Victory: An Island TaleIn Victory (1915) Conrad returns to the Malay Archipelago, to the setting of his first mature novel, Lord Jim, and in Axel Heyst he creates a hero who is in many ways similar to Jim, a noble altruist destroyed by his ideals. Heyst is emotionally crippled by the influence of his dead father, a sceptical philosopher who has bequeathed to Heyst an attitude to life summed up in the father's dying words: 'Look on - make no sound.' Despite this injunction Heyst allows himself to become inextricably involved with an English Cockney girl whom he rescues from Giancomo's Travelling Ladies' Orchestra and carries off to his isolated retreat on the island of Samburan. His action incurs the fatal wrath of Schomberg, the island's innkeeper, who sends in pursuit of Heyst three demonic strangers whose invasion of his island paradise leads rapidly to the novel's violent and tragic close. Victory was the first of Conrad's novels to be completed after the commercial success of Chance (1914) had transformed Conrad's fortunes and made him internationally famous. It is a more complex example of the literary form which Conrad evolved for Lord Jim: a story of action and high adventure coexisting with an exhaustive study of the psychology of the central character. |
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Page 40
... smiling stupidly now and then . Davidson viewed her profile with a flattened nose , a hollow cheek , and one staring ... smile of a man making an amusing experiment . He spoke again to her : " But the other members of that orchestra were ...
... smiling stupidly now and then . Davidson viewed her profile with a flattened nose , a hollow cheek , and one staring ... smile of a man making an amusing experiment . He spoke again to her : " But the other members of that orchestra were ...
Page 81
... smile as you go . 99 She obeyed with unexpected readiness ; and as she had a set of very good white teeth , the effect of the mechanical , ordered smile was joyous , radiant . It astonished Heyst . No wonder , it flashed though his mind ...
... smile as you go . 99 She obeyed with unexpected readiness ; and as she had a set of very good white teeth , the effect of the mechanical , ordered smile was joyous , radiant . It astonished Heyst . No wonder , it flashed though his mind ...
Page 89
... smile this evening in the concert - room there you remember ? " " I thought we were being observed . A smile is the best of masks . Schomberg was at a table next but one to us , drinking with some Dutch clerks from the town . No doubt ...
... smile this evening in the concert - room there you remember ? " " I thought we were being observed . A smile is the best of masks . Schomberg was at a table next but one to us , drinking with some Dutch clerks from the town . No doubt ...
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Common terms and phrases
Alfuro arms asked believe boat breath bungalow chair Chinaman Chink Conrad course dark Davidson door doorway dream eyes face faint feeling fellow felt Flores Sea Ford Madox Ford frightened gaze gentleman girl glance gleam gone governor hand head heard Heyst hotel-keeper island Java Sea jetty JOHN BATCHELOR Jones Joseph Conrad Lena light lips looked Lord Jim Martin matter mean mind Morrison moved murmured mysterious never night Norman Sherry Nostromo Number once Pedro perhaps Ricardo round Samburan Schom Schomberg schooner secretary seemed seen shadow shoulders side sight silence smile sort sound Sourabaya speak staring stood strange suddenly surprised table d'hôte talk tell Tesmans There's thing thought tion told tone Tony Tanner turned understand verandah voice walked Wang Wang's watched wharf What's whispered woman wonder words Zangiacomo