Too long Quote by Katherine Mansfield
““And then there is the waiter. Not pathetic-decidedly not comic. Never making one of those perfectly insignificant remarks which amaze you so coming from a waiter (as though the poor wretch were a sort of coffee-pot and a wine bottle and not expected to hold so much as a drop of anything else). He is grey, flat-footed, and withered, with long, brittle nails that set your nerves on edge while he scrapes up your two sous. When he is not smearing over the table or flicking at a dead fly or two, he stands with one hand on the back of a chair, in his far too long apron, and over his other arm the three-cornered dip of dirty napkin, waiting to be photographed in connexion with some wretched murder. “Interior of Café where Body was Found.” You’ve seen him hundreds of times.””
About This Quote
Source Short Story: “The Interior of Café where Body was Found” by Katherine Mansfield, 1922
The passage portrays a waiter as a bleak, almost grotesque figure, highlighting the mundane yet unsettling details of his appearance and actions, suggesting a deeper commentary on the banality of evil and the voyeuristic gaze of observers.
In simple terms: A waiter is described in a grim, unsettling way, emphasizing his oddities.
Key Takeaway
Notice the ordinary can hide disturbing aspects.
Themes
mundanity
observation
humanity
violence
perception
Mood
uneasy
reflective
dark
Type
literary
descriptive
critical
When to use this quote
- restaurant work
- crime scene investigation
- artistic observation
- psychological analysis
Key Concepts
existential dread
social critique
psychology
Questions to Reflect On
- What does the waiter symbolize in everyday life?
- How does mundane detail affect perception of horror?
A Different Perspective
The focus on physical flaws may distract from broader social commentary.
![“The switch had two settings. You could either turn it to AUTO, in which case the awning lowered itself whenever the sun came out, or you could set it to MANUEL [sic], in which case, we assumed, a small, incompetent Spanish waiter came and did it for you.” quote by Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fd4/douglas-adams-122_balconies_the-switch-had-two-settings-you-could-ei_178746.jpg)
