# XLV explained — The Survivors of the Chancellor

> Chapter companion for The Survivors of the Chancellor by Jules Verne.

## What happens

The survivors on the raft suffer extreme thirst and despair, but a brief rain shower provides a small amount of fresh water, reviving their hopes even as they discover that water from the salt-impregnated sails is undrinkable.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hope and Despair

The brief rain shower brings a surge of hope and gratitude, contrasting with the earlier despair and savage looks among the survivors.

### Survival and Sacrifice

The group's desperate measures to collect and preserve rainwater highlight their struggle for survival.

## Character check-ins

### M. Letourneur

Kneels in supplication for rain.

### Dowlas

Shouts with delight at the coming rain.

### Robert Curtis

Prevents the sailors from wringing out the sails, testing the water first and finding it briny.

### Mr. Kazallon

Narrator; describes his own suffering and the rain's reviving effect.

## Key lines

> My sufferings were terrible; tongue, lips, and throat were so parched and swollen that if food had been at hand I question whether I could have swallowed it.

The narrator's thirst was so extreme that his mouth and throat were painfully dry and swollen, making even the thought of eating impossible.

_Describes the physical agony of dehydration._

> We all laid ourselves down flat upon our backs and kept our mouths wide open.

Everyone lay on their backs with mouths open to catch the falling rain.

_Shows the desperate yet hopeful act of collecting rainwater directly._

> The rain lasted about twenty minutes, when the cloud, still only half exhausted, passed quite away from over us.

The shower continued for roughly twenty minutes before the cloud moved on, still containing some rain.

_Indicates the brevity of the rainfall and the missed opportunity for more water._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_survivors_of_the_chancellor_se/chapters/xlv
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_survivors_of_the_chancellor_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_survivors_of_the_chancellor_se/chapters