathic ward," unable to understand why anyone would turn down a millionaire's nephew.
How does the narrator describe Dan's personality?
He is "of that good kind that you are likely to forget while they are present, but remember distinctly after they are gone" — steady, genial, and unshowy.
What happens to Lou after she disappears from the laundry?
She moves out of her boarding house, tells a coworker she might be going to Europe, and is spotted riding in an automobile with a wealthy man.
What is Nancy's announcement when she reunites with Lou three months later?
She is leaving the store and marrying Dan — the same faithful man Lou abandoned.
What is the final image of the story?
Lou, draped in expensive furs and diamonds, sobs against an iron park fence while plainly dressed Nancy tries to console her. A policeman passes but knows the matter is beyond his power.
What does the story suggest about the relationship between wealth and happiness?
Lou gains luxury but loses happiness; Nancy chooses love over money and radiates joy. Material wealth and inner fulfillment are shown to be separate, even opposing, paths.
How do Nancy's values shift over the course of the story?
The dollar-mark grows blurred in her mind and reshapes into words like "truth," "honor," and "kindness." Her time among the wealthy teaches her to see through wealth to character.
How does the story challenge the "shop-girl" stereotype?
The narrator opens by rejecting the label entirely: "No such persons exist. There are girls who work in shops." He argues against reducing women to their occupation, noting we don't call Fifth Avenue women "marriage-girls."
What biblical parable does the title "The Trimmed Lamp" reference?
The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), where wise maidens keep their oil lamps trimmed and burning while awaiting the bridegroom.
What extended metaphor does O. Henry use for Nancy's husband hunt?
A huntress in a mighty wood who raises her rifle at broad-antlered game but always holds her fire, guided by a "deep unerring instinct" to wait for the right catch.
What is the central situational irony of the story?
Nancy, the one actively hunting a millionaire, ends up choosing humble Dan for love. Lou, who already had Dan and seemed content, trades him for wealth and ends up miserable.
What satirical purpose does the narrator's intrusive voice serve?
It challenges class assumptions and reader prejudice directly — mocking the label "shop-girl," comparing working women's conferences to men's deliberative bodies, and treating both classes with equal irony.
What does "noblesse oblige" mean in the context of Nancy adopting refined speech?
It means the obligation of the privileged to act honorably. When Nancy speaks in Van Alstyne Fisher tones, she feels duty-bound to live up to the grace those manners represent.
What does the narrator mean by calling youth "a gourmand, when it cannot be a gourmet"?
A gourmand eats greedily while a gourmet eats with refined taste. Nancy consumes cheap pleasures eagerly because she's young and can't yet afford refined ones.
What does "conspicuity" mean in describing Lou's increasingly flashy clothing?
It means the quality of being easily noticed or attracting attention. Lou's outfits grow more eye-catching over time, which Dan quietly finds troubling.
What is the significance of Nancy saying "I've got to have something that sits up in a chair like a man"?
She's rejecting wealth without substance. She wants a husband with backbone, honesty, and real character — not just someone who can spend money.
What does the line "the dollar-mark grew blurred in her mind's eye, and shaped itself into letters that spelled such words as truth and honor" reveal?
Nancy's values are fundamentally shifting. Money is losing its hold on her as she recognizes that moral character is worth more than a large bank account.