"The Realm of the Unreal" is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by American Civil War soldier, wit, and writer

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book ''The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by t ...

. It appeared in '' The San Francisco Examiner'' on July 20, 1890 and was reprinted in the 1893 collection ''Can Such Things Be?'' The story elaborates the idea of "the realm of the unreal" introduced by Bierce in the 1879 story '' My Shipwreck''.

Plot summary

While riding to

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, the narrator encounters Dr. Dorrimore and reluctantly gives him a ride to a hotel. He can't stand Dorrimore, who is a magician of sorts from

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and who stupefied the narrator with his performance five years earlier. The narrator gives the Indian a ride but hopes his interaction with the man will be minimal. He discovers that Dorrimore is staying at the same hotel as him. Shortly thereafter, the narrator's paramour unexpectedly arrives and he spends a few weeks thoroughly enjoying her company. He also reluctantly introduces her to Dorrimore. One night, a few weeks later, the narrator is sitting near a graveyard at night when he sees Dorrimore with his love. In a feat of jealousy, he springs forward, "bent upon murder", and awakens the next morning in his room with bruises on his body and throat. When the narrator asks about his love, he finds out that she has never visited Auburn and that Dr. Dorrimore has left that morning. Later he reads about Dorrimore hypnotizing an entire audience in

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by simply telling them what to see and hear. The magician also claims

References

Sources

* Grenander, M.E. ''Ambrose Bierce''. NY: Twayne Publishers, 1971. * McWilliams, Carey (1929; reprinted 1967). ''Ambrose Bierce: A Biography'', Archon Books. * * * O'Conner, Richard (1967). ''Ambrose Bierce: a Biography'', with illustrations, Boston, Little, Brown and Company. {{DEFAULTSORT:Realm of the Unreal, The 1890 short stories Short stories by Ambrose Bierce Fiction about hypnosis Fictional stage magicians Works originally published in the San Francisco Examiner