Can Such Things Be? · Chapter
A Psychological Shipwreck explained
William Jarrett recounts his voyage from Liverpool to New York on the sailing vessel Morrow in 1874, during which he forms a mysterious bond with fellow passenger Janette Harford.
What happens
William Jarrett recounts his voyage from Liverpool to New York on the sailing vessel Morrow in 1874, during which he forms a mysterious bond with fellow passenger Janette Harford. After a strange psychological episode where he sees multiple faces through her eyes, the ship sinks in a sudden storm. Jarrett awakens aboard the steamer City of Prague, where his friend Gordon Doyle reveals he is engaged to Janette and that she was traveling on the Morrow. The chapter explores themes of psychic connection, fate, and the supernatural.
Themes in this chapter
Fate and Inevitability
The marked passage from 'Denneker's Meditations' and the psychic bond between Jarrett and Janette suggest a predetermined crossing of paths and souls.
The Uncanny and the Grotesque
Jarrett's vision of multiple faces looking through Janette's eyes and the inexplicable sinking of the Morrow evoke a sense of the uncanny.
Death and the Supernatural
The shipwreck, the loss of Janette, and the mysterious psychic phenomena point to supernatural forces at work.
Characters to notice
- William Jarrett
Narrator and protagonist; a New York merchant traveling on the Morrow.
- Janette Harford
Young Englishwoman traveling with her servant; she and Jarrett share a strange psychic connection.
- Gordon Doyle
Jarrett's friend; engaged to Janette Harford and traveling on the City of Prague.
Key passages
“To sundry it is given to be drawn away, and to be apart from the body for a season; for, as concerning rills which would flow across each other the weaker is borne along by the stronger, so there be certain of kin whose paths intersecting, their souls do bear company, the while their bodies go fore-appointed ways, unknowing.”
Some people are allowed to leave their bodies temporarily; like streams merging, certain kindred souls travel together while their bodies follow separate paths, unaware.
This passage from 'Denneker's Meditations' foreshadows the psychic connection between Jarrett and Janette.
“An hour later the form of Janette Harford, invisible in the darkness and spray, was torn from my grasp by the cruel vortex of the sinking ship, and I fainted in the cordage of the floating mast to which I had lashed myself.”
An hour later, Janette was ripped from my hands by the whirlpool of the sinking ship, and I passed out while clinging to a mast.
Describes the climax of the shipwreck and the loss of Janette.