The inciting incident of the story is the palm reading that Lord Arthur receives from Mr. Podgers, the cheiromantist. A palm reading consists of someone examining the client’s hand to observe the natural lines and creases of the palm. Those lines, shapes, and creases in the palm are then tied to various meanings, such as long life, trouble in romance, and other generalized statements about the future. Widely regarded as a pseudoscience now, palmistry interpretations and meanings vary and often conflict, depending on the person conducting the reading.

In the 19th century, many people in England were fascinated by the idea that physical attributes could reveal information about a person’s intellect, emotions, and potential for success. Alongside the professionalization of medicine, pseudoscientific beliefs like phrenology (a practice of linking personality traits to “bumps” on a person’s head) and cheiromancy also captured the popular imagination.

The Cheirological Society of Great Britain was founded in 1889 with the intention to establish palmistry as a respectable art form. The Society conducted classes dedicated to both Western and Eastern schools of thought on the reading of palms (“Cheirological Society of Great Britain”). Much of this was appropriated from Chinese palm reading techniques and revised for a Western

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