W. W. Jacobs was well known during his lifetime for his light, humorous novels and stories about England’s dockyards but is now remembered only for “The Monkey’s Paw.” Although this story exhibits traces of Jacobs’s characteristic humor and insight into the prosaic lives of his subjects, it seems to have been rejected by the Strand, which regularly published his work. Whatever that magazine’s reservations about its unpleasant content, it is recognized today as one of the best supernatural stories ever written and is frequently anthologized.

“The Monkey’s Paw” is effective not only for what Jacobs does but for what he refrains from doing. A master of economical, unobtrusive prose, he sets a cozy scene—a chess game in front of a fire, a cold and windy night outside—in a few strokes. Only later does one realize how closely the rest of the story recapitulates the elements of this first brief scene, as the Whites make their moves in a fateful and fatal game while the forces of darkness swirl just beyond the comfortable circle of their lives.

Alongside Jacobs’s gently humorous touches are macabre examples of what since has come to be known as black humor. One such moment occurs when the sergeant-major panics at Mrs. White’s suggestion that she be granted extra hands—a wish that the reader later realizes might have had a grotesque fulfillment. Another such moment occurs immediately after Mr. White’s first wish, as his son, having set up the situation, tries to relieve the ensuing tension: “Well, I don’t see the money, and I bet I never shall.” These words turn out to be literally and bitterly accurate.

Jacobs introduces the paw into the story through a device familiar from folklore—the figure of the traveler who has returned from distant and exotic lands with a strange story to tell. He also uses the number three, a number traditionally associated with mystery in superstition and folklore. As part of his curse, the holy man has specified that three men shall have three wishes each, as if to intensify the number’s troubling power. In addition, there are three visitors to the Whites’ home: Morris, the man from the factory, and the final visitor.

“The Monkey’s Paw” is most effective for what Jacobs leaves unsaid and accomplishes offstage. Nothing is known of the first man to utilize the paw, except that his third wish was for death. Morris admits that he, too, made three wishes, and his grim manner implies that he regrets his choices, but the details are never explained. The reader learns what the Whites wish for but never witness the gruesome results. A diffident lawyer for the factory brings news of Herbert’s death, but Herbert’s condition is only implied by Mr. White’s reluctant admission that he could only recognize him by his clothing. Of the condition of the being—several days dead—who knocks at the Whites’ door, the reader can only guess. In each case, Jacobs leaves the reader to imagine something much worse than he can effectively describe.

Horror writer Stephen King based his 1983 novel Pet Sematary on “The Monkey’s Paw.” Readers may want to compare its more expansive and more graphically explicit treatment with Jacobs’s concise, understated approach.

The British Empire

At the time Jacobs wrote "The Monkey’s Paw," the phrase “the sun never sets on the British empire” was widely recognized. By the early 1900s, England had expanded its empire to include numerous countries around the globe. This saying implied that it was always daylight somewhere in the British Empire. In "The Monkey’s Paw," Sergeant-Major Morris has just returned from India, a British colony. In colonies such as India, Hong Kong, Australia, and South Africa, British military personnel, explorers, archaeologists, and scientists were uncovering ancient cultures and traditions largely unknown in the West. When these individuals returned to England, they brought with them firsthand accounts of exotic lands, satisfying the curiosity of their fellow countrymen. For many years, the character of the retired colonel who had just come back from India was a common figure in British popular fiction.

The Victorian Era

The final decades of the nineteenth century and the first years of the twentieth century were culturally very structured, especially in England. Jacobs lived and wrote during a time when people adhered to strict, albeit unspoken, societal rules. Religious beliefs were deeply ingrained, and the burgeoning middle class valued hard work and social stability. Men were typically the breadwinners, while women took care of the home and children.

Everyday Life

By 1900, London had a population of over six million people. Due to the crowded living conditions, it was common for multiple generations of a family to reside together in the same house. Housing was both expensive and scarce, making it difficult for individuals or married couples to live independently. Grandparents, parents, and children often shared the same living space. Without electricity, lighting came from candles or gas lamps. Young people seeking employment sometimes joined the colonial service, which offered good pay and an escape from the conditions in England. Those who remained often found work in the numerous industrial factories.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is a literary device where the writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story. Sometimes, authors illustrate events early on that are smaller versions of the plot that will soon develop; other times, they create this effect by establishing an atmosphere that reflects the tone of upcoming events. For example, a classic instance would be a stormy night preceding a murder. Jacobs employs both types of foreshadowing techniques in “The Monkey's Paw.”

The chess game played by the Whites at the beginning of the story, where Mr. White places his king in “sharp and unnecessary perils” and then realizes “a fatal mistake after it was too late,” acts as a mini-drama foreshadowing the story’s events.

The Whites, along with the readers, receive numerous hints that the monkey’s paw is both dangerous and powerful. When Herbert inquires if Morris has used his three wishes, Morris only replies, “I have,” and taps his glass against his teeth, suggesting that his experiences were too dreadful to discuss. Morris also reveals that although he doesn’t know what the first owner wished for initially, their third wish was for death. Despite these warnings, Mr. White makes a wish and feels the monkey’s paw move in his hand as he does.

After Mr. White’s wish, the atmosphere in the Whites' home becomes tense and foreboding. The wind intensifies outside, and “a silence unusual and depressing settled upon all three.” Later, as his parents go to bed, Herbert sits alone in the dark, watching faces in the fire. “The last face was so horrible and so simian [monkey-like] that he gazed at it in amazement.” The face becomes so vivid that Herbert reaches for a glass of water to throw on the fire, but instead, his hand finds the monkey’s paw.

These story elements, along with the appearance and odd behavior of the “mysterious man” who arrives the next morning, set the stage for the first horrific event: Herbert’s death.

Imagery and Symbolism

Jacobs skillfully employs imagery (the visual picture created by the story’s language) and symbolism (the deeper meaning of an image beyond its literal description). Often, repeated images become symbolic. One such image in “The Monkey’s Paw” is fire.

At the story’s outset, fire is a comforting and warming presence: with a storm raging outside, the family gathers around the hearth, with father and son playing chess while the mother knits contentedly. After the sergeant-major arrives and has dinner with the Whites, the men once again sit in front of the fire, smoking their pipes.

A bit later, when Morris throws the paw into the fire, the purpose of the flames shifts: their new role is to consume and cleanse the evil and destructive force that Morris believes resides in the monkey’s paw. By the end of the evening, the same fire takes on a menacing quality, or perhaps serves as a warning to Herbert, who sees a terrifying, monkey-like face in the flames—so unsettling that he attempts to extinguish it.

In the story's final scenes, fire takes on a different role—to provide illumination, both literally and metaphorically. After Mr. White makes the second wish, the candle in the Whites’ room extinguishes, symbolizing the impending darkness that will envelop their lives. Mr. White lights a match to find his way to the door, but the match also goes out; in his panic, he drops the matchbox while trying to light another match. Mr. and Mrs. White are left in darkness. Symbolically, this loss of light indicates that they have lost their way and their hope.

The story's final, sorrowful image is the view the Whites have when they fling open their front door, where we presume the resurrected, mutilated Herbert was standing just moments before. All they see is a quiet, deserted road, dimly lit by a flickering streetlight. At the time this story was written, streetlights were powered by gas flames, not electricity and light bulbs. The Whites’ lives, now devoid of their son, will be bleak and empty.

Sergeant-Major Morris’s remark that the monkey’s paw is intended to show people that fate rules their lives and that it is unwise to interfere with it is true. Judging by the sergeant-major’s testimony, both he and the first owner of the paw have chosen badly. When Mrs. White jokingly suggests, as she sets the table, that her husband might wish for three extra pairs of hands for her, Morris forcefully points out to Mr. White that if he must wish, he should wish for something sensible. Despite the fact that he does so, fate exacts a terrible retribution.

The magnitude of this retribution is difficult to account for in conventional terms. After all, Mr. White wishes for a relatively insignificant sum of money and with little enthusiasm; he is far from being a greedy man. Traditional ghost stories tend to establish a comfortable balance between mortal transgression and supernatural retribution. “The Monkey’s Paw,” on the other hand, suggests that fate, whatever meaning one chooses to read into the word, operates beyond such familiar concepts as fairness and justice. The author refrains from comment, but his opening and closing scenes—a night “cold and wet” and a road “quiet and deserted”—suggest that humans may be at the mercy of an indifferent, if not actually malevolent, universe. It is these suggestions that render “The Monkey’s Paw” so chilling.

In 1933, The Monkey’s Paw was adapted into a fifty-eight-minute black and white film, directed by Wesley Ruggles. Produced by RKO, the movie featured C. Aubrey Smith, Ivan Simpson, Bramwell Fletcher, and Louise Carter.

A British adaptation of The Monkey’s Paw was released in 1948. Directed by Norman Lee and produced by Ernest G. Roy, this sixty-four-minute black and white film starred Milton Rosmer, Megs Jenkins, Joan Seton, and Norman Shelley.

In 1972, the anthology film Tales from the Crypt included an adaptation of “The Monkey’s Paw” titled “Wish You Were Here.” Directed by Freddie Francis and produced by Cinerama, the movie featured Sir Ralph Richardson, Joan Collins, and Martin Boddey.

The story was again adapted in 1979 as a nineteen-minute film produced by Martha Moran. This version is currently available on video from Phoenix/BFA Films and Video.

Stillife-Gryphon Films produced a twenty-seven-minute adaptation of “The Monkey’s Paw” in 1983, which is available on video from Modern Curriculum Press.

Sources

Chesterton, G. K. “W. W. Jacobs,” in A Handful of Authors: Essays on Books and Writers, edited by Dorothy Collins, Sheed and Ward, 1953, pp. 28–35.

Further Reading

Adcock, A. St. John. “William Wymark Jacobs,” in his The Glory That Was Grub Street: Impressions of Contemporary Authors, Musson Book Company, 1928, pp. 147–57.
Adcock examines Jacobs’s blend of humor, horror, and sentiment, and commends his mastery of style.

Donaldson, Norman. “W. W. Jacobs,” in Supernatural Fiction Writers, Vol. 1, edited by E. F. Bleiler, Scribner, 1985, pp. 383–87.
Donaldson provides a concise overview of Jacobs’s supernatural stories, highlighting “The Monkey’s Paw” as his finest work.

Harding, James. “The Monkey’s Paw,” in The Reference Guide to Short Fiction, edited by Noelle Watson, St. James, 1994, p. 806.
A brief essay on the story; the book also features an entry on W. W. Jacobs and a bibliography.

Priestley, J. B. “Mr. W. W. Jacobs,” in his Figures in Modern Literature, Books for Libraries Press, 1970, pp. 103–23.
Priestley contends that Jacobs, through his humorous stories, crafted a unique miniature world where his comedic talents shone brightest.

Pritchett, V. S. “W. W. Jacobs,” in his Books in General, Chatto & Windus, 1953, pp. 235–1.
Pritchett offers a favorable assessment of Jacobs’s literary works, praising him as “one of the supreme craftsmen of the short story.”