# IV: Due South explained — The Blue Lagoon

> Chapter companion for The Blue Lagoon by H. de Vere Stacpoole.

## What happens

Lestrange and Captain Stannistreet sail south on the schooner Raratonga in search of the lost children. Lestrange is tormented by visions and a deep anxiety that the children may have been taken by natives and raised as 'savages.' Stannistreet offers a philosophical counterpoint, suggesting that a life close to nature might be happier than civilization. As they near the island, they discover a drifting dinghy containing a native girl and a baby, both asleep.

## Themes in this chapter

### Nature vs. Civilization

Lestrange and Stannistreet debate whether a life 'face to face with Nature' is happier than civilized existence, reflecting on the fate of the lost children.

### Knowledge and Intuition

Lestrange experiences a 'waking dream' and a sensation of danger that defies rational explanation, contrasting with Stannistreet's practical seafaring knowledge.

## Character check-ins

### Arthur Lestrange

Tormented by visions and anxiety about his lost children; debates the merits of civilization versus a natural life.

### Captain Stannistreet

The sympathetic and intelligent schooner captain who navigates the Raratonga and engages in philosophical discussion with Lestrange.

## Key lines

> “What does a man want to be but happy?” “Yes.” “Well, who is happier than a naked savage in a warm climate? Oh, he’s happy enough, and he’s not always holding a corroboree. He’s a good deal of a gentleman; he has perfect health; he lives the life a man was born to live face to face with Nature.”

Stannistreet argues that a 'savage' living in nature is happier and more fulfilled than a civilized person, enjoying perfect health and a life unmediated by industry.

_Highlights the theme of nature versus civilization and Stannistreet's romantic view of indigenous life._

> “Suppose those children had been brought up face to face with Nature⁠—” “Yes?” “Living that free life⁠—” “Yes?” “Waking up under the stars”⁠—Lestrange was speaking with his eyes fixed, as if upon something very far away⁠—“going to sleep as the sun sets, feeling the air fresh, like this which blows upon us, all around them. Suppose they were like that, would it not be a cruelty to bring them to what we call civilisation?”

Lestrange wonders if rescuing the children from a natural life would be a cruelty, suggesting that civilization might be a lesser state than the freedom of nature.

_Captures Lestrange's internal conflict and the central philosophical dilemma of the chapter._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_blue_lagoon_se/chapters/iv-due-south
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_blue_lagoon_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_blue_lagoon_se/chapters