The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket · Chapter
XV explained
The Jane Guy departs from Christmas Harbour, passes Marion's Island and Prince Edward's Island, and arrives at Tristan d'Acunha.
What happens
The Jane Guy departs from Christmas Harbour, passes Marion's Island and Prince Edward's Island, and arrives at Tristan d'Acunha. The chapter provides a detailed geographical and historical account of the Tristan d'Acunha group, including its discovery, early visitors, and the settlement by Glass. After a week of provisioning, Captain Guy sets sail to search for the disputed Aurora Islands, conducting a thorough but fruitless three-week survey of the area.
Themes in this chapter
The Unknown and Cosmic Horror
The elusive Aurora Islands, repeatedly searched for but never found, evoke the mystery and uncertainty of the unknown.
Survival and Moral Decay
The detailed account of sealing and resource extraction at Tristan d'Acunha reflects the harsh realities of survival in remote regions.
Characters to notice
- Captain Guy
Commands the Jane Guy; purchases sealskins and ivory from Glass; leads the search for the Aurora Islands.
- Jane Guy
The ship that carries the crew to Tristan d'Acunha and then to the search for the Auroras.
- Glass
Englishman and self-proclaimed governor of Tristan d'Acunha; sells sealskins and ivory to Captain Guy.
- Captain Patten
Historical figure who collected sealskins on Tristan d'Acunha in 1790-1791.
- Captain James Weddell
British navigator who searched for the Aurora Islands in 1820 and found no land.
- Captain Benjamin Morrell
American captain who also searched the same waters for the Auroras with no result.
Key passages
“We kept on our course, between the south and west, with variable weather, until the twentieth of the month, when we found ourselves on the debated ground, being in latitude 53° 15′ S. , longitude 47° 58′ W.—that is to say, very nearly upon the spot indicated as the situation of the most southern of the group.”
After sailing with shifting winds, on the twentieth we reached the disputed area at 53°15'S, 47°58'W, almost exactly where the southernmost Aurora island was said to be.
Pym describes the precise coordinates of the search for the phantom Aurora Islands.
“Having thus gone eastwardly to the meridian of the western coast of Georgia, we kept that meridian until we were in the latitude from which we set out.”
After sailing east to the longitude of Georgia's west coast, we followed that line north until we returned to our starting latitude.
Pym explains the systematic search pattern used to cover the area.