English LiteratureICSE Class 10 · With the Photographer

With the Photographer (Stephen Leacock): The Retouched Proof, Vanity and Identity

Updated 18 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In Stephen Leacock's With the Photographer, the narrator wants an ordinary photograph of himself, but an arrogant photographer criticises his face and later retouches the proof until the narrator asks "Is it me?". His angry outburst defends his own face as Heaven gave it. The story satirises vanity, professional arrogance and loss of identity.

Understand The Retouched Proof, Vanity and the Loss of Identity (With the Photographer)

Source and use in papers. With the Photographer is a short story by Stephen Leacock in Treasure Chest. It is tested through MCQs and extract-based questions.

The wait and the studio. The narrator waits an hour reading very old magazines and feels he has intruded on the man's scientific pursuits. In the studio the photographer declares the face is quite wrong, criticises the head, mouth and ears and gives absurd orders. When he says the face is still a trifle too full, the narrator protests that it is his own face, which he has lived with for forty years and learned to love. The picture is taken anyway.

The proof. On Saturday the photographer proudly shows a large proof. The eyes are retouched, the eyebrows removed by a process called the Delphide, and the mouth adjusted. Only the ears look like his, and the photographer offers to remove them by another process, the Sulphide.

The outburst. The narrator scorns the photograph: he came for a likeness of his face as Heaven gave it.

Themes. Identity and the right to be oneself; satire on vanity and artificial beauty; professional arrogance; the humour of the ordinary man.

Devices. Satire, exaggeration, humour, comic orders and first-person narration.

The Retouched Proof, Vanity and the Loss of Identity (With the Photographer): key facts

Sequence: Waiting hour
Studio criticism
Narrator protests
Proof on Saturday
Outburst; Order of events.
Themes: Identity
Vanity
Arrogance
Ordinary man; Choose by the question.
Devices: Satire
Exaggeration
Humour
First person; Name and effect.
Characters: Narrator meek then assertive | Photographer arrogant; Contrast.

How to answer The Retouched Proof, Vanity and the Loss of Identity (With the Photographer) questions

Use this for an extract or theme question.

1Place the extract in the story.
2Identify the speaker and what he wants.
3Explain the humour or satire.
4Link to identity or arrogance.
5Give a personal response with two reasons if asked.

The Retouched Proof, Vanity and the Loss of Identity (With the Photographer) in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

A filtered selfie

Suppose a student uses a photo app that smooths her skin and changes her face, and her grandmother says she cannot recognise her in the picture.

Which part of the story does this resemble?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The picture does not look like the person.
Appearance is "improved" by others' idea.
The real face is lost.

Answer: It resembles the retouched proof, where the narrator asks "Is it me?" and his identity is lost under artificial improvement.

Memory hook: Is it me?

Tricks to remember The Retouched Proof, Vanity and the Loss of Identity (With the Photographer)

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

W-S-P-O
Wait, Studio, Proof, Outburst.
Use it when: Sequence.
Delphide and Sulphide
Two comic processes for eyebrows and ears.
Use it when: Proof.
Is it me?
The narrator cannot recognise his face.
Use it when: MCQ fact.

The Retouched Proof, Vanity and the Loss of Identity (With the Photographer): solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: The MCQ · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Why does the narrator ask "Is it me?"
(a) He is fond of the picture (b) He cannot recognise his own face (c) He forgot his name (d) The picture is blurred

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

He sees a proof whose eyes, brows and mouth have been altered, so he cannot recognise himself (1).

Answer: (b) He cannot recognise his own face.

Example 2: The wait (3 marks) · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

How does the narrator spend his time in the waiting room, and what does he begin to feel?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Waits an hour (1)
Old magazines (1)
Feels he has intruded (1).

Answer: He waits for an hour reading old magazines and begins to feel he has intruded on the photographer's scientific pursuits with a face like his.

Example 3: The photographer's manner (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Show how the photographer treats the narrator in the studio.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Face wrong (1)
Absurd orders (1)
Ignores protest (1)
Takes the picture (1).

Answer: He declares the face quite wrong, criticises the head, mouth and ears and gives absurd orders. When the narrator protests, he ignores him and takes the picture. The treatment shows arrogance and indifference.

Example 4: The proof (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Describe the proof and the narrator's reaction.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Retouched eyes (1)
Eyebrows and mouth (1)
Ears offer (1)
Scorn (1).

Answer: The eyes are retouched, the eyebrows removed and the mouth adjusted, and only the ears look like his. The photographer offers to remove them too. The narrator reacts with withering scorn, saying he wanted his own face as Heaven gave it.

Example 5: Message (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

What is Leacock's message in the story? Give your view with two reasons.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Message (1)
Reason one (1)
Reason two (1)
Link to today (1).

Answer: The message is that a person's real face and identity are valuable and should not be erased to suit someone's idea of beauty. The photographer ignores what the customer wants, and the narrator's love for his own face shows the value of being oneself. It applies to apps that alter faces today.

Where students lose marks in The Retouched Proof, Vanity and the Loss of Identity (With the Photographer)

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Retelling without satire
The device is missing.
Wrong working
The photographer changed the picture.
Right working
The photographer retouched the picture, which satirises vanity.
Do this: Name the satire.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Mixing the processes
Details confused.
Wrong working
Sulphide removes eyebrows.
Right working
Delphide removes eyebrows; Sulphide removes ears.
Do this: Learn the two.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: No evidence for character
Traits stand alone.
Wrong working
The photographer is rude.
Right working
He says the face is quite wrong.
Do this: Add evidence.
Usually costs: 1 mark

Exam tips

Learn the sequence of the wait, studio, proof and outburst.
Quote short phrases such as Is it me?
Name satire and exaggeration.
Link to identity in theme answers.
Give two reasons in opinion answers.

Practice questions on The Retouched Proof, Vanity and the Loss of Identity (With the Photographer)

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
The narrator says he has lived with his own face for:
(a) ten years (b) twenty years (c) forty years (d) sixty years
Hint
Recall his protest in the studio.
Answer
(c) forty years.
Q2 · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level
Who is the story's author and where does it appear? (2 marks)
Hint
Recall the author's name and the Class X collection that contains the story.
Answer
Stephen Leacock; it appears in Treasure Chest, the Class X short-story collection.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Name the two processes the photographer mentions and what each does. (3 marks)
Hint
Delphide and Sulphide.
Answer
The Delphide removes the eyebrows to make a new brow line, and the Sulphide is offered to remove the ears.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why does the narrator finally protest in the studio? (3 marks)
Hint
Face too full.
Answer
The photographer says the face is still a trifle too full, and the narrator protests that it is his own face which he has lived with and learned to love.
Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How is the story a satire on vanity? (3 marks)
Hint
Improvement of nature.
Answer
It mocks the idea that a photograph should flatter rather than record, as the photographer treats the face as a problem and presents the retouched proof with pride.
Q6 · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Is the narrator too meek, or does he stand up for himself at the right moment? Give two reasons. (4 marks)
Hint
Compare wait and outburst.
Answer
He is meek at first, waiting an hour and agreeing to instructions. But he protests when his face is called too full and bursts out at the proof, so he stands up when his identity is at stake.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Who wrote it?Show answer
Stephen Leacock.
2.What does the narrator ask on seeing the proof?Show answer
Is it me?
3.How long does he wait?Show answer
An hour.
4.Which process removes eyebrows?Show answer
The Delphide.
5.Which offers to remove ears?Show answer
The Sulphide.
6.How long has he lived with his face?Show answer
Forty years.

The Retouched Proof, Vanity and the Loss of Identity (With the Photographer): frequently asked questions

Which genre?

Humorous satire.

Where is it set in the exam?

It is tested in the prose (short story) section through MCQs and extract questions.

Is the text quoted fully?

No; only short phrases are quoted in answers, such as "Is it me?".