The Grotto

The Grotto is a club recalled by Willie Keith in a letter to May Wynn. Its significance in the available account lies in a brief memory of other men looking at May: Willie remembers wanting to fight them, and recognizes that his jealousy had revealed feelings he had not understood at the time.

The Grotto in Willie's Memory

In his letter, Willie recalls his last visit to the Grotto and the men watching May. Their attention provoked him to want to fight ten of them. Looking back, he treats that reaction as evidence of how strongly he felt about her, and regrets that he had not recognized his feelings sooner.

Significance to Willie's Appeal

The memory gives a concrete instance of Willie's belated understanding of his attachment to May. In the same letter, he asks her to forgive his past foolishness and says that his mother's objections will not make him give May up. The Grotto thus enters the account not through a description of the club itself, but as the place attached to a remembered burst of jealousy that supports his declaration of commitment.