Class Privilege
"How it Happened" relates to the short tale of the consequences of an automobile accident. That accident occurs directly as a result of an aristocratic and wealthy British man unwisely exerting the privilege that comes with birth and class division. The owner of a new car insists upon driving it despite the fact that he is not trained yet in the differences between handling his previous car and this newer updated model. The chauffeur is far more qualified to drive the vehicle than the owner but because he was born to a lower class, he does feel he has the right to thwart the privilege of the upper class to do what they want. This reticence is true even if what the privileged person wants to do is not in their own best interest.
Ownership
The story suggests that ownership does not necessarily equate with knowledge and agency. The privileged man enjoying greater wealth is able to afford the newest vehicle on the market. Despite his obvious excitement and interest in automobiles, however, he has hired a chauffeur to do the actual driving. This decision raises a societal conflict that is explored throughout the narrative as the tale argues that the real owner of the vehicle might be the person who knows how to use it rather than the person who bought it. This conflict undermines, on a macroeconomic level, the foundation upon which capitalism rests: how can one actually own anything if they are dependent upon others to operate it?
Mysteries of the Afterlife
With the very first lines, the story begins exploring the thematic possibilities that the afterlife is a great mystery that can never be fully known while alive. The narrative itself is presented as being told through the intervention of a spiritual medium capable of contact with the dead. The narrative ends with the owner of the car discovering he is actually dead after the automobile accident even though he seems to all outward appearances to be no different from when he was alive. That the owner of the car ultimately has to actually be informed that he is no longer alive by an old friend he doesn't immediately recognize as also being long dead is highly suggestive of the author's infamous belief in the supernatural and unexplained.
