Lord Jim · Chapter
XIV explained
Marlow recounts the aftermath of the court of inquiry, where Jim's certificate is cancelled.
What happens
Marlow recounts the aftermath of the court of inquiry, where Jim's certificate is cancelled. Outside, Marlow detains Jim, who looks at him with intense bitterness. Marlow then encounters Chester, a rugged adventurer who dismisses Jim's distress as weakness and proposes to offer Jim a job managing coolies on a dangerous guano island. Chester's partner, the notorious Robinson, is also present. Marlow reflects on the finality and cruelty of the court's sentence.
Themes in this chapter
Judgment and Redemption
The court's verdict and cancellation of Jim's certificate embody formal judgment, while Jim's despair and Chester's offer represent contrasting paths of potential redemption or further degradation.
The Nature of Courage and Cowardice
Chester's scornful view of Jim's distress—'Takes it to heart? Then he's no good'—challenges conventional notions of courage, suggesting that emotional sensitivity is a form of weakness.
Characters to notice
- Jim
Jim passes Marlow after the inquiry, looking at him as if he were the embodied evil of life, and walks away slowly, staggering slightly.
- Marlow
Marlow detains Jim after the inquiry, then listens to Chester's proposal about Jim, and reflects on the harshness of the court's judgment.
- Brierly
Brierly is present at the inquiry, talking easily with the magistrate after the verdict is read.
- Chester
Chester, a West Australian with a rugged appearance, approaches Marlow after the inquiry, dismisses Jim's distress, and proposes to give Jim a job on his guano island.
- Captain Robinson
Robinson, Chester's partner, is an old, notorious man who leans on an umbrella and laughs feebly, described as having been a smuggler and seal hunter.
Key passages
“‘It’s all over,’ I stammered. ‘Yes,’ he said thickly. ‘And now let no man …’ He jerked his arm out of my grasp.”
Marlow tells Jim the inquiry is finished, and Jim responds with bitter finality, pulling away from Marlow's grasp.
Jim's reaction shows his deep shame and desire to isolate himself after the verdict.
“‘Then he’s no good,’ he opined. ‘What’s all the to-do about? A bit of ass’s skin. That never yet made a man. You must see things exactly as they are—if you don’t, you may just as well give in at once.’”
Chester dismisses Jim's anguish over losing his certificate, arguing that a practical, unemotional view of life is essential for success.
Chester's pragmatic philosophy contrasts sharply with Jim's idealistic sense of honor.
“I had a rapid vision of ... exhort us earnestly to prayer and repentance.”
Marlow imagines a scene of desperate religious exhortation, reflecting his sense of the moral gravity and hopelessness of Jim's situation.
This vision underscores the theme of judgment and the search for redemption.