The Last Man · Chapter
Chapter IX explained
Lionel Verney, now the last man alive, wanders the desolate Italian coast after the deaths of Adrian and Clara.
What happens
Lionel Verney, now the last man alive, wanders the desolate Italian coast after the deaths of Adrian and Clara. He takes shelter in a watchtower, eats stale biscuit, and sleeps, only to wake to the crushing reality of his solitude. He compares himself to Robinson Crusoe, envying Crusoe's hope of rescue, while he himself faces an eternity of loneliness. He visits Ravenna, finding it empty of humans, and struggles to accept that he is the sole survivor of humanity.
Themes in this chapter
Isolation and Solitude
Lionel's utter loneliness as the last man is the central focus; he describes himself as 'a solitary point, surrounded by vacuum' and laments the absence of any human companion.
Grief and Memory
Lionel is consumed by grief for Adrian and Clara, and his memories of them haunt him, especially the journey to Venice and Adrian's poetic discourses.
Nature and Humanity
Nature is depicted as both indifferent and overwhelming—the sea's roar torments Lionel, while the barren landscape and abandoned cities reflect humanity's absence.
Characters to notice
- Lionel Verney
The narrator and last man, grieving and alone, wandering the Italian coast after the deaths of Adrian and Clara.
- Adrian
Mentioned as having drowned; his gentle smile and poetic fervor are recalled in Lionel's memories.
- Clara
Mentioned as having drowned; remembered as overcoming grief and receiving attentions with tenderness during the journey to Venice.
Key passages
“I remembered the ancient fables, in which human beings are described as dissolving away through weeping into ever-gushing fountains. Ah! that so it were; and then my destiny would be in some sort akin to the watery death of Adrian and Clara.”
Lionel recalls myths where people wept so much they turned into fountains, wishing he could dissolve into water like Adrian and Clara did.
Expresses Lionel's desire to escape his grief through a metaphorical transformation.
“For a moment I compared myself to that monarch of the waste—Robinson Crusoe. We had been both thrown companionless—he on the shore of a desolate island: I on that of a desolate world.”
Lionel briefly compares his situation to Robinson Crusoe's, noting that while Crusoe was alone on an island, Lionel is alone on an entire empty world.
Highlights the difference between Crusoe's hope of rescue and Lionel's hopelessness.
“I would have knelt down and worshipped the same. The wild and cruel Caribbee, the merciless Cannibal—or worse than these, the uncouth, brute, and remorseless veteran in the vices of civilization, would have been to me a beloved companion, a treasure dearly prized.”
Lionel says he would worship even a savage or a criminal, as any human would be a cherished companion in his solitude.
Emphasizes the depth of Lionel's loneliness and his desperate longing for any human contact.