Appearance
Excerpt
Excerpt from To-morrow, by Joseph Conrad
In their intimacy of back yard and front garden he talked with her
paternally, reasonably, and dogmatically, with a touch of arbitrariness.
They met on the ground of unreserved confidence, which was authenticated
by an affectionate wink now and then. Miss Carvil had come to look
forward rather to these winks. At first they had discomposed her: the
poor fellow was mad. Afterwards she had learned to laugh at them: there
was no harm in him. Now she was aware of an unacknowledged, pleasurable,
incredulous emotion, expressed by a faint blush. He winked not in the
least vulgarly; his thin red face with a well-modelled curved nose, had
a sort of distinction--the more so that when he talked to her he looked
with a steadier and more intelligent glance. A handsome, hale, upright,
capable man, with a white beard. You did not think of his age. His son,
he affirmed, had resembled him amazingly from his earliest babyhood.
Harry would be one-and-thirty next July, he declared. Proper age to get
married with a nice, sensible girl that could appreciate a good home. He
was a very high-spirited boy. High-spirited husbands were the easiest
to manage. These mean, soft chaps, that you would think butter
wouldn’t melt in their mouths, were the ones to make a woman thoroughly
miserable. And there was nothing like a home--a fireside--a good roof:
no turning out of your warm bed in all sorts of weather. “Eh, my dear?”
Captain Hagberd had been one of those sailors that pursue their calling
within sight of land. One of the many children of a bankrupt farmer, he
had been apprenticed hurriedly to a coasting skipper, and had remained
on the coast all his sea life. It must have been a hard one at first:
he had never taken to it; his affection turned to the land, with its
innumerable houses, with its quiet lives gathered round its firesides.
Many sailors feel and profess a rational dislike for the sea, but his
was a profound and emotional animosity--as if the love of the stabler
element had been bred into him through many generations.
Explanation
Joseph Conrad’s short story "To-morrow" (1902) is a poignant exploration of obsession, delusion, and the destructive power of unfulfilled dreams. The excerpt provided introduces Captain Hagberd, a retired sailor whose life is defined by his fixation on his estranged son, Harry, and his longing for domestic stability—a stability he now seeks to impose on others, particularly Miss Carvil, a young woman he has chosen as a prospective daughter-in-law. Below is a detailed analysis of the passage, focusing on its characterization, themes, literary devices, and psychological depth, while also situating it within the broader context of the story.
1. Context of the Excerpt
"To-morrow" is set in a small coastal town where Captain Hagberd, a widower, lives in a state of self-imposed isolation, consumed by his fantasy of reuniting with his son, Harry, whom he has not seen in years. The story unfolds through the perspective of outsiders (including Miss Carvil and the townspeople), who observe Hagberd’s eccentric behavior with a mix of pity, amusement, and unease. The excerpt captures a moment of manipulative paternalism—Hagberd’s attempt to groom Miss Carvil into accepting his vision of a future with Harry, a future that exists only in his mind.
2. Characterization of Captain Hagberd
The passage paints Hagberd as a complex, contradictory figure, blending traits of authority, vulnerability, and delusion:
- Paternal and Dogmatic: His speech is "paternally, reasonably, and dogmatically", suggesting a man who sees himself as a wise elder, yet his "touch of arbitrariness" hints at his refusal to entertain dissent. His confidence is performative—he is not engaging in a dialogue but delivering a monologue disguised as advice.
- The Winks: The "affectionate wink" evolves in Miss Carvil’s perception:
- Initially, she thinks he is "mad" (a foreshadowing of his detachment from reality).
- Then, she dismisses him as harmless ("no harm in him").
- Finally, she experiences an "unacknowledged, pleasurable, incredulous emotion"—a blend of flattery, confusion, and reluctant attraction to his intensity. The wink becomes a symbol of his manipulative charm, a way to draw her into his fantasy.
- Physical Description: Conrad emphasizes Hagberd’s vitality and dignity—"handsome, hale, upright, capable"—to contrast with his psychological fragility. His "thin red face" and "white beard" suggest age, but his energy makes others "not think of his age", reinforcing his self-image as a man still in control.
- Obsession with Harry: His fixation on his son’s age ("one-and-thirty next July") and suitability for marriage reveals his desperate need to script the future. His claim that Harry is "high-spirited" (and thus "easy to manage") is ironic—it is Hagberd who is unmanageable, projecting his own desires onto his son and Miss Carvil.
3. Themes
A. The Illusion of Control
Hagberd’s dialogue is a performance of authority, but his need to assert dominance over Miss Carvil (and, by extension, Harry’s future) exposes his deep-seated powerlessness. His insistence on the virtues of a "good home" and "fireside" reflects his own unfulfilled longing for stability, which he now tries to impose on others. The irony is that his obsession with tomorrow (the story’s title) blinds him to the present—Harry may not even return, and Miss Carvil is not his to command.
B. The Sea vs. the Land
Conrad contrasts Hagberd’s hatred of the sea with his idealization of domestic life:
- The sea represents chaos, instability, and loss (his son is a sailor, absent for years).
- The land symbolizes order, warmth, and permanence—yet his fixation on these ideals is itself unstable. His "profound and emotional animosity" toward the sea is generational, suggesting a deep psychological wound (perhaps tied to his father’s bankruptcy and his own forced apprenticeship).
C. Delusion and Reality
Hagberd’s selective perception is central to the story. He:
- Mythologizes Harry: His claim that Harry resembled him "amazingly from his earliest babyhood" is likely a fabrication, reinforcing his fantasy of continuity.
- Ignores Miss Carvil’s Agency: His assumption that she will accept his script for her life ("a nice, sensible girl") reveals his solipsism.
- Projects His Desires: His warning about "mean, soft chaps" who make women miserable is a projection—he is the one who would make a woman miserable by trapping her in his delusion.
4. Literary Devices
A. Free Indirect Discourse
Conrad blends Hagberd’s direct speech with narratorial commentary, creating a subtle irony. For example:
- "Proper age to get married with a nice, sensible girl that could appreciate a good home." The phrasing sounds like Hagberd’s voice, but the detached, slightly mocking tone ("proper," "nice, sensible") hints at the narrator’s (and reader’s) skepticism.
B. Symbolism
- The Wink: Represents Hagberd’s attempt to create complicity, a shared secret that binds Miss Carvil to his fantasy. It starts as unsettling, becomes amusing, and finally seductive—mirroring the stages of psychological manipulation.
- The Fireside: Symbolizes domestic security, but Hagberd’s fixation on it is cloying and oppressive, not comforting.
C. Irony
- Dramatic Irony: The reader (and Miss Carvil) knows Hagberd is delusional, but he does not.
- Situational Irony: Hagberd, who hates the sea, has spent his life on it, and his son (his hope for the future) is a sailor, perpetually absent.
D. Stream of Consciousness (Miss Carvil’s Perspective)
The shift in Miss Carvil’s reactions ("discomposed" → "laugh" → "pleasurable emotion") is rendered indirectly, showing how Hagberd’s persistent charm wears down her resistance. The "faint blush" suggests she is both attracted and repelled—a classic Conradian exploration of moral ambiguity.
5. Significance of the Passage
This excerpt is pivotal because it:
- Establishes Hagberd’s Tragic Flaw: His inability to accept reality (Harry’s absence, Miss Carvil’s autonomy) dooms him.
- Foreshadows the Story’s Climax: His manipulation of Miss Carvil sets up the later revelation that Harry does not share his father’s dreams—leading to Hagberd’s collapse.
- Explores Conrad’s Central Themes:
- The destructiveness of obsession (also seen in Heart of Darkness, The Secret Sharer).
- The illusion of control over fate (a recurring motif in Conrad’s sea stories).
- The tension between appearance and reality (Hagberd seems rational but is deeply deluded).
6. Conclusion: The Pathos of Captain Hagberd
Conrad’s genius lies in making Hagberd both pitiable and unsettling. He is not a villain but a broken man clinging to a dream—one that requires others to play their assigned roles. The excerpt’s power comes from its psychological realism: Hagberd’s winks, his dogmatic tone, his physical vitality all mask a profound loneliness. His tragedy is that he cannot live in the present—he is always waiting for "to-morrow", a tomorrow that may never come.
In this way, "To-morrow" becomes a meditation on the human need for meaning and the dangers of living in fantasy. Hagberd’s story is a warning: when we impose our dreams on others, we risk destroying not only them but ourselves.