# XIII: How I Fell in with the Curate explained — The War of the Worlds

> Chapter companion for The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells.

## What happens

After the Martians retreat to Horsell Common, the narrator escapes by boat down the Thames, eventually landing near Walton. Exhausted and feverish, he encounters a distraught curate from Weybridge who is grappling with the theological implications of the Martian attack. The narrator tries to reason with the curate, urging him to maintain courage and hope despite the devastation.

## Themes in this chapter

### Human Vulnerability and Vanity

The curate's breakdown illustrates human fragility in the face of overwhelming disaster, and his theological crisis questions human significance.

### Social Order and Chaos

The collapse of normal life is evident in the deserted, burning villages and the curate's loss of faith in established religious order.

### Resilience and Renewal

The narrator's determination to escape and his efforts to encourage the curate reflect a stubborn hope and will to survive.

## Character check-ins

### The Narrator

Escapes the destruction of Weybridge by boat, lands near Walton, and meets the curate. He tries to calm the curate's religious panic.

### The Curate

A fugitive from Weybridge, deeply shaken by the Martian attack, he questions God's purpose and the meaning of the catastrophe.

### The Martians

Retreat to Horsell Common after losing one of their own, and are seen transferring equipment from other cylinders.

## Key lines

> Be a man! You are scared out of your wits! What good is religion if it collapses under calamity? Think of what earthquakes and floods, wars and volcanoes, have done before to men! Did you think God had exempted Weybridge? He is not an insurance agent.

The narrator tells the curate to pull himself together, arguing that faith should not crumble in disaster and that God does not guarantee safety from tragedy.

_The narrator challenges the curate's despair, urging resilience and a rational perspective._

> What does it mean? What do these things mean? Why are these things permitted? What sins have we done?

The curate repeatedly asks why the Martian attack is happening, seeing it as divine punishment.

_The curate's questions reflect his theological crisis and inability to comprehend the catastrophe._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_war_of_the_worlds_se/chapters/xiii-how-i-fell-in-with-the-curate
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_war_of_the_worlds_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_war_of_the_worlds_se/chapters