October in the Chair

The cliffhanger at the conclusion of October’s story contributes to the audience’s feeling of dread and unease by leaving them with unanswered questions. At no point is it confirmed what resides in the abandoned farmhouse, and it is simply alluded that whatever is in there can make the Runt a ghost. October’s story ends with the Runt stepping into the farmhouse. The audience does not know what happens when he goes inside or what will happen to him after. This puts the responsibility of imagining the Runt’s ending on the reader. The cliffhanger’s effect is amplified by the frame story, as the months express their different perspectives on the uncertain ending. Some are anxious to know what happens, while others assert that it’s better not to know because it allows one to imagine a hopeful conclusion. The cliffhanger affects the mood so much that the months decline to continue sharing stories, creating a meta cliffhanger of sorts; the reader has heard three stories but will not hear the other nine.

“October in the Chair” uses an embedded narrative to introduce readers to two different worlds; the frame story creates the world with the anthropomorphized months, and the main story is about the Runt’s adventure. There are also two shorter embedded narratives in September’s and June’s stories, which precede October’s. All three of these embedded narratives characterize their narrators; September is self-important, June is romantic, and October is melancholy. Additionally, the frame narrative establishes themes that recur in the main story, such as The Power of Names and Family Ties. Finally, the frame narrative creates a fantastical mood by introducing the anthropomorphized months, priming the reader for the embedded narrative’s ghost and spooky farmhouse.