Step into a world where clothing holds secrets, and garments possess an uncanny power of their own – “The Bewitched Jacket.” In this captivating tale of enchantment and intrigue, the boundaries between reality and the supernatural blur, leaving readers spellbound by the twists and turns that unfold. Read More Class 9th English Summaries.
The Bewitched Jacket Summary
The Bewitched Jacket Introduction:
It is a mystery story. The narrator meets a stranger at a party. The stranger is wearing nicely tailored clothes. The narrator asks him the name of the tailor. He goes to the same tailor and orders a suit for himself. When the narrator asks him its price, the tailor says that there is no hurry. After three weeks, the narrator gets his suit.
It is a jacket, a pair of trousers and a vest. By chance, the narrator puts his hand in the right pocket of the jacket. He finds in it a ten thousand lira note. The narrator thinks that the tailor must have put it there and forgotten about it. But he is surprised when the same thing happens every time he puts his hand in the pocket. In one night, he collects 58 million lire.
But the next morning there is news of a bank robbery of 58 million. The narrator is filled with fear. Still he works the next night and collects 135 million. This time there is news of a big fire in which more than 135 million is lost in cash. The narrator notes that every time he collects money from his pocket, something bad happens in the world. However, he grows very rich. He buys a big villa and has big automobiles. He has a good amount of money in his bank also. But then one morning, it is found that an old woman has committed suicide.
She lived in the same building in which the narrator had lived for a long time. She commits suicide because she had mislaid her monthly pension of 30 thousand lire. The same amount of money the narrator had collected from his pocket the day before. He can bear it no longer and doesn’t want to keep the jacket with him. He goes to a hilly place and burns the jacket. When he comes back, he finds that his car, his villa and his bank balance have all disappeard. Now he fears that someday the cursed tailor will come and ask for his bill.
Note : Lira used to be an Italian unit of money, the plural form of which was lire.
The Bewitched Jacket Summary in English
One night the narrator met a man about forty years old. The man looked handsome because of his clothes. The narrator did not know who he was. He had met him for the first time. But he praised him for his clothes. The man seemed to be a gentle person, but looked a little sad. The narrator liked his clothes so much that he asked him who his tailor was.
The man smiled curiously. He said that nearly no one knew that tailor, yet he was a great master. The narrator asked him if he was an expensive tailor. At this the stranger replied, “I don’t know. He made me this suit three years ago, and still he has not sent me the bill.” He told the narrator that the tailor’s name was Alfonso Corticella and that he lived at via Ferrara. The narrator found out the tailor’s house. He was a little old man. His hair was dyed black.
The narrator asked him to make him a suit. The tailor selected a piece of cloth for the narrator and took his measurements. He offered to come to the narrator’s house for the fitting. When the narrator asked him the price, the tailor said that there was no hurry. The narrator got the suit after three weeks. It was a masterpiece but he did not feel like wearing it. It was only after some weeks that he decided to wear it. It was a Tuesday in April and it was raining. The narrator says that he will never forget that day.
The narrator was at his office. He put his hand into the pocket of his jacket. There was a piece of paper in it. The narrator thought it was the tailor’s bill. But when he took it out, it was a ten-thousand-lira note. The narrator thought the tailor might have put it there and then forgotten about it. So he called his secretary to write a letter to the tailor. But before the secretary came, he had felt another piece of paper in his pocket. He turned as pale as death.
Summary of The Bewitched Jacket
In the meantime, the secretary came in. She asked the narrator if he was feeling ill. The narrator said it was just a little dizziness. He sent her back saying that he would dictate the letter later. When she had gone, he took out the piece of paper from his pocket. It was another ten-thousand-lira note. Then he tried a third time. And a third banknote came out.
The narrator left the office and went home. He shut the doors and lowered the blinds. He started taking out the notes. There was a heap of notes before him. He counted them. There were 58 million lire. He emptied an old trunk and hid the money in it.
The maid came in the morning. She saw the narrator in bed wearing a suit. She looked surprised. The narrator told her that he had drunk a little too much the night before. The maid asked the narrator to take off the suit so that she could brush it. But the narrator said that he had to go out immediately and had no time to change. He went to a garment store and bought another suit of the same kind. He decided to leave this one in the maid’s care, and hide the other one in a safe place.
But there was news in the morning papers which dampened his joy. There was news of a bank robbery. A bank’s car was carrying money to the main office. Four criminals stopped it and killed a man. They took away all the money. It was 58 million lire. This incident left the narrator a little confused. But the same evening he set to work again. He was already rich but he wanted to become richer. This time he got 135 million.
In the morning papers, there was again news. A terrible fire had destroyed a warehouse in which more than 135 million were lost in cash. Two firemen were also killed while putting out the fire. The narrator now knew that the money in his pocket was coming from crimes, blood and death. But he didn’t blame himself for it. He continued drawing more and more money from his jacket. He bought a huge villa and had big automobiles to drive around.
One morning, an old woman was found dead in the same building where the narrator had lived for many years. She had killed herself because she had mislaid her monthly pension of 30 thousand lire. The narrator had drawn the same amount from his jacket a day before. He realised that every time he drew money from his pocket, there was something bad in the world. He could bear it no longer. He decided to destroy his jacket.
The narrator took his car and went to a hilly place. There he burnt the jacket to ashes. As the flames were dying out, he heard a human voice. It said, “Too late, too late !” The narrator tried to find who it was, but he could see none there.
However, he was happy that he had got rid of the jacket. But when he came back he saw that his car, his villa and his savings account had disappeared. There was nothing but dust in the old trunk. He became sad and worried. But no one took any notice of him. He had a constant fear that some day the cursed tailor would come and ask for the payment of his bill.
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