Short Fiction · Chapter
Daniel Orme explained
A sketch of an old, mysterious sailor named Daniel Orme, a retired man-of-war's man with a solitary and moody disposition.
What happens
A sketch of an old, mysterious sailor named Daniel Orme, a retired man-of-war's man with a solitary and moody disposition. He is discovered to have a crucifix tattooed on his chest, crossed by a scar, which fuels superstitious rumors among his fellow lodgers. The narrative follows his quiet, decaying life ashore and ends with his death on Easter Day, found alone on a terrace overlooking the harbor, his pipe smoked out, facing the sea.
Themes in this chapter
Isolation and Alienation
Daniel Orme is portrayed as a solitary figure, unsociable and moody, living apart from others even in his retirement, and dying alone on a height.
Appearance vs. Reality
Orme's gruff exterior and the rumors of him being a buccaneer contrast with his quiet, harmless behavior ashore, and the tattooed crucifix suggests a hidden spiritual dimension.
Fate and Free Will
The narrative questions whether Orme's character and fate were shaped by 'fatality' or by his own choices, and whether his death brought remorse or peaceful memory.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator (Daniel Orme)
The unnamed narrator who sketches the life and death of Daniel Orme, reflecting on the difficulty of understanding such a solitary figure.
- The Narrator (Daniel Orme)
The storyteller who presents Orme's history and the rumors surrounding him, emphasizing the mystery of his past.
Key passages
“A stranger accosting him sunning himself upon some old spar on the strand, and kindly saluting him there, would receive no surly response, and if more than mere salutation was exchanged, would probably go away with the impression that he had been talking with an interesting oddity, a salt philosopher, not lacking in a sort of grim commonsense.”
If a stranger greeted him while he sat on a piece of driftwood on the beach, he would not be rude, and a longer conversation might leave the stranger thinking he had met a peculiar but wise old sailor with a blunt practicality.
Describes Orme's approachable yet eccentric demeanor in his retirement.
“What he had really discovered was this: a crucifix in indigo and vermilion tattooed on the chest and on the side of the heart. Slanting across the crucifix and paling the pigment there ran a whitish scar, long and thin, such as might ensue from the slash of a cutlass imperfectly parried or dodged.”
The old-clothes-man found that Orme had a blue and red crucifix tattooed on his chest near his heart, crossed by a pale, thin scar that looked like it came from a cutlass wound that was not fully blocked.
Reveals the secret Orme kept hidden, fueling superstitious rumors.
“One fine Easter Day, following a spell of rheumatic weather, Orme was discovered alone and dead on a height overlooking the seaward sweep of the great haven to whose shore, in his retirement from sea, he had moored.”
On a pleasant Easter Sunday after a period of damp, painful weather, Orme was found dead by himself on a hill that overlooked the wide harbor where he had settled after leaving the sea.
Describes the setting of Orme's peaceful death.
“He faced the outlet to the ocean. The eyes were open, still continuing in death the vital glance fixed on the hazy waters and the dim-seen sails coming and going or at anchor near by.”
He was positioned facing the sea, his eyes open even in death, still staring at the misty water and the faintly visible ships moving or anchored nearby.
Emphasizes Orme's final connection to the sea.