- description
- # Narrator's Initial Resistance
## Overview
This is a segment extracted from the short story [I and My Chimney](arke:01KG8AJ72QDX8N8STJ3550X2NW). It represents the narrator's initial resistance to his wife's proposition to abolish their chimney. The segment spans lines 591-599 of the source file [i_and_my_chimney.txt](arke:01KG89J1H4TA19251AXAPE3ZWC).
## Context
The segment is part of the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. It follows the segment [Wife's Proposition to Abolish Chimney](arke:01KG8AJMKBSF8W0GE5TJRCPXYD), where the wife suggests removing the chimney. This segment is followed by [Narrator's Persuasion and Consideration](arke:01KG8AJMKBXR7ERKCRAWB712FG), where the narrator begins to consider his wife's proposition.
## Contents
The segment contains the narrator's immediate, negative reaction to his wife's suggestion. He argues against abolishing the chimney, comparing it to removing a backbone and stating that chimneys are not easily removed like frozen pipes. He emphasizes the chimney's permanence and envisions it surviving long after the house has crumbled, like a "Bunker Hill monument." He concludes by stating he cannot abolish his backbone, reaffirming his initial resistance to the idea.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:01.079Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- Narrator's Initial Resistance
- end_line
- 599
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:36.358Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 591
- text
- “What!” said I, “abolish the chimney? To take out the backbone of
anything, wife, is a hazardous affair. Spines out of backs, and
chimneys out of houses, are not to be taken like frosted lead pipes
from the ground. Besides,” added I, “the chimney is the one grand
permanence of this abode. If undisturbed by innovators, then in future
ages, when all the house shall have crumbled from it, this chimney will
still survive—a Bunker Hill monument. No, no, wife, I can’t abolish my
backbone.”
- title
- Narrator's Initial Resistance