Stories3 Jan 2025

The Skylight Room by O. Henry

O. Henry was born William Sydney Porter in North Carolina in 1862 and died in New York City in 1910 at the age of 47. In 1895, he was charged with embezzlement and fled to the Honduras where he started to write a novel in which he coined the term, “banana republic”. He returned to the States when he found out that his wife was dying of tuberculosis. He started to serve his 5 year prison sentence in 1898 but was let out on good behavior. He married a second time but she left him after 2 years. He had 2 children.

The Skylight Room was written at a time when it was common for people to rent a room in a house instead of rent an apartment. Since there was no welfare, no unemployment insurance, no help at all from the government, and no credit cards, people had to make due with what they could afford. And for many, including doctors and dentists, this was a room. In this story, a young woman works hard and fails to get by suffering the consequences. Along the way she rents a room with a view of the stars. If she cannot reach for them, at least she can gaze at them.

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