The Green Door (Henry)
from the Collection “The Four Million”
Short summary
Early 20th century, presumably New York City. Rudolf Steiner walked the city by night, in search of excitement. He received mysterious cards from a man distributing dentist advertisements on the street. While other passersby received ordinary ads, Rudolf's cards bore a handwritten message directing him to 'The Green Door.' Curious, he entered the indicated building and ascended the stairs, hesitating before knocking at one green door in particular.
Moments like those that passed before his knock was answered measure the quick breath of true adventure. What might not be behind those green panels! Gamesters at play; cunning rogues... beauty in love with courage... danger, death, love, disappointment...
Inside, Rudolf discovered a fainting girl weakened by days of hunger. He hurriedly purchased food and cared for her, feeling an instant connection. She gratefully shared her difficult story, and Rudolf promised to return. Later, Rudolf learned by chance that 'The Green Door' actually referred to a theatre play, making him realize fate alone had led him to the girl, as every door in her building was painted green.
Detailed Summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Introduction to the concept of true adventure
The story began with a hypothetical scenario: a person walking down Broadway after dinner is approached by a beautiful woman who gives them a hot buttered roll, cuts off a button from their coat, says "parallelogram," and runs away. The narrator suggested that most people would be embarrassed and continue on their way rather than pursue this strange encounter, unless they were true adventurers.
True adventurers have never been plentiful. They who are set down in print as such have been mostly business men with newly invented methods. The true adventurer goes forth aimless and uncalculating to meet and greet unknown fate.
The narrator distinguished between true adventurers and half-adventurers. While half-adventurers had specific goals or prizes to win, true adventurers sought the unexpected without calculation. In the big city, Romance and Adventure were always present, offering opportunities in various guises, but few people were willing to follow these opportunities, constrained by convention and routine.
Rudolf Steiner and his adventurous spirit
Rudolf Steiner was introduced as a true adventurer who regularly ventured out from his hall bedchamber in search of the unexpected. For him, the most interesting thing in life was what might lie around the next corner.
Despite occasionally finding himself in trouble or being tricked, Rudolf maintained his enthusiasm for adventure. One evening, he was strolling along a crosstown street in the central part of the city, moving serenely among the crowds of people heading home or to restaurants.
The mysterious cards and the green door
During his walk, Rudolf noticed a giant negro in a fantastically colorful outfit distributing cards on the sidewalk. The man was dressed in a red embroidered coat, yellow trousers, and a military cap, standing next to a glass case of chattering teeth that advertised a dentist's office.
Rudolf accepted a card from the man and was surprised to find that instead of dental advertisements, it had three handwritten words: "The Green Door." Curious, he picked up cards discarded by other pedestrians and found they contained the standard dentist's information. When he passed the card distributor a second time, he received another card with the same mysterious message.
On his third pass, the African American man gave Rudolf no card and seemed to look at him with contempt. Rudolf felt stung by this apparent judgment that he lacked the wit to engage with the mystery. He examined the building where the card distributor stood. It was five stories high, with the dentist's office on the second floor and various businesses and apartments on the other floors.
Determined to solve the mystery, Rudolf entered the building and climbed two flights of stairs. In the dimly lit hallway, he saw a green door and, after a moment's hesitation, knocked on it.
Behind the green door: meeting the starving girl
After a faint rustle, the door slowly opened to reveal a white-faced, tottering girl not yet twenty years old. She swayed weakly and nearly collapsed, so Rudolf caught her and laid her on a faded couch against the wall. Looking around the room, he saw signs of extreme poverty.
When the girl regained consciousness, Rudolf was struck by her appearance. Her frank grey eyes, pert nose, and chestnut curling hair seemed to him the missing face from his "heart's gallery of intimate portraits." However, her face was distressingly thin and pale.
And then the young man saw that hers, indeed, was the one missing face from his heart's gallery of intimate portraits... seemed the right end and reward of all his wonderful adventures. But the face was woefully thin and pale.
The girl smiled weakly and explained that she had fainted because she hadn't eaten for three days. Alarmed by this revelation, Rudolf immediately left to get food.
Rudolf's assistance and connection with the girl
Rudolf returned twenty minutes later with an abundance of food from a grocery and restaurant. He brought bread, butter, cold meats, cakes, pies, pickles, oysters, a roasted chicken, milk, and hot tea. When he turned to get a cup for the tea, he found the girl already eating a large Dill pickle she had found in one of the bags.
As they ate together, the girl began to tell Rudolf her story. It was a common tale in the city: a shop girl with insufficient wages further reduced by "fines" that increased the store's profits, time lost due to illness, then lost positions and lost hope.
It was one of a thousand such as the city yawns at every day—the shop girl's story of insufficient wages, further reduced by 'fines' that go to swell the store's profits; of time lost through illness; and then of lost positions, lost hope...
The girl revealed she had no relatives or friends in the city. Rudolf mentioned that he too was alone in the world, which seemed to please her. Soon, overcome by exhaustion and the comfort of food, the girl became very sleepy.
Rudolf rose to leave, but before going, he promised to return the next day to check on her. At the door, the girl asked how he had come to knock on her door. Rudolf decided not to tell her about the cards, not wanting her to know he was aware of her desperate situation. Instead, he claimed he had knocked by mistake, looking for a piano tuner who lived in the building.
The twist: the theater promotion and Rudolf's belief in fate
After leaving the girl's apartment, Rudolf explored the hallway and the floor above, discovering that every door in the building was painted green. Puzzled, he returned to the sidewalk and confronted the card distributor with the two cards he had received.
The man grinned and pointed down the street to a theater with an electric sign advertising a new play called "The Green Door." He explained that a theatrical agent had paid him to distribute promotional cards for the play along with the dentist's cards. The mysterious message Rudolf had received was simply an advertisement for the theater production.
Later, after stopping for a beer and cigar, Rudolf declared to a lamp post that despite the coincidence, he believed it was the hand of Fate that had led him to find the girl. This conviction, the narrator concluded, qualified Rudolf as a true follower of Romance and Adventure.
"All the same, I believe it was the hand of Fate that doped out the way for me to find her." Which conclusion, under the circumstances, certainly admits Rudolf Steiner to the ranks of the true followers of Romance and Adventure.