Toilers of the Sea · Chapter
An Unexpected Flask of Brandy explained
The Durande departs St.
What happens
The Durande departs St. Malo for Guernsey with Captain Clubin, a small crew, and six passengers. The helmsman Tangrouille, a nobleman fallen into poverty, has a secret drinking habit. During the night, he finds an unexpected bottle of brandy in his hiding place, drinks it all, and throws the bottle overboard. In the morning, he is slightly unsteady at the helm. Clubin, who slept at the Jean Auberge, wears a leather belt containing a reserve of twenty guineas and, before departure, adds the iron box with seventy-five thousand francs in banknotes.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Reputation
The chapter details the fall of the noble Tangroville family to the common helmsman Tangrouille, illustrating how poverty and labor erase noble status in the Channel Islands' rigid caste system.
Deception and Moral Ambiguity
Tangrouille's secret drinking and Clubin's hidden belt with money and banknotes suggest hidden motives and deception aboard the Durande.
Characters to notice
- Captain Clubin
Sieur Clubin is the captain of the Durande, a sober and vigilant man who retains the drunken helmsman Tangrouille. He wears a leather belt with his name and a reserve of twenty guineas, and before departure he adds the iron box containing seventy-five thousand francs in banknotes.
- Tangrouille
The helmsman of the Durande, a fallen nobleman (probable Tancarville/Montmorency) who gets drunk occasionally. He has a secret store in the hold where he finds an unexpected bottle of brandy, drinks it all, and throws the bottle overboard, resulting in slight unsteadiness at the helm.
- Mess Lethierry
Mentioned as the owner of the Durande; Clubin answers to him for Tangrouille's conduct.
- Imbrancam
A Dutch negro, former slave from Surinam, who works as an engineer and practical mechanic on the Durande. His black face contributed to the 'Devil Boat's' diabolical reputation.
- M. Gertrais-Gaboureau
Old Captain Gertrais-Gaboureau is mentioned as being evidently in his dotage.
Key passages
“Tangrouille, this probable Tancarville, and possible Montmorency, had an ancient noble quality, but a grave failing for a steersman; he got drunk occasionally.”
Tangrouille, likely descended from the noble Tancarville or even Montmorency line, had a noble heritage but a serious flaw as a helmsman: he was prone to drunkenness.
Highlights the contrast between noble lineage and personal failing.
“In the Norman islands, if a noble falls into poverty, he is soon eliminated from the order. A mere change of pronunciation is enough. Tangroville becomes Tangrouille: and the thing is done.”
In the Channel Islands, a noble who becomes poor is quickly cast out of the nobility; simply altering the pronunciation of his name, as from Tangroville to Tangrouille, accomplishes this.
Illustrates the social mechanism of caste exclusion through name change.