The Survivors of the Chancellor · Chapter
LVII explained
The survivors on the raft spot land off Cape Magoari on the Island of Marajo and are rescued by fishermen who take them to Para.
What happens
The survivors on the raft spot land off Cape Magoari on the Island of Marajo and are rescued by fishermen who take them to Para. An official account of the rescue is drawn up, listing the eleven survivors. The group eventually travels to Europe via Cayenne and the Ville de St. Nazaire. Miss Herbey decides to devote her life to nursing and joins the Letourneur family, with a hint of a possible romantic future with André.
Themes in this chapter
Hope and Despair
The chapter marks the transition from despair to hope as the survivors sight land and are rescued, culminating in thanksgiving and a new beginning.
Fatherly Love and Devotion
M. Letourneur's devotion to his son André is evident as he stays with him at the stern and later secures Miss Herbey's care for him.
Characters to notice
- Robert Curtis
Curtis is the first to spot land and is celebrated as the captain who faithfully guided the survivors; he is listed last in the official rescue document as 'Robert Curtis, captain.'
- Miss Herbey
Miss Herbey offers fervent prayers of thanksgiving upon seeing land and later decides to retire from the world to care for the sick, eventually joining the Letourneur family as a nurse.
- André Letourneur
André remains at the stern with his father during the sighting of land and is later the object of Miss Herbey's care, with a hint of a possible romantic union.
- M. Letourneur
M. Letourneur stays with his son André at the stern and later invites Miss Herbey to join their family as a nurse for André.
- Mr. Kazallon
Kazallon is the narrator who concludes his journal and notes the bond among survivors, signing the official rescue document.
Key passages
“Curtis, no doubt was right. The discharge from the mouth of the Amazon is enormously large, but we had probably drifted into the only spot in the Atlantic where we could find fresh water so far from land.”
Curtis correctly reasoned that the immense freshwater outflow from the Amazon created a unique patch of fresh water in the ocean, which the raft had drifted into.
Explains the scientific phenomenon of the Amazon's freshwater plume.
“Of the thirty-two souls—nine passengers, and twenty-three seamen—who left Charleston on board the ship, only five passengers and six seamen remain. Eleven of us alone survive.”
Out of the original 32 people (9 passengers and 23 crew) who departed from Charleston, only 11 survived: 5 passengers and 6 seamen.
Summarizes the devastating loss of life during the voyage.
“Miss Herbey by chance intimated to us her intention of retiring from the world and devoting the remainder of her life to the care of the sick and suffering.”
Miss Herbey casually mentioned her plan to become a nun or nurse, dedicating herself to helping the ill and needy.
Reveals Miss Herbey's altruistic decision after the ordeal.