The Flying Dutchman: opera by Wagner

trifle: a small bit

inert: lifeless

trepidation: fear; nervousness

Clark is the narrator of "A Wagner Matinee," which means that readers

view the people and events in the story through the filter of his eyes and h

opinions

are able to fully understand the thoughts and feelings of the story's other

characters as well

have a narrator whom they can trust to be reliable and honest

understand that Clark, not Georgiana, is the story's central character