# VII: The Schooner explained — The Blue Lagoon

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

## What happens

Dick and Emmeline encounter a passing schooner while on the reef, but the vessel sails away after mistaking them for savages. Later, Dick finds a broken javelin on the beach, evidence of unknown visitors, and repairs it, while Emmeline grows uneasy about the mysterious presence on the island.

## Themes in this chapter

### Nature vs. Civilization

The schooner's crew mistakes Dick and Emmeline for savages due to their appearance and the javelin, highlighting the divide between the natural island life and the outside world.

### Isolation and Survival

The encounter with the schooner and the discovery of the javelin underscore the children's isolation and the latent threats to their survival on the island.

## Character check-ins

### Dick

Strips naked on the reef, uses a javelin and fish-spear, repairs the broken javelin, and is excited by the schooner's appearance.

### Emmeline

Sits by a coral pool in a reverie, feels relief when the schooner leaves, and is disturbed by the javelin and the unknown visitors.

## Key lines

> What woman would appear in a town or on a country road, or even bathing in a river, as she appears bathing in the sea?

The sea changes how people behave and what is considered modest, unlike on land.

_Reflects on the liberating and purifying nature of the sea._

> The thing seemed to have been hurled here out of the blue by some unseen hand.

The javelin appeared on the beach as if from nowhere, mysterious and ominous.

_Highlights the sudden intrusion of the unknown into the children's world._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_blue_lagoon_se/chapters/part-i-vii-the-schooner
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_blue_lagoon_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_blue_lagoon_se/chapters