# VI: Flora explained — Chance

> Chapter companion for Chance by Joseph Conrad.

## What happens

Mrs. Fyne tells Marlow about Flora de Barral's past. After her father's trial, Flora lived with a vulgar, cruel family in Limehouse, who tormented her. She fled to the Fynes' house in distress. Later, she was sent to Hamburg under an assumed name, where a married merchant made improper advances. His wife discovered this and threw Flora out, sending her back to London. Flora survived the journey thanks to a kind stewardess. Mrs. Fyne later revealed the truth about the merchant's intentions. Marlow reflects on Captain Anthony's actions, suspecting he may be a scoundrel but hoping he is a fine fellow. He also analyzes Mrs. Fyne's motives for opposing the match, concluding she wanted to estrange the couple from the Fynes permanently.

## Themes in this chapter

### Social Class and Wealth

Flora's fall from wealth and status exposes her to the cruelty of lower-middle-class vulgarity and the predatory behavior of a merchant who sees her as an easy target.

### Gender and Women's Roles

Flora is a victim of a man's predatory advances and a woman's jealous rage, highlighting the precarious position of women who lack male protection.

### Isolation and Loneliness

Flora is utterly alone and friendless, first in the Limehouse household and then in Hamburg, with no one to defend or understand her.

## Character check-ins

### Mrs. Fyne

Relates Flora's history to Marlow, showing her concern and her philosophical views on women's rights.

### Flora de Barral

Her past is revealed: she suffered in a vulgar household, was sent to Hamburg, and was cruelly dismissed by a merchant's wife.

### Marlow

Listens to Mrs. Fyne's account, reflects on Flora's suffering, and analyzes Captain Anthony's and Mrs. Fyne's motives.

### Fyne

Appears at the end, catching a train, looking flustered and solemn.

### Captain Anthony

Discussed by Marlow, who wonders about his character and intentions regarding Flora.

## Key lines

> She lived amongst them, a passive victim, quivering in every nerve, as if she were flayed.

Flora was utterly defenseless and emotionally raw, suffering constant torment from the family she lived with.

_Describes Flora's state of intense vulnerability and pain._

> The man with the peculiar cowardice of respectability never said a word in Flora’s defence.

The merchant, concerned only with his own reputation, did nothing to protect Flora when his wife attacked her.

_Highlights the merchant's moral cowardice and Flora's complete lack of support._

> She wanted the protest to be made, emphatically, with Fyne’s fullest concurrence in order to make all intercourse for the future impossible.

Mrs. Fyne's goal was to make a strong, public objection so that any future relationship with her brother and Flora would be impossible.

_Marlow's interpretation of Mrs. Fyne's motives for opposing the match._

## Links

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