The Survivors of the Chancellor · Chapter
XXXIV explained
As the raft drifts into a storm region, the oppressive heat and electric atmosphere build toward a violent squall.
What happens
As the raft drifts into a storm region, the oppressive heat and electric atmosphere build toward a violent squall. Miss Herbey, André Letourneur, and Mr. Kazallon observe the sublime lightning display, while Curtis and the boatswain warn of the approaching tempest. The chapter captures the tension between poetic appreciation of nature and the practical dangers faced by the survivors.
Themes in this chapter
Nature and the Sublime
The storm is portrayed as both a majestic spectacle and a source of danger, highlighting the awe-inspiring power of nature.
Hope and Despair
The survivors hope the storm will bring wind and fresh water, yet face the terror of the approaching squall.
Characters to notice
- Miss Herbey
Sits with André and Kazallon watching the lightning, expressing awe rather than fear of the storm.
- André Letourneur
Engages in poetic conversation about the sublimity of the storm, wishing for thunder and wind.
- Mr. Kazallon
Narrates the scene, converses with Curtis about the storm's approach, and observes the weather signs.
- Robert Curtis
Points out the cloud-ring and predicts the storm will burst with fury in a couple of hours.
Key passages
“Are you afraid of a storm, Miss Herbey? said André to the girl. No, Mr. André, my feelings are always rather those of awe than of fear, she replied. I consider a storm one of the sublimest phenomena that we can behold—don't you think so too?”
André asks Miss Herbey if she fears the storm; she responds that she feels awe rather than fear, calling storms a sublime spectacle.
Highlights the theme of nature's sublimity and the characters' philosophical outlook.
“Yes, Mr. Kazallon, said Curtis, our raft has been driven into the region of storms, of which it has been justly remarked that anyone endowed with very sensitive organs can at any moment distinguish the growlings of thunder.”
Curtis tells Kazallon that the raft has entered a storm region where even sensitive ears can detect distant thunder.
Shows Curtis's practical and scientific understanding of the weather.