Toilers of the Sea · Chapter
V: The Fatal Difference Between Six Inches and Two Feet explained
Gilliatt discovers that the sloop has sprung a leak, with water rising from six inches to nearly two feet, threatening to sink the vessel.
What happens
Gilliatt discovers that the sloop has sprung a leak, with water rising from six inches to nearly two feet, threatening to sink the vessel. He frantically searches for the breach, finding it near the joint of the two riders on the starboard side, and works to staunch it while battling exhaustion and self-reproach. The chapter also recounts his earlier discovery of Clubin's skeleton in the cave, devoured by a devilfish, and his resolve to depart the Douvres at daybreak.
Themes in this chapter
Man vs. Nature
Gilliatt battles the rising water in the sloop, the leak caused by the rocks, and the relentless tide, highlighting his struggle against the forces of the sea.
Solitude and Isolation
Gilliatt works alone in the dark, cold, and silence, reproaching himself for his perceived failures, emphasizing his profound isolation.
Characters to notice
- Gilliatt
Discovers the leak in the sloop, works frantically to find and staunch it, and reflects on his earlier discovery of Clubin's skeleton.
- Captain Clubin
His skeleton is found by Gilliatt in the cave, having been killed by a devilfish; his remains are left among the crabs.
Key passages
“He discovered the mischief at last. During the gale, at the critical moment when the sloop had swerved, the strong bark had bumped and grazed rather violently on the rocks. One of the projections of the Little Douvre had made a fracture in the starboard side of the hull.”
Gilliatt finally finds the leak: a fracture on the starboard side caused by the sloop scraping against a rock during the storm.
The leak is located near the joint of the two riders, making it hard to detect earlier.
“He reproached himself bitterly. He thought that he ought to have seen the damage immediately. The six inches of water in the hold ought to have suggested it to him. He had been stupid enough to attribute these six inches of water to the rain and the foam.”
Gilliatt blames himself for not realizing sooner that the six inches of water in the hold indicated a leak, rather than just rain and foam.
His self-criticism reflects his intense focus and guilt over the danger to the sloop.
“The devilfish had seized Clubin. These two embodiments of treachery had met in the inexorable darkness. There had been an encounter at the bottom of the sea between these two compounds of mystery and watchfulness; the monster had destroyed the man: a horrible fulfilment of justice.”
The devilfish killed Clubin, a fitting end for a treacherous man, as the two embodiments of deceit met in the dark depths.
The narrative frames Clubin's death as a form of cosmic justice.