Not Wanted (1915)

James Bowen has married twice, and is the father of two children, Bobbie being his first wife's child. The stepmother absolutely misunderstands the little boy. Everything that Bobby does is wrong; he is "always in the way." The climax of this story is led up to by Bobbie's being locked in his rooms after he has incurred his stepmother's displeasure by dirtying his clothes and hands. The woman is really in a highly nervous state, and seeking relief from this, she starts to smoke one of her husband's cigarettes. Laying it down on an ash tray close to the window, she goes off with a neighbor, leaving Bobbie in his room and the baby girl, her own child, and her greatest treasure, asleep in her crib. The lighted cigarette catches the curtain, and the blaze, spreading, starts a fire. Bobbie discovers the fire. His first thought is of the baby. Determined to save his little sister, he, after wrapping the baby in a blanket, fights his way out through the clouds of smoke and reaches the open air. Here his stepmother, almost frantic with grief, and his father are waiting, and the baby is taken from Bobbie's poor, burned little arms. His stepmother is brought to a realization of her selfishness and unconscious cruelty.

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Summary Details
GenresDrama Short