The Island of Doctor Moreau · Chapter
III: The Strange Face explained
Prendick and Montgomery encounter a misshapen, black-faced man on the ship's companionway, whose grotesque appearance shocks Prendick.
What happens
Prendick and Montgomery encounter a misshapen, black-faced man on the ship's companionway, whose grotesque appearance shocks Prendick. The man is abused by the drunken captain and set upon by the staghounds, leading to a heated confrontation between Montgomery and the captain over the treatment of the man and the filthy state of the ship. Prendick intervenes to prevent a physical fight, drawing the captain's wrath upon himself.
Themes in this chapter
Humanity vs. Animality
The black-faced man's animal-like appearance and behavior, combined with the dogs' ferocity, blur the line between human and beast.
Isolation and Alienation
The misshapen man is ostracized and abused by the crew, and Prendick feels like a 'bit of human flotsam' cut off from resources.
Fear and Control
The captain exerts violent control over the ship, while Montgomery and Prendick struggle to assert any authority or protect the vulnerable man.
Characters to notice
- Edward Prendick
Narrator who is shocked by the misshapen man's appearance and intervenes to prevent a fight between Montgomery and the captain.
- Montgomery
Defends the black-faced man from the captain's abuse and quarrels with the captain over the treatment of his attendant.
- The Captain
Drunken, abusive captain who assaults the black-faced man and threatens Montgomery, asserting his authority over the ship.
- The Beast Folk
The misshapen black-faced man, a Beast Folk, is cowering and abused, speaking with a queer hoarse voice.
Key passages
“He was, I could see, a misshapen man, short, broad, and clumsy, with a crooked back, a hairy neck, and a head sunk between his shoulders.”
Prendick observes that the man is deformed, with a hunched back, thick neck, and a head that seems set low between his shoulders.
First description of the Beast Folk, emphasizing physical deformity.
“In some indefinable way the black face thus flashed upon me shocked me profoundly. It was a singularly deformed one. The facial part projected, forming something dimly suggestive of a muzzle, and the huge half-open mouth showed as big white teeth as I had ever seen in a human mouth.”
The sudden sight of the man's dark, muzzle-like face with enormous teeth deeply unsettles Prendick.
Highlights the disturbing animalistic features of the Beast Folk.
“I’m the law here, I tell you—the law and the prophets.”
The captain declares himself the absolute authority on the ship.
Illustrates the captain's tyrannical control and the theme of law versus chaos.