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The Frozen Deep
Dramatic Dickens! Year
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The Frozen Deep by Wilkie Collins (hosted by Lori)
Lee wrote: "Lori wrote: "Franky wrote: "Thanks for the historical perspective Lori, and I like the picture of the vessels. I can't imagine the level of difficulties that the crews must have had ... [AND] I can..."Youtube! Of course you could get lost for hours and hours and hours !! I have not watched any yet myself.
I do believe that Dickens and Collins would have been thinking about the reports that had been made from the search parties that had been looking for any clues as to what had happened. If you can hold on for a bit, I will be getting into some of the things Dickens wrote about in Household Words. He was very passionate about the Arctic and the British were also fascinated with polar experiences. I'll be getting into that topic as well as we go along.
Excellent thoughts, Lee! There is soooooooooo much out there to get lost in with the expedition. I have to pull myself back to not get totally immersed!
Summary 3First Scene - The Ballroom
Chapter 3
Clara feels burdened by Mrs. Crayford’s advice and she and Francis Aldersley leave the dance floor to the cool conservatory. The young man tries to comfort Clara who can only keep silent despite her longing to tell him of her love. She can’t stop thinking about what she was told by Mrs. Crayford.
Francis (Frank) Aldersley asks Clara to make him happy before leaving to risk his life for the Arctic by giving him hope that she will wait for him. He tries to hold her hand but she tries to releases it. He further persuades Clara by asking if she loves him. She is fluttering inside with pleasure and pain wanting to tell him and not wanting to disappoint him.
Alas, Clara gives in to her desire and forgets everything (the advice and Richard Wardour) except for her love for Frank. Placing her head on his chest, the two lovers kiss for the first time.
Suddenly Clara comes back to reality when it is too late! Frank has been made a happy man knowing Clara will become his wife when he returns.
Clara reiterates that no one is to know of their engagement until she says it is ok to announce it. She wants to speak to Mrs. Crayford again and sends Frank to fetch her.
Wilkie Collins' Victorian WomanCollins wrote 20 novels and numerous short stories and plays and became known as a sensation novelist. His novels are often elaborately constructed and Victorian audiences soaked them up. In his novels, Collins made known some of the challenges faced by Victorian women. In this Smithsonian article - The Sensation Novelist Who Exposed the Plight of Victorian Women, it is suggested that he drew attention by showing how seemingly harmless legal technicalities could turn women into Gothic victims and England into an archaic prison.
Wilkie Collins had his own ideas about marriage and these are seen throughout his novels. He was not a fan of marriage and established households with a widow named Caroline Graves and another woman named Martha Rudd with whom he had 3 children. He would attack marriage by using his legal training and knowledge of social inequalities and outdated laws. He wrote during the time of the Marriage Law in the 1850s which saw women as legally nonexistent, married women not able to own property. He also delved into themes of illegitimacy and the negative consequences marriage had for women.
There are several novels mentioned in the article, No Name and The Law and the Lady to name a few. It is a very interesting take on the perspective of the women that Wilkie Collins’ created during the period of the later Victorian era. You can see a drastic difference between the Collins woman versus the Dickens woman.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/histor...
I'm a bit late to the Chapter 2 party it seems. I was clearly overthinking earlier, but I am a bit disappointed that the "Second Sight" seemed to be pushed aside for the time being (seems like we're all wondering a bit more about that "power" of hers). That isn't to say that what's come up in the second chapter isn't intriguing. Is Clara being completely honest? Is there something more to Richard that we should be worried about? I haven't gotten into Chapter 3 just yet but I'm excited to find out.
Lori is right: we should hold back our impatience to learn everything that is known in our 21st century about the Franklin Expedition. I have to add my own experience here and caution my friends to AVOID the videos & documentaries you might find on TV till after we read the novella.I dug too deeply without waiting for Lori. The documentaries gave me more information than I was prepared for and now I have too much information in my head swirling around this novella. Not a good topic for contemplation when trying to sleep at 2am!
Back to you, Lori!
Ha, Lee, I know how you feel! Coming off The Terror and having a good idea of what these men are to face, the ballroom setting here does strike me as a (and this is an unfair qualification, I know) "frivolous" -- I should say "contrasting" -- setting of beauty and civilization which the men are about to leave behind. Now with Clara's love promise of Chapter 3, I'm thinking oof, this can't go well. How much does Clara really know about the future? But also, I know this is fiction, and I have a spark of hope that maybe the author will change the outcome for the better. I'm interested to see where this goes....
I am enjoying all of this including the movement between plot threads, but I am glad someone felt the need for inserting humor."When you are married, you will know that the easiest of all secrets to keep is a secret from your husband. I give you my promise."
Wendy wrote: "Ha, Lee, I know how you feel! Coming off The Terror and having a good idea of what these men are to face, the ballroom setting here does strike me as a (and this is an unfair qualification, I know)..."Wendy, I’m also enjoying the anticipation that Collins is creating in these first chapters. They are celebrating the final days before leaving for what could be years with what seems frivolous as you say. I see this as the pride and patriotism that the public would have had. And also to show the Victorian social and cultural aspects of the time. And then Clara is an outsider.
Sam wrote: "I am enjoying all of this including the movement between plot threads, but I am glad someone felt the need for inserting humor."When you are married, you will know that the easiest of all secrets..."
Great Sam! I’m glad you’re picking up on the humor. Isn’t it a welcome addition here. It adds a bit of spice or color to contrast with the solemn tone of Clara’s second sight.
Lori wrote: "You can see a drastic difference between the Collins woman versus the Dickens woman."I have read quite a number of Wilkie Collins' novels, including the two you mentioned, and I agree that his women are not Dickens' women. I very much enjoyed reading the Smithsonian article.
Sara wrote: "Lori wrote: "You can see a drastic difference between the Collins woman versus the Dickens woman."I have read quite a number of Wilkie Collins' novels, including the two you mentioned, and I agre..."
YAY! I’m glad to know that Sara. I debated using this article but it was just so interesting even though I’ve not read those two novels.
Summary 4First Scene - The Ballroom
Chapter 4
While searching for Mrs. Crayford, Frank becomes aware of a dark, strongly built man in a shabby naval uniform. This stranger winds his way through the crowd looking for someone whom he finds sitting in the conservatory. He bursts into her presence startling her immovable. Richard Wardour has returned joyous at the prospect of making Clara his wife.
Clara does not greet him as he expects but rather draws away as if frightened of him. Richard’s quick temper flares up in his eyes and when he speaks his tone hurts her.
Clara finally tells Richard that he has had the wrong impression and that he completely misunderstood her and that she can never be his wife.
Richard takes her hand firmly when Clara won’t answer WHY. Looking into her face, Richard suspects another man. Clara doesn’t want to tell him the truth. His grasp of her hand strengthens as she sits silent. His temper increases as he demands to be told the truth.
Clara insists she never promised or pledged herself to him. Finally after being pressed, Clara admits that she has engaged herself to someone.
Richard’s passions erupt and are displayed on his face. The dark color fades and his deep voice drops as he quietly states to her his intention toward revenge.
”The time may come,” he said, “when I shall forgive you. But the man who has robbed me of you shall rue the day when you and he first met.”
He leaves and Clara faints.
James Mahoney - Irish illustrator
A Few ThoughtsClara is an orphan from the Highlands of Scotland who seems to be an outsider among the English ladies and gentlemen and Naval officers at the ball.
The other is a young girl, pale and delicate; dressed simply in white; with no ornament on her head but her own lovely brown hair. This is Miss Clara Burnham - an orphan.
She has come to the ballroom out of kindness to her friend Mrs. Crayford. The ballroom scene seems to represent Victorian social and cultural conventions. Coming from the Highlands of the wild north, Clara is seen as a curiosity with her different education and background. She has no parentage that has been talked about either.
Captain Helding (and Mrs. Crayford as well) holds preconceptions about people from the north and about the second sight considering himself to be enlightened and the Highlanders as ignorant. Clara’s second sight is thought of as a disease, an infection that she caught, because of her lonely and neglected life.
Clara wouldn’t have been the typical Victorian female character like Dora in David Copperfield, for example. Clara seems to be representing a facet that Collins wanted to explore to set her apart from the rest of the cast.
What do you all think?
Lori wrote: "Bionic Jean wrote: "Gosh, thanks Lori! (So, as you asked, where was Wilkie?)"
That’s the mystery at the moment. Not sure it will be solved.🤷🏼♀️"
Mystery of where Wilkie is in the photo
He is in the second row, kneeling with his head resting on his hand. His face is not looking at the camera. And he looks as if he has a full beard.
Clara's Second Sight and Highlands background both set her apart from the English society. She must seem exotic in a good sense since two men are finding her very attractive. Premonitions are a great plot device to heighten the tension about Richard carrying out his threat against his rival, or whatever trouble involving the explorers in the frigid Arctic that Wilkie Collins might create.It's interesting that Clara is an orphan since the Second Sight is thought to run in blood-related families, possibly because information is processed and expressed differently. Of course, no one really knows if it exists or if it's just superstitions. But I intend to be a believer for the next month while we read this story!
An interesting abstract about "The Scottish tradition of second sight and other psychic experiences in families":
https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/9674
It's also interesting that women in Victorian novels are frequently fainting and carry smelling salts. Victorian women were laced up tightly to give the illusion of a small waist. They often fainted because they couldn't breath, especially if it was warm or they were upset.
Connie wrote: "Clara's Second Sight and Highlands background both set her apart from the English society. She must seem exotic in a good sense since two men are finding her very attractive. Premonitions are a gre..."Exotic is a great descriptor of Clara with her background and beauty.
The bloodline connection is quite interesting as well. The abstract you posted seems quite an intriguing idea to study.
Great points on the affect of Victorian women’s fainting. They were thought to be ill often, and most likely were just affected by externalities of the environment.
I've been following along even though I haven't made any comments so far. But now, I would like to leave a comment.In chapter one and two the story focus on Clara's second sight,
that she complained of "the heat" I had always thought that this premonition she spoke of not only was about a man, but also in respect to the ship, the Atalanta, that was coming home from Africa, an accident per chance, or a fire aboard the ship. However, I was proved wrong in chapter 4.
It did not surprise me, though, that Mr. Wardour came to the ball. It was "convenient" to the story in order to increase the tension, and to introduce the next conflict when Mr. Wardour says, "...the man who has robbed me of you shall rue the day when you and he first met."
So, in my mind not only is this novella about a love triangle, but it is also a matter of good v. evil; Mr. Wardour is "evil" in regard to his temper, and Mr. Aldersley, "good," because he tenderly loves Clara.
I'm glad you caught the comment about the heat too Laura, I wasn't even thinking about the ship. I'm still hoping we'll see some sort of reference to it later. I may be alone here, but Frank seemed selfish to me in Chapter 3. His desires seemed focused directly on himself and seems to be really pushy with Clara. He even emphasized "me" in his line: "We sail to-morrow for the Arctic seas. I may not return for years. Don't send me away without hope! Think of the long, lonely time in the dark North! Make it a happy time for me." It's possible I'm looking at his actions through more of a modern lens.
Laura wrote: "I've been following along even though I haven't made any comments so far. But now, I would like to leave a comment.In chapter one and two the story focus on Clara's second sight,
that she compla..."
Excellent thoughts, Laura. You and Tyler have both been interested in the heat as a clue to something else. I like that you are thinking about the text and how the words may be interpreted.
I suppose the heat could refer to the love triangle as well. More than likely it was hot and Clara’s body was reacting to what she heard and then she got anxious over the possibility of Richard Wardour coming home. The adrenaline probably caused it and the fainting.
I do really like your idea about the theme of good and evil. You have spotted the differences with the two men. We shall see how this plays out as we go!
Thanks!
Tyler wrote: "I'm glad you caught the comment about the heat too Laura, I wasn't even thinking about the ship. I'm still hoping we'll see some sort of reference to it later. I may be alone here, but Frank seemed..."Frank could be a bit pushy here. I think about soldiers leaving for battle who want to have the promise of their lovers hand when they return. Women didn’t want these men to leave with a distraught mind so many would say yes.
I’m not saying Clara says yes to Frank to make him feel better about leaving, but that this is the feeling I get from Frank’s persistence.
Summary 5Between the Scenes - The Landing Stage
Ch 5
The next morning the ships were to sail and Mrs. Crayford headed out to the landing stage to see him off. To her dismay, Clara is ready to go with her and will not stay behind and rest. Clara has not slept all night and has been consumed with a presentiment that Richard Wardour and Frank Aldersley will meet. She is distraught about this and will not let it go. Despite Mrs. Crayford’s advice, Clara will not be at ease until she sees Frank safely on the ship.
The landing stage was crowded with many spectators, friends and relatives. Clara constantly searches every face looking for the one she dreads. Suddenly she hears Frank’s voice but cannot be soothed. She is concerned that he has been approached by Richard Wardour. Frank is confused by Clara’s behavior and odd questions. Mrs. Crayford smooths it over by explaining that Clara has been dreaming. Frank kisses her hand in farewell believing she is distressed over his parting. He heads onto his ship, the Sea-mew.
Still not satisfied by seeing Frank off safely, Clara is still nervously watching the crowds. Now the boats of the Wanderer arrive at the landing stage. Captain Helding interrupts Lieutenant Crayford who is speaking to his wife asking to speak with him for a minute. At the same time, Clara is just out of sight but within hearing of the two men.
Captain Helding asks Lieutenant Crayford to wait for a volunteer who is arriving soon. The men discuss that the man has just returned from foreign service the day prior and is now volunteering to join the Arctic expedition. This man has come home to find a trouble to weary him and work is the only measure that will help. Helding did not ask questions of the volunteer but believed there must be a woman involved.
Suddenly, Clara is beside Mrs. Crayford trembling from head to foot. She has overheard the men’s conversation and believes the volunteer (she did not hear a name) is Richard Wardour. Mrs. Crayford is shocked at Clara who has no proof, only relying on her superstitions again.
Mrs. Crayford attempts to calm Clara over her foreboding and asks her husband to tell her the volunteer's name. At the bottom of the page of the list of names is “RICHARD WARDOUR.”
Britain and Arctic FascinationBritain has been fascinated with the exploration of the Arctic for centuries. Since the earliest explorers in the 16th century, the possibility of discovering new lands, the Northwest Passage and the North Pole appealed to the imagination and patriotism of many different people: politicians, adventurers, naval officers, traders as well as the public. The stories that came about from the achievements as well as the disasters became a source of national pride and an inspiration to art and literature. For example, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein became “the obvious place to experience the sublime, even at second hand, was the Arctic.”
British newspapers and magazines reported the sublime or picturesque Arctic until the 1850s. The stories of courage and determination, and the curiosity and wonder of unknown places captivated the British people. Narratives of explorers’ expeditions, who kept journals while they were away, were eagerly received when they were published in magazines like Gentleman’s Magazine. Many were accompanied by engravings or sketches of icebergs and polar bears which greatly awed the public who revered the heroic masculinity.
Then after the disappearance of John Franklin’s expedition, the media reports became more sensationalist. Charles Dickens kept up the interest in searching for Franklin in Household Words.
https://linda-parker.co.uk/britain-an...
Books of interest on the topic of British Fascination and the Arctic:I May Be Some Time: Ice and the English Imagination by Francis Spufford
Arctic Spectacles: The Frozen North in Visual Culture, 1818-1875 by Russell A. Potter
The Arctic in the British Imagination 1818-1914 by Robert G. David
I came across a review of this book published in 2000 by Manchester University Press which I would love to be able to read. It covers paintings, panoramas, dioramas, tableaux vivant, museum exhibits, plays, newspapers, engravings and children’s books among many other topics of interest to our discussion. Sadly it is nowhere to be found or extremely expensive.
The title of this painting is "They forged the last link with their lives: HMS Erebus and Terror, 1849-1850".
First exhibited in 1895 at the Royal Academy and painted by William Thomas Smith. It commemorated the 50th anniversary of the departure of the expedition.
Moving PanoramasA moving panorama was an innovation in the mid-19th century as a new visual element to the theater and has been called an ancestor to early cinema. Panoramic paintings attracted the middle and lower classes. Transporting the viewer to a completely different place that they would likely never see, moving panoramas were among the most popular forms of entertainment in the UK, the US, and Europe. This was an experience that provided more to the viewer than a simple engraving or painting.
Moving panoramas were enormous paintings that traveled from town to town. Some would have a showman who told stories of ships caught up in the ice and of brave men going where no man had gone before. Artifacts would often be on display at the shows. The panorama placed the person in the center of a circle surrounded by a huge painting on a curved surface. Sadly, none of the Arctic moving panoramas have survived but here is an example of one that contains Arctic scenery.
The Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage Round the World, painted in 1848 housed in New Bedford Whaling Museum.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_...
http://www.thecrankiefactory.com/3489...
Visual Culture and Arctic Voyages by Eavan O'Dochartaigh has a chapter focusing on an Arctic panorama called Summer and Winter Views of the Polar Regions that opened in London at Leicester Square in 1850. Based on sketches of an officer named William Henry Browne, spectators could see something they’d never expect to in their lives.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/...
So, Clara seems to be in turmoil with one guy she is to marry and the other guy whose heart she has broken both on the same vessel. Very conflicted. It will be interesting to see how this pans out between the two men on board. I love the depictions and illustrations of arctic voyages and of the Erebus and Terror, Lori. Very nice visuals for the plot at hand.
Lori wrote: "Britain and Arctic FascinationBritain has been fascinated with the exploration of the Arctic for centuries. Since the earliest explorers in the 16th century, the possibility of discovering new la..."
Message 123 w link to above article. Thank you for finding this essay, Lori. It was very interesting and explained how nationalistic pride became so important to these expeditions. These men wanted to be heroes for Britain. I am also loving the fabulous oil paintings that resulted. I had forgotten about Frankenstein: The 1818 Text. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
realized it made a mysterious and dangerous setting for her novel!
I had never heard about the travelling Artic panoramas -- what a cool historic detail!Just to add one more suggestion to the reading list, the book Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez has an entire chapter (I believe chapter 9) about the history of the search for the Northwest Passage. Apparently in the 1600s(?) one crew had the first known interaction with the inhabitants of Greenland and, since they couldn't really communicate, held a "musical exchange concert" of sorts on a rocky Greenland beach. It's a really fascinating anecdote. There's information about the Franklin Expedition too, and it's where I realized how much The Terror, though fictional, is very rooted in historical detail.
This last chapter brought the dramatic elements together in a satisfying way. I feel like I should have guessed that both our rivals should end up on the same expedition together (but I didn't! kudos to the author). Dramatically speaking, starting this voyage with some built-in conflict (over Clara) is a great way to maintain tension, and presumably future difficulties along the way will build on that conflict.
I did notice that one moment of forboding where we have a brief time jump to the future -- where Frank later in the Arctic remembers holding Clara's cold, limp hand. Perhaps this is meant to sow seeds of doubt in his mind about Clara's true loyalty.
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He is in the second row, kneeling with his head resting on his hand. His face is not looking at the camera. And he looks as if he has a full beard ..."
LOL! So here I was full of glee with what I considered the best snippet from the exhibition as regards this novella 😆 ... you're absolutely right Lori, as the photo had all the names of the cast underneath:
and I took a couple more close-ups as I have a theory:
Wilkie Collins centre, looking down
focusing on Charles Dickens side view, and Wilkie Collins, lost in thought ...
We wondered at first why Dickens should be sitting side view, and Collins too looks "posed". Now looking back at Lori's post with the whole cast:
and don't you think that it is odd that the two authors should have a demeanour of not being aware that a photo was being taken? As soon as I saw it in the flesh, I thought that was deliberate.
Try to dismiss the figures looking at the camera from your mind, and instead focus on our two writers. It's as if Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens are the reality, and we are interrupting their creation of the play, as they sit in Doughty Street, Dickens lolling on the carpet and Collins perhaps sitting on Dickens favourite chair ...
The idea of this reminds me of the much later portrait of Dickens - after he died - "Dickens's Dream" by Robert W. Buss, in which Dickens is surrounded by all his characters in his imagination:
The cast in the photograph are merely players, or puppets. They look full on at the camera, but what we are sharing here, I believe, is the moment of creation. 😊
Or am I being too whimsical?
Ah! Jean, we were on the same wavelength in this discovery. Your method was much more exciting though. Your pictures are very clean and clear and there is definitely no doubt about our author, Wilkie Collins.I am enthralled by your theory and feel as though it’s not whimsical at all. The two authors are doing their own thing. Dickens arranged the cast so essentially they were his puppets in this drama. I love the idea of the moment of creation. Why not? He has the power (writing ability as his power) to create. I also love the connection to the Dream painting. I think it all fits perfectly!
Thank you so much for sharing your find!
Mod
Again, this will be better as you've said to Sam and others, when we look at the play itself 😊
Franky commented, "So, Clara seems to be in turmoil with one guy she is to marry and the other guy whose heart she has broken both on the same vessel. Very conflicted. It will be interesting to see how this pans out between the two men on board."I agree. A couple of sentences in particular stood out to me, regarding the two men meeting. Clara is speaking: "Something will happen to bring them together. I feel it! I know it! They will meet-there will be a mortal quarrel between them-and I shall be to blame." I like the word "mortal" Clara uses as a reference to when Frank and Richard Wardour will meet. Can't help but wonder if the premonition of "the heat" will come into play regarding one or both ships set to sail the Arctic, or to describe the anger that will happen when they meet. Love the passion of Clara!
Also, "mortal" gives an ominous sense of macabre. Will one, or both, die during the voyage? Will all the sailors be in danger as well? One or both of the vessels? Makes me anxious to get to the conclusion.
Laura wrote: "Franky commented, "So, Clara seems to be in turmoil with one guy she is to marry and the other guy whose heart she has broken both on the same vessel. Very conflicted. It will be interesting to see..."Laura, I agree about the carefully chosen word "mortal." There is something very ominous and foreboding with that word.
Wendy wrote: "I did notice that one moment of forboding where we have a brief time jump to the future -- where Frank later in the Arctic remembers holding Clara's cold, limp hand. Perhaps this is meant to sow seeds of doubt in his mind about Clara's true loyalty. Wendy,
Ah, yes, this did jump out in the text, didn't it? It is an interesting thought that Frank may have doubts thinking about Clara's cold hand.
I have to say, you guys are really thinking about specific words and situations and what they could mean for the future. I will leave it at that for now.
Laura wrote: Also, "mortal" gives an ominous sense of macabre. Will one, or both, die during the voyage? Will all the sailors be in danger as well? One or both of the vessels? Makes me anxious to get to the conclusionWilkie Collins is giving us many instances that make us eager to know what's next. I'm glad you are curious and thinking about these events, Laura.
Summary 6Second Scene - The Hut of the Sea-Mew
Ch 6
It has been two years since the ships sailed from England and the expedition has failed. The ships are lost and entombed in ice. The vessel materials have been used to construct huts nearby. The shelters occupy the surviving officers and crew members of the Sea-mew. There are berths for sleeping and a hammock that currently holds a man asleep. Another man who is supposed to be on watch is asleep by the fireside. On the table are several objects including a saucepan of dry bones of animals which is their dinner. Nothing is heard except the eerie silence of the Arctic.
'HMS Erebus in the Ice, 1846' by François Etienne Musin
Chapter 6 was written as if it was stage directions describing the scenery in a play--with no dialogue or other action until we get to the next chapter. Everything is still and silent. It shows the influence of "The Frozen Deep" being a play first before it was a novella."The good ships Wanderer and Sea-mew, entombed in ice, will never ride the buoyant waters more."
"Entombed" is such a strong, frightening word since we suspect it's not only the ships that have been entombed. "The dry bones" also adds to the mood.
Definitely Connie, this reads like stage directions. We’ve just come off of the Between the Scenes at The Landing Stage. Now that time has passed and the scene is changing again, we get the feel for making it clear and ominous. Can you imagine eating soup made of dried bones? I’m guessing it tasted pretty much like hot water. Oh dear.
Summary 7Scene - The Hut of the Sea-Mew
Ch 7
Lieutenant Crayford from the Wanderer was filling in at the Sea-mew hut because Captain Ebsworth was dangerously ill and others had died. He woke the man at the fireside, Bateson, to be relieved as well as the cook asleep in the hammock, John Want. John Want wakes grumbling in his cheerful way about the state of his blanket - covered in his breath turned to icicles. He got down and walked over to the fire to thaw his beard and his watch before tending to pound the bones required for the soup. Looking at Crayford, John Want predicts he won’t be making bone soup for more than another week or ten days before they all die.
Crayford leaves to see Captain Ebsworth as John Want reminisces about making turtle soup when he was a pastrycook’s apprentice and wondering why he chose to go sea? When Frank Aldersley’s voice asks “Who is that croaking in there and why did you go to sea?” John Want explains it may have been false pride at getting over seasickness or from reading Robinson Crusoe.
John Want then describes a memory telling just how he got over his seasickness through an exercise in difficult, hard eating. The captain in his story gives John various plates of food to eat and each gets successively strange. After a bite of each one, John is told to go on deck, get rid of _____ and come back to the captain. Each one is to be the cure.
Mock turtle soup, cod’s head and shoulders, boiled leg of mutton and trimmings, deviled kidneys, mutton chop and pickles, broiled ham and cayenne pepper, glass of stout and cranberry tart.
Lieutenant Crayford enters needing fuel and Frank’s sleeping berth will do well as firewood once it is chopped up. The crew are about to organize an exploring party and Frank wants to volunteer. However, the captains want to cast lots instead of asking for volunteers and let Chance decide who will stay with the sick and who will go out.
Frank is satisfied with the method but mentions one man who will object, a man known as ‘The Bear of the Expeditions’ Richard Wardour. Crayford defends Wardour by telling Frank not to call his friend by that stupid nickname. Even though Frank doesn’t know Wardour, he adheres to what others say about Wardour’s character - unpopular and unlikable. Crayford tells Frank how he got to know Wardour on board the Wanderer before they were locked up on the ice. He believes Wardour has a great and generous heart underneath.
Arctic ClimateSince no journals or logbooks were found from the Terror or Erebus, it’s not exactly known what the men experienced. We do have speculation from other sources that help paint a picture of their experience.
The Arctic temperatures could drop as low as -48 degrees C overnight and no warmer than -35 degrees C in the daytime. The crew would be at the mercy of the immense pressure of the sea-ice and the unpredictability of icebergs.
Franklin’s ship, the Erebus, was trapped in ice in a remote and desolate area. The Inuit rarely visited this area calling it “the back of beyond.” Therefore they couldn’t rely on locals for meat or provisions like oil. They were equipped with enough supplies for 3 years.
Crew members would be checked for scurvy every other week or so.
Some interesting points about surviving in an arctic climate: pulling a sledge could be difficult if men explored beyond the ship. Even when temperatures are below 50°C your body sweats heavily. When you stop the sweat can turn into ice down to your underthings. Frostbite can blister and make your fingers and toes very tender often causing damage. Skin becomes cold and painful before it turns red, numb and pale as the tissue freezes. Simply taking a balaclava off can rip the skin and beard. Hypothermia is always a danger in these kinds of temperatures. It’s very important to not get wet.
https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/...
Provisions on Boardsalt beef and pork, porridge, canned soups and vegetables, vinegar, mustard and pepper, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, biscuits, wine for the sick, raisins, chocolate, tea, lemon juice, oatmeal, pickles, cranberries, sugar, flour, pemmican (a finely grated meat mixed with fat).
Some live cattle, sheep, pigs, and hens were on board at the outset. The men were required to bring their own cutlery.
7,000+ pounds of tobacco and 2,700 pounds of candles for light.
The Erebus crew had 3 pets given by Lady Franklin (we will learn more about her soon): an old Newfoundland dog called Neptune, a cat to catch the rats, and an amusing monkey who was an annoying thief.
The officers had their own quarters but the crew would sling their hammocks from the deck beams in the open area forward of the main mast.
https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/nu/ep...#
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/arctic/...
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/arctic/...
Terrifying!! The men and their captains must have really REALLY believed they would find the Northwest Passage.
Lori, I am going to read your posts of yesterday and this evening in the light of day tomorrow morning. Thank you for doing all this extensive research for us!
Lori wrote: "Britain and Arctic Fascination"Narratives of explorers’ expeditions, who kept journals while they were away, were eagerly received when they were published in magazines like Gentleman’s Magazine".
Two interesting facts from the previous linked article:
1. Between the 17th & 19th century there were ~ 29,000 whaling voyages to the Arctic. One of my ancestors from Massachusetts was a master seaman and hunted whales (to my chagrin). Mr Samuel Rust and his two adult sons were lost at sea when whaling into icy waters north of Greenland in the late 17th century .
2. From a letter in 1820 written by a whaler, Mr. William Scoresby:
"All this ice has disappeared within the last two years". How ignorant these sailors were about the changing ice conditions of the far North! And how many lost their lives thinking the "ice had disappeared" as they set off to explore those waters?
Lori has told us about the provisions: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/arctic/...Oh, read about the huge amounts of chocolate, pickles and vinegar that must have taken up a great deal of space in the ships! They believed the old wive's tales that pickles and vinegar prevented scurvy even though there was evidence to the contrary. No matter what they might have brought on their ships, with hindsight we see they were doomed from the very beginning. The ice! The ice!!
Connie wrote: "Chapter 6 was written as if it was stage directions describing the scenery in a play--with no dialogue or other action until we get to the next chapter. Everything is still and silent. It shows the..."Ch 6, Message 138. This must have been a stunning stage setting. The writing here is bare but striking. No majestic sailing ships now, just broken vessels "stripped of their lighter timbers". Interesting that Wilkie Collins decided to skip two entire years of their travels in his novel and go from the hopeful, celebratory departure straight to failure and desolation. The men are still alive, but barely. The "good" ships are "entombed in ice".
This was more than just theater or an invented novel: The Frozen Deep was reality!!
I have lost track of when the rescue ships would have sailed but the audience must have known the ships were hopelessly locked in ice as this play were written and viewed. In my mind, had I been alive in England in those days (five to ten years after the launching), I think my prayers would have swayed between hoping the men were still alive and praying that they had all mercifully died in the brutal conditions.
Is there a character modeled after Mrs. Franklin? (view spoiler)
I don’t think there is a Lady Franklin specifically although Mrs. Crayford is our spouse left behind who so far has been companion to Clara who has no family. We will learn about Lady Franklin in a few more chapters. She’s quite remarkable.
What did you guys think about Ch 8? How did you like the chef on board? After the previous setting change and feelings of ominous forboding I wasn’t expecting a lighthearted scene. Any thoughts on the name John Want?
Mod
I thought so too, Jean! A bit of comic relief!
Dickensians!
Books mentioned in this topic
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (other topics)A Tale of Two Cities (other topics)
Les Miserables (other topics)
The Frozen Deep (other topics)
The Frozen Deep: A Drama in Three Acts (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Charles Dickens (other topics)Charles Dickens (other topics)
Charles Dickens (other topics)
Victor Hugo (other topics)
Charles Dickens (other topics)
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Yes! This was brilliant. I keep wondering, suspending my disbelief, what can this young woman with her special "ability" see that none of the rest of us (both the readers AND the other characters) cannot see? It really adds a spooky feeling to the tale.