III explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Isolation and Detachment

  Heyst's retreat to Samburan after the company's collapse and his solitary life there underscore his detachment from society.

• Colonialism and Exploitation

  The Tropical Belt Coal Company represents colonial economic exploitation, with imported coolies and foreign capital reshaping local industry.

• Illusion vs. Reality

  The grandiose prospectus and promises of the coal company contrast with its eventual failure, revealing the illusion of progress.

Characters to notice

• Axel Heyst

  Heyst becomes the manager of the Tropical Belt Coal Company, then retreats to Samburan after its liquidation, living in isolation.

• Morrison

  Morrison's gratitude leads to Heyst's partnership; he returns to England to promote the coal venture, catches a cold, and dies.

• Schomberg

  Schomberg spreads malicious gossip about Heyst, blaming him for Morrison's death, and later gloats over Heyst's isolation on Samburan.

• Davidson

  Davidson sees Heyst on Samburan, goes ashore, and reports that Heyst remains in possession of the island.

• Mr. Tesman

  The Tesmans appoint agents and later wash their hands of the Tropical Belt Coal Company after it goes into liquidation.

Key passages

• “Human nature being what it is, having a silly side to it as well as a mean side, there were not a few who pretended to be indignant on no better authority than a general propensity to believe every evil report; and a good many others who found it simply funny to call Heyst the Spider⁠—behind his back, of course.”

  Because people are both foolish and spiteful, many pretended to be outraged based only on a tendency to believe bad rumors, while others amused themselves by nicknaming Heyst 'the Spider'—though never to his face.

  The narrator comments on the petty gossip and mockery directed at Heyst.

• “He blossomed out into something definite. He filled the public eye as the manager on the spot of the Tropical Belt Coal Company with offices in London and Amsterdam, and other things about it that sounded and looked grandiose.”

  Heyst became a prominent figure as the local manager of the Tropical Belt Coal Company, which had impressive-sounding offices in London and Amsterdam.

  Heyst's rise to a defined role in the public eye.

• “Schomberg was the only one who resisted the infection. Big, manly in a portly style, and profusely bearded, with a glass of beer in his thick paw, he would approach some table where the topic of the hour was being discussed, would listen for a moment, and then come out with his invariable declaration: 'All this is very well, gentlemen; but he can’t throw any of his coal-dust in my eyes. There’s nothing in it.'”

  Schomberg alone remained skeptical, often interrupting conversations about the coal company to insist that Heyst was fooling everyone and the venture was worthless.

  Schomberg's stubborn disbelief in the coal company's success.

• “The T.B.C. Company went into liquidation, as I began by telling you. The Tesmans washed their hands of it. The Government cancelled those famous contracts. The talk died out, and presently it was remarked here and there that Heyst had faded completely away.”

  The Tropical Belt Coal Company failed and was liquidated; the Tesmans disassociated themselves, the government canceled contracts, and Heyst disappeared from public view.

  The collapse of the company and Heyst's subsequent disappearance.

• “Captain Davidson, coming by from the westward, saw him with his own eyes. Something white on the wharf; so he steamed in and went ashore in a small boat. Heyst, right enough. Put a book into his pocket, always very polite. Been strolling on the wharf and reading. 'I remain in possession here,' he told Captain Davidson.”

  Captain Davidson spotted a white figure on the wharf of Samburan, went ashore, and found Heyst, who politely put away his book and said he was still living there.

  Davidson's discovery of Heyst living alone on Samburan.