# II explained — The Inheritors > Chapter companion for The Inheritors by Joseph Conrad. ## What happens The narrator reflects on his encounter with the enigmatic woman, dismissing her as a trivial riddle and a symbol of a modern, superseding generation. He then visits the celebrated novelist Callan, who offers him a commission from Fox to write a series of personal articles on prominent figures, a job the narrator accepts despite his reservations. ## Themes in this chapter ### Modernity and Amorality The narrator sees the enigmatic woman as a symbol of a ruthless, modern generation that will supersede his own. ### Artistic Integrity vs. Commercialism The narrator contrasts his own dusty, unpretentious writing space with Callan's staged, commercialized literary persona, and accepts a job that feels like a compromise. ### Alienation and Identity The narrator feels out of place and old-fashioned, both in his encounter with the woman and in Callan's literary circle. ## Character check-ins ### Unknown Narrator Reflects on the woman's modernity and his own sense of being outdated; accepts Callan's job offer. ### Mr. Callan Hosts the narrator at his home, speaks in a slow, authoritative manner, and offers him the writing commission from Fox. ### Mr. Fox Mentioned as the backer of the new paper and the one who needs a writer for a series of celebrity profiles. ### Mr. Churchill Listed among the prominent people the narrator might write about. ## Key lines > Her figure faded into the darkness, as pale things waver down into deep water, and as soon as she disappeared my sense of humour returned. As she vanished into the dark, my ability to laugh at the situation came back. _The narrator regains his composure after the woman leaves._ > She had been playing the fool with me, in her insolent modernity. She had been mocking me with her arrogant, up-to-date attitude. _The narrator feels belittled by the woman's modern confidence._ > Callan was seated upon his sofa surrounded by an admiring crowd of very local personages. Callan sat on his sofa, encircled by a group of local admirers. _Describes Callan's social setting and his local fame._ > I found myself wondering which was real; the common with its misty hedges and the blurred moon; or this room with its ranks of uniformly bound books and its bust of the great man that threw a portentous shadow upward from its pedestal behind the lamp. I questioned whether the misty outdoor scene or this artificial, book-lined room was more real. _The narrator feels disoriented between the natural world and Callan's staged environment._ > Photography⁠—is not⁠—Art. Photography is not the same as art. _Callan dismisses photography as inferior to true artistic representation._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_inheritors_se/chapters/ii - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_inheritors_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_inheritors_se/chapters