The Mirror of the Sea · Chapter
XXVII explained
The narrator describes the psychological interplay between himself and his skipper during a fierce gale in the North Atlantic, culminating in a dramatic shift of wind that reveals their position off the Isle of Wight.
What happens
The narrator describes the psychological interplay between himself and his skipper during a fierce gale in the North Atlantic, culminating in a dramatic shift of wind that reveals their position off the Isle of Wight. The chapter explores the autocratic power of the West Wind, the skipper's pride in never wasting a fair wind, and the sailor's craving for visibility and clarity amid the storm.
Themes in this chapter
Man vs. Nature
The chapter vividly depicts the struggle of the ship and crew against the overwhelming power of the West Wind, personified as an autocrat whose might determines the fate of men and their vessels.
The Sea as Mirror
The storm and the shift of wind reflect the inner psychological states of the skipper and narrator, revealing pride, anxiety, and the craving for clarity amid chaos.
Routine and Monotony
The relentless gale and the narrator's futile, lightheaded thinking in the dark cabin highlight the monotony and mental strain of prolonged heavy weather at sea.
Characters to notice
- Captain MacW⸺
The commander of the ship, portrayed as a proud and psychologically complex master who seeks a suggestion from the narrator to avoid the humiliation of heaving-to with a fair wind.
- Mr. Conrad
The narrator, who observes the skipper's psychology and the West Wind's moods, and who resists giving the skipper the desired suggestion.
Key passages
“What do you think of it?”
The skipper yells to the narrator, asking for his opinion on the weather.
This question initiates the psychological game between the skipper and narrator, as the skipper seeks a suggestion to justify heaving-to.
“The weather’s bound to clear up with the shift of wind.”
The narrator predicts that the weather will improve when the wind changes direction.
The narrator's response shows his confidence in reading the West Wind's moods, though the skipper dismisses it as obvious.
“If we don’t get a shift by then we’ll take that foresail off her and put her head under her wing for the night.”
The skipper declares that if the wind doesn't shift by dark, they will furl the foresail and heave the ship to for the night.
This picturesque phrase reveals the skipper's reluctance to act without a suggestion and his pride in never wasting a fair wind.
“That long enduring piece of canvas was confiscated by the arbitrary decree of the West Wind.”
The foresail was torn away by the force of the gale, as if the wind itself had claimed it.
The narrator personifies the West Wind as a ruler who seizes the ship's equipment, emphasizing nature's dominance.
“Humph! that’s just about where I reckoned we had got to.”
The skipper claims he had accurately estimated their position off the Isle of Wight.
The skipper's delusion and pride are highlighted, as the revelation of their location was a complete surprise.