Eudora Welty's short story "The Petrified Man" is a humorous and poignant tale about a traveling carnival that comes to a small town in Mississippi and the various characters who are drawn to it. The central figure of the story is the "petrified man," a statue that is believed to be a real man who was turned to stone thousands of years ago.
The petrified man is a source of fascination for the townspeople, who come to gawk at him and try to figure out how he became petrified. Despite the carnival's claims that he is a genuine ancient artifact, some of the townspeople are skeptical and believe that he is simply a clever hoax.
One of the main characters in the story is Mrs. Herington, a wealthy and eccentric woman who is obsessed with the petrified man. She visits him every day and tries to solve the mystery of his petrification, even hiring a scientist to examine him.
Another key character is the "Two-Headed Lady," a performer in the carnival who is shunned by the townspeople because of her deformity. She becomes friends with Mrs. Herington and confides in her about her difficult life as a performer.
As the carnival prepares to leave town, Mrs. Herington makes a shocking discovery about the petrified man: he is actually a fraud. The "Two-Headed Lady" reveals that the petrified man is actually a man named Mr. Pinckney, who was a former carnival employee. He had agreed to be covered in a plaster-like substance and pose as the petrified man in order to make money for the carnival.
Despite this revelation, Mrs. Herington continues to visit the petrified man and bring him gifts, showing that her obsession with him was not just about solving the mystery, but about the human connection she had formed with him.
In "The Petrified Man," Welty explores themes of identity, deception, and the power of human connection. Through the characters of Mrs. Herington and the "Two-Headed Lady," she shows the importance of accepting and embracing people for who they are, even if they are different or considered strange by society. The story is a poignant reminder that, despite our differences, we are all human and capable of forming deep and meaningful connections with one another.