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The Secret Agent
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The Secret Agent - Week 3 - Ch 8-10
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My ideas on Stevie’s character have definitely evolved since reading chapter 8. At first I thought he would represent the other characters’ misunderstandings. Now it seems he understands more than anyone else in the novel. Like you mentioned, Robin, he is the only one who truly feels empathy for those around him. In contrast, Winnie keeps saying that “things do not stand much looking into,” is untroubled herself and tries to sooth Stevie by declaring that nothing can be done. I suspect that Stevie has some idea of what he will be carrying, or at least what it’s purpose is. Once he starts walking with Verloc, Winnie notices a change in his behavior so Verloc is probably using the walks to prep him. It would also enhance the difference between Stevie and the anarchists- they are all talk and Stevie is willing to act.
Verloc says he used Stevie because if Stevie were caught he’d probably be let go. It’s still a cowardly decision. Even if he didn’t intend any harm to Stevie he must have known the danger. I wonder what Winnie will do once she gets over the shock.
What’s also ironic is that both Winnie and her mother take actions to protect Stevie which indirectly contribute to his death. (Winnie by marrying Verloc and encouraging their walks and her mother by moving into the widows’ home)
Mod
I still don't really understand who Mr. Vladimir is in this picture.
The introduction to my edition gives some useful historical background to help explain Mr Vladimir and his goals. Russian anarchist societies were being brutally put down by the Tsar’s government. Those who escaped death or prison became exiles, many of whom ended up in London because of England’s comparatively relaxed attitude toward them. From there they continued to produce anti-tsar propaganda and raise money for terrorist activity within Russia. London police monitored their activities. This infuriated the Russian government and the Russian embassy did hire spies to also monitor these anarchists. The Russians also promoted terrorist activity within England, which they pinned on anarchists in hopes the public outcry would force England to crack down on them. London police were aware of this and monitored the Russian embassy closely as well. So Mr Vladimir, as secretary of the Russian embassy, wants to do anything in his power to provoke the British public against harboring anarchists. Convoluted and so out there it almost seems like it can’t be true! The notes reference Anarchism by George Woodcock as a source for this info.
Mod
Thanks so much Jenny! My copy didn't have that. The book makes so much more sense now! I might add another star to my review now that I can see the point of the story.
I’m always on the fence about reading an introduction. Often they include helpful info that adds to your understanding but I can’t stand spoilers! Spoilers should be put in an Afterward, in my opinion. So I generally carefully skim the intro and immediately stop reading if it seems like a spoiler is approaching! Then I go back and read it fully when I’ve finished the book. It’s one of those little things that drives me crazy! There’s my rant for the day 🤪
Mod
Jenny wrote: "Winnie keeps saying that “things do not stand much looking into..." It's very true that she seems to close her eyes to what her husband might be getting up to. Until now she's been calm and complacent. Even when Verloc suddenly announces that he might think of emigrating, she replies placidly and doesn't take him seriously. Yet when she has to hide the money Verloc has drawn from the bank, her house appears to her as 'lonely and unsafe as if it had been situated in the middle of a forest.' This feeling seems to presage how her life is about to be turned upside down.
You have to feel sorry for Winnie as she listens at the door, going hot and cold as she hears how the bomber's remains had to be scraped up with a shovel. Yet we're not told explicitly what she actually thinks; we're left to infer it from her actions (she blocks her ears, staggers and rips up the policeman's sheet).
While Verloc seems relatively unbothered by Stevie's death except in its consequences for him - saying Stevie was only fit for the asylum - Stevie is the centre of Winnie's world, and I'm more interested in what she will do next than in the goings-on of the Assistant Commissioner.
There was an intriguing mention in chapter 9 of 'a certain resolution she had taken a few years before. It had cost her some effort, and even a few tears.' What does this refer to? Is it her decision to marry Verloc, in order to give Stevie a secure future? If so, it's interesting (and maybe ominous for Verloc) that she did not want to marry him for her own sake. Maybe her apparently complacency and shutting out of unpleasant thoughts are her way of coping with an uncongenial marriage.
Mod
Yet we're not told explicitly what she actually thinks; we're left to infer it from her actions (she blocks her ears, staggers and rips up the policeman's sheet).
I think of this as a 20th-century technique. Instead of going inside the character's thoughts as the 18th & 19th century did, authors began to see themselves as a camera documenting the outside view. This was taken to extremes by the French "nouveau roman". For instance, one book consists of descriptions of a house, the shades open & close, various things are visible and eventually you realize someone is having an affair. But you are never told that, or even the character's names or any of their thoughts and emotions.
In this book, we've been told Winnie's thoughts before and perhaps will again, but this silent scene is extremely powerful.
I think you nailed it, Emma, that Winnie’s resolution was marrying Verloc for the benefit of Stevie.
Mod
Thanks Jenny, this was very helpful, it does make this sound like an early spy novel!
Mod
Mod
Thank you for posting that, it puts things into perspective for me. Very helpful.
We learn more about the Verloc family in this section. What are your opinions now of:
Verloc as a family man?
Mrs. Verloc?
Mrs. Verloc's mother?
Stevie?
In Chapter 8, Stevie comments on the unhappiness of the world. In Chapter 9 and 10, we learn what happened to him. We had the foreshadowing of Mrs. Verloc saying "You could do anything with that boy." Some commentaries say that Conrad meant Stevie as a defective character, but I don't see that. Stevie has empathy with all creatures and idealism in wanting a better world. What do you think Conrad is trying to tell us about the various anarchists and their ideals?
Do you think Verloc gave Stevie any sense of why he was carrying a box and that it could help people, or was Stevie just eagerly taking something from Verloc, the way he did at home? What about the fact that Verloc asked his wife if she could "do without" Stevie and she admitted life would be easier without him?
There is a contrast between the world where life is actually lived with consequences - Verloc's grubby shop, the home his mother-in-law goes to, the bomb scene - and the world of society dinners and aristocratic clubs. The higher-ups seem to be playing a strategy game with people as pawns.