Story at a glance
- Narrator asks for a photograph; photographer "without enthusiasm", "the dim eye of a natural scientist"; "Sit there, and wait."
- Waits an hour; reads old magazines (1912, 1902, 1888); feels he has done "an unwarrantable thing".
- Studio: softened sunlight; photographer crawls into the camera, rushes out "frantic for light and air", hides under the black cloth — "praying".
- "The face is quite wrong." — "I know; I have always known it."
- "Three-quarters full" misunderstood; head twisted — he thinks he will be kissed.
- Instructions: mouth open/close; "droop the ears"; roll the eyes; expand lungs; hump neck; contract waist; twist hip to elbow.
- Protest: "This face is my face … the only one I have … I've learned to love it."
- "Snick!" — "a moment of animation"; negative to be developed; proof on Saturday.
- Proof: "Is it me?" — "Yes, it is you." Eyes retouched; eyebrows removed (Delphide); hair and brow line changed; mouth adjusted; ears a good likeness — to be removed by the Sulphide.
- Outburst: "as Heaven gave it to me"; for friends after his death; "sulphide, bromide, oxide, cowhide"; "keep it for yourself"; "a worthless bauble"; tears; leaves.
Common traps
| Trap | Correct idea |
|---|---|
| He spent the wait examining the studio | He read magazines (2025 specimen). |
| "Is it me?" because he looked handsome | He could not recognise his own face (2027 specimen). |
| The ears were removed in the proof | The ears were the only original feature; removal was only proposed. |
| "Three-quarters full" means plumper | It is a pose; the narrator misunderstood it. |
| Delphide removes ears | Delphide puts in eyebrows; the Sulphide removes ears. |
| The narrator was angry from the start | He was meek at first; his anger builds to the end. |