49 pages • 1 hour read
Graeme Macrae BurnetA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Preface-Statements
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 15-37
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 37-59
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 59-83
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 83-96
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 96-112
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 112-126
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 126-133 and Medical Reports
Extract from Travels in the Border-Lands of Lunacy by J. Bruce Thomson
The Trial, First and Second Day
The Trial, Third Day-Epilogue
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
The novel’s central character, Roderick is about 17 years old when he commits the triple murder for which he is eventually hung. The nature of his character serves as the book’s central mystery, making it somewhat difficult to know exactly who he is and what motivates him. The lucidity of his account, as well as the testimony of his schoolteacher, suggests that Roderick is exceptionally bright. The question of how to square this intelligence against his grotesque crimes looms large over the entire novel. In many ways he is most accurately characterized by his lack of fixed characteristics. While he depicts himself as shy and aloof, some of his fellow villagers regard him as malicious, predatory, or outright evil.
By his own account, Roderick holds himself apart from his fellow villagers, noting that he “cultivated the very characteristics which set [him] apart” (22) from his peers. However, he also describes himself as a highly sensitive individual, nurturing injured and lost birds and harboring romantic notions of a future with Flora Mackenzie, despite their families’ bitter feud. Whether his inability to communicate these positive sensitive qualities to others is because of an inability to express himself or because he has fabricated them for his