The Blind Owl

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of murder, substance misuse, violence, and stillbirth.

That evening, the narrator gets up from the opium brazier and looks out the window. He hears the call to prayer and night watchmen singing about wine from the Land of Rey. Next to the curtain by the door, he sees a figure he recognizes from his childhood that reminds him of the butcher’s face. The figure fades. The narrator looks in the mirror, but he does not recognize his own face. He thinks of death and goes to sleep.

He dreams that whenever he touches someone, their head falls off. He sees the old peddler carrying a jackknife, and then his head falls off. The narrator runs away and goes to his father-in-law’s house. He offers his brother-in-law kolooches, but when he touches his brother-in-law, the man’s head falls off. The narrator screams and wakes up.

Nane-joon comes in with his breakfast and sweeps his room. While she sweeps, the narrator watches the butcher. Then, the narrator goes back into his room and gets out his jackknife. He decides to kill his wife.