Paul Cornelius's review of The Rescue (original) (raw)

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Paul Cornelius's Reviews > The Rescue

The Rescue by Joseph Conrad

The Rescue
by

17971565

Simply put, Conrad fails with this novel. It's not that it doesn't have its moments. And the cumulative impact of events on the ending brings off a tremendous effect, a blow that leaves an image of its protagonist, Lingard, forever changed--and damaged. As with many of Conrad's novels and stories, it illustrates the failure of people to connect. In this case, it is with the once heroic and respected Captain Lingard with a married woman, Mrs. Travers.

Alas, Lingard actually has few truly heroic dimensions, making the possibility of a full tragedy almost impossible. And there is one other thing at work: if the reader has completed the other books in this series that deal with Lingard, Almayer's Folly and An Outcast of the Islands, he realizes just what is so infuriating about Lingard over the entire range of experiences. It's this: he is a horrible judge of human character. Such it seems it is with Mrs. Travers and virtually ever other figure in The Rescue, except perhaps for Mr. Carter. Although even with Carter, it seems that time will eventually tell. This "flaw," of course, was really given vent in An Outcast of the Islands, where Almayer lets loose a salvo of insults against Lingard for his trust in Willems and his loss of everything they've built together because of Willems conspiracy with a rival Arab trader.

But I guess Rescue lets us see how that flaw will dominate and consume Lingard later on. Here, it is made manifest in Lingard's all but adolescent mooning over Mrs. Travers. And the dialogue reflects that. In those passages where we explore the feelings, thoughts, and temptations of Mrs. Travers and Lingard, the prose plays out in a manner so slowly, repetitiously, and tediously that it seems as if you are listening to someone giving a lengthy dissertation on how to unwind a ball of yarn. You can admire Conrad's shifts in perspective and time. And you can appreciate his attempt to delve into the minutiae of Travers' and Lingard's psyche. But with regards to the latter, I simply think Conrad fails, here. Rather than a flawed giant, which seems the intent of the novel, Lingard comes off as too much of a sniveling, self absorbed teenager in love with his first girlfriend and ready to sacrifice everyone around him in order to get a date.

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Reading Progress

February 14, 2020 – Shelved

February 14, 2020 –Finished Reading

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