Melmoth the Wanderer · Chapter
XV explained
Immalee, the innocent inhabitant of a desert island, encounters a mysterious European stranger.
What happens
Immalee, the innocent inhabitant of a desert island, encounters a mysterious European stranger. Their conversation reveals her naive worldview and his corrupting influence. He tempts her with knowledge of the suffering world, and she responds with pure innocence and affection. He departs with a promise to return, leaving her with a withered rose and a foreboding sense of loss.
Themes in this chapter
Temptation and Faith
Melmoth tempts Immalee with knowledge of the suffering world, but her 'impregnable innocence' and natural moral tact resist his sophistry.
Isolation and Alienation
Immalee lives in complete isolation on the island, knowing only nature and her own reflections. The stranger's arrival introduces the alien concept of a world of suffering.
Supernatural and the Gothic
The stranger's ominous promises, the withered rose as a dark omen, and the storm imagery evoke a Gothic atmosphere of impending doom.
Characters to notice
- Immalee
The beautiful and innocent island dweller, who lives in harmony with nature and has no concept of evil or suffering. She engages with the stranger with curiosity and affection.
- Melmoth the Wanderer
The mysterious stranger who visits Immalee, attempting to corrupt her innocence with sophistry and knowledge of the world's suffering. He shows a momentary flicker of compassion before hardening his heart.
Key passages
“Of passion, she said she knew nothing, and could propose no remedy for an evil she was unconscious of.”
Immalee had no understanding of passion and could not address a problem she did not know existed.
Highlights her complete innocence and ignorance of human vice.
“In the logic of the schools he was well-versed, but in this logic of the heart and of nature, he was 'ignorance itself.'”
Melmoth was skilled in academic argument but completely outmatched by Immalee's natural, heartfelt reasoning.
Contrasts learned corruption with innate purity.
“Twice, as he parted, he threw a glance at the beautiful and isolated being; a lingering of humanity trembled round his heart—but he tore the withered rose from his bosom, and to the waved arm and angel-smile of Immalee, he answered, 'We shall meet again.'”
As he left, Melmoth felt a brief moment of human compassion, but he suppressed it and repeated his ominous promise to return.
Shows the internal conflict between his remaining humanity and his demonic purpose.