# On the Willebroek Canal explained — Travel Essays

> Chapter companion for Travel Essays by Robert Louis Stevenson.

## What happens

The travelers navigate the Willebroek Canal in rain and wind, observing the leisurely life of bargees and enduring a comically disastrous lunch ashore before paddling onward toward Brussels.

## Themes in this chapter

### Travel and Discovery

The chapter captures the slow, contemplative journey along the canal, with the travelers observing the scenery and the lives of bargees.

### Freedom vs. Confinement

The bargee's life is portrayed as a blend of travel and home, offering liberty and a timeless existence, contrasting with office-bound routines.

## Character check-ins

### The Arethusa

One of the two canoes used by the travelers, carrying provisions for lunch.

### The Cigarette

The other canoe, equipped with an Etna cooking apparatus that proves troublesome during the shore lunch.

## Key lines

> There should be many contented spirits on board, for such a life is both to travel and to stay at home.

The bargee's existence combines the pleasures of journeying with the comforts of domesticity.

_Reflects the theme of freedom and the appeal of a life unbound by conventional work._

> Discomfort, when it is honestly uncomfortable and makes no nauseous pretensions to the contrary, is a vastly humorous business; and people well steeped and stupefied in the open air are in a good vein for laughter.

Genuine discomfort, without any attempt to disguise it, becomes a source of comedy, especially for those thoroughly drenched and tired outdoors.

_Highlights the travelers' lighthearted resilience during their rainy lunch._

## Links

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