The figure in the carpet henry james 1843 1916 the story ostensibly concerns a young literary critics who greatly admirs the writer hugh vereker.
The figure in the carpet shmoop.
In a gesture of compensation one supposes vereker confides to the narrator that his fictions are all linked by a single idea or scheme that no critic has ever noticed but that is the very secret.
The figure in the carpet has become a short hand or idiom for the key to understanding a writer s work.
Since gwendolyn refuses to share her knowledge the narrator speculates the figure in the carpet was traceable or describable only for husbands and wives for lovers supremely united she marries drayton deane and after her death the narrator approaches deane to discover the secret.
Depending on the study guide provider sparknotes shmoop etc the resources below will generally offer the figure in the carpet chapter summaries quotes and analysis of themes characters and symbols.
The figure in the carpet plot summary an un named literary critic feels he has successfully reviewed the latest work of hugh vereker a distinguished novelist.