Waking in the Attic

The narrator wakes in his attic room in Christiania, hearing a clock strike six. He reads the advertisements pasted on the wall, including a notice from the Director of Lighthouses and an ad for Fabian Olsen's bread. He reflects on his poverty: he has pawned his belongings, his rent is overdue, and he has been rejected for jobs, including the Fire Brigade due to his eyesight. He feels nervous and irritable, and his room is bare, with a red rocking-chair as his only diversion.