- description
- # I AND MY CHIMNEY
## Overview
"I AND MY CHIMNEY" is a chapter from the document [The Apple-Tree Table and Other Sketches](arke:01KG8AJ803DW4WSW6CRCMBBSX2). It spans lines 2180 to 3379 of its source text file, [the_apple_tree_table_and_other_sketches.txt](arke:01KG89J1C1N72JCD0ZBGTBX0EX). This chapter is part of the larger [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection.
## Context
This chapter is situated between "JIMMY ROSE" (previous chapter) and "THE PARADISE OF BACHELORS" (next chapter) within [The Apple-Tree Table and Other Sketches](arke:01KG8AJ803DW4WSW6CRCMBBSX2). The text was extracted from a plain text file, indicating its digital origin or digitization from a physical source.
## Contents
The chapter details a narrator's deep affection and philosophical connection to his large, old-fashioned chimney, which he considers a dominant feature of his house and a "superior" entity. The narrative explores the narrator's conflicts with his energetic wife and daughters, who view the chimney as an inconvenient obstruction and repeatedly attempt to have it modified or demolished. Their schemes include proposals for a grand entrance hall, an "elbowed tunnel" through the chimney, and the eventual theory of a "secret closet" hidden within its masonry. A master-mason, Mr. Scribe, is brought in to assess the chimney, leading to further humorous and philosophical exchanges about its structural integrity and potential secrets. The narrator steadfastly defends his chimney, ultimately obtaining a certificate from Mr. Scribe confirming its soundness, yet the domestic "war" against the chimney continues. The text contains vivid descriptions of the chimney's size, its architectural peculiarities, and the narrator's anthropomorphic view of it.
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- I AND MY CHIMNEY
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- I AND MY CHIMNEY