# Chapter VII explained — The Secret Agent > Chapter companion for The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad. ## What happens The Assistant Commissioner, feeling unplaced and lighthearted, ventures into the wet London night to observe Mr. Verloc's shop. He later meets with Sir Ethelred and Toodles, discussing the need to investigate the bombing personally rather than leaving it to Chief Inspector Heat, whom he sees as an 'old departmental hand' with a limited morality. He resolves to seek the explanation for the address on the bomber's clothing at Verloc's shop, viewing Verloc as a secret agent. After the meeting, he returns to his office, notes Heat's removal of evidence, and prepares to go out incognito. ## Themes in this chapter ### Betrayal and Deception The Assistant Commissioner views Verloc as a secret agent whose existence undermines trust and certitude in revolutionary groups. ### Moral Squalor and Corruption The wet, greasy, black London night and the 'authorised scoundrelism' of spies reflect a corrupt moral landscape. ### Psychology of Crime The Assistant Commissioner analyzes the 'peculiar stupidity and feebleness' of the bombing, seeking the psychological explanation behind the address clue. ## Character check-ins ### Assistant Commissioner Feels unplaced and lighthearted as he observes Verloc's shop; later meets Sir Ethelred to discuss the case, seeking a free hand to investigate Verloc personally. ### Sir Ethelred Listens attentively to the Assistant Commissioner's plan, showing haughtiness and concern over the political situation. ### Toodles Sympathetic and devoted, discusses Sir Ethelred's overwork and the danger from foreign scoundrels, then leaves to attend to the Personage. ### Chief Inspector Heat Mentioned as an old departmental hand who has taken the piece of overcoat evidence; the Assistant Commissioner plans to bypass him. ### Mr. Verloc His shop is under observation; he is described as a secret agent and former spy for Baron Stott-Wartenheim. ### Michaelis Mentioned indirectly via the Assistant Commissioner's note to his wife about dining with Michaelis' great lady. ## Key lines > He advanced at once into an immensity of greasy slime and damp plaster interspersed with lamps, and enveloped, oppressed, penetrated, choked, and suffocated by the blackness of a wet London night, which is composed of soot and drops of water. He stepped into a vast, filthy, wet London night, thick with soot and water, that completely overwhelmed him. _Describes the oppressive atmosphere as the Assistant Commissioner leaves his office._ > I mean to say, first, that there's but poor comfort in being able to declare that any given act of violence—damaging property or destroying life—is not the work of anarchism at all, but of something else altogether—some species of authorised scoundrelism. He argues that it's little consolation to claim a violent act isn't anarchist but rather a form of sanctioned villainy. _The Assistant Commissioner explains his view on secret agents and violence to Sir Ethelred._ > The very peculiarities which surprise and perplex Chief Inspector Heat establish its character in my eyes. I am keeping clear of details, Sir Ethelred. The odd features that baffle Heat actually clarify the nature of the affair for me, though I'm avoiding specifics. _The Assistant Commissioner hints at his different interpretation of the bombing case._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_agent_se/chapters/vii - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_agent_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_secret_agent_se/chapters