Roden's Corner

"Roden's Corner" by Henry Seton Merriman is a story that focuses on the dangerous production of malgamite and the well-meaning people who want to help the workers. The main character, Percy Roden, supports a project to make the workplace safer, which brings up ideas about kindness, responsibility to others, and how complicated people can be. At the beginning, Professor Otto von Holzen walks through the dark streets of The Hague, showing a side of society that is often hidden and the tough lives of those in need. He cares for a malgamite worker who is dying, and their interaction explores difficult moral choices. Later, we meet Major White and Tony Cornish in London, who are enthusiastically involved in the charity. The story contrasts their hopes with what life is really like for the workers, setting the stage to look closer at charity work and its effects on a changing world.