Perhaps “salvaged” or “saved” or “preserved” would be better. Jimmy Valentine, the hero of the story, is a professional safecracker. Once he gets out of prison he goes right back to his old ways. But then he meets and falls in love with Annabel Adams and decides to go straight. This is his “reformation.”Click to see full answer. Also asked, what is the main idea of a Retrieved Reformation?The theme of ‘A Retrieved Reformation’ is that love can reform anyone. At the beginning of the story, Jimmy Valentine is unrepentant about his crimes. As soon as he leaves prison, he heads to pick up his burglary tools so he begin cracking safes again.Secondly, who are the main characters in A Retrieved Reformation? Major characters include Jimmy Valentine; Mike Dolan, his partner in crime; detective Ben Price, Jimmy’s nemesis; and Annabel Adams, the girl with whom Jimmy falls in love. Then, what is the irony in a Retrieved Reformation? Another example of irony in “A Retrieved Reformation” is found in the scene in which Jimmy Valentine sacrifices his fiancee, his successful new business, and his reputation to save a little girl who has become accidentally trapped inside a bank vault.What happened at the end of a Retrieved Reformation?The reader expects the story to end with Jimmy being led off too prison in an ironic ending similar to that of O. Henry’s “The Cop and the Anthem,” in which Soapy decides to reform completely and is then arrested for vagrancy and sent to jail on Blackwell’s Island.
