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The Frozen Deep
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The Frozen Deep by Wilkie Collins (hosted by Lori)
Again, my thanks to Lori for the additional material that is rounding out this read.
I’m glad that you are all enjoying the extra information, Sam and Lee. Don’t forget that as we near the final chapters of the novella, we will plan to read the 3 act play and discuss the differences and dive a little more into what exactly influenced Dickens so strongly to write this with Wilkie Collins.
I will give more details by the end of the week.
Summary 15Scene - The Garden
Ch 15
A country doctor arrives at the villa to congratulate Mrs. Crayford over the news of her husband and to check on the status of Clara. Explaining to the doctor the grief Clara has exhibited over the news, Mrs. Crayford leaves nothing out. He examines Clara, who answers his questions irritably and cuts him off when he attempts remonstrance about the news of the Expedition.
The doctor questions Mrs. Crayford regarding Clara’s status as an orphan. He is seriously alarmed about the drastically worse change in Clara in just a couple of days. But there is still hope if Mr. Aldersley is alive. He believes a marriage would make her healthy again. On the other side, he believes she won’t live if it turns out that her lover is dead.
The doctor recommends a complete change by removing Clara from the villa. He presents a possible method of getting Clara to leave the situation and to hopefully get her mind off of the gloom. If Clara can see for herself whether Frank is alive or not, then he suggests the hysteria will end. He knows of a ship that will be sent by the Admiralty immediately in search to bring the men home. It may be possible that certain, privileged people could be guests and passengers on her majesty’s ship.
Mrs. Crayford will go see her father in London to get him to help to arrange their passage on this ship. Her confidence is soaring that the two ladies will be passengers soon and off to see the rescued men.
Summary 16Scene - The Boat-House
Ch 16
The English vessel arrives at Newfoundland on mission to receive the surviving officers of the Arctic expedition three days ago. A storm has prohibited the passage back to England and the passengers of the Amazon depart to refresh themselves.
The man sitting on the chest is the cheerful cook, John Want. A woman’s veil lies on the table. John Want does not look upon his rescue with satisfaction. He was happy to be the one to keep everyone’s spirits up, but he didn’t realize it at the time. He disliked the fishy, sloppy shelter at the boathouse, and the dampness within everything, yet HE doesn’t grumble!
Lieutenant Crayford has had enough of John Want’s cheerfulness.
Looking for Mrs. Crayford and Clara, Lieutenant Crayford looked anxious and depressed despite being rescued. He is thinking of Clara, of all people.
He was thinking of the day they were rescued and how Clara embarrassed the officers with her relentless questions about Francis Aldersley and Richard Wardour. They were still missing and no news had been received but hope was still alive that they would be found. Clara began to reveal suspicions of foul play which also distressed Lieutenant Crayford.
For two days the storm raged keeping the passengers in their rooms. Now the officers and passengers were all on shore and Clara could return to her questions insisting on answers. Lieutenant Crayford could no longer avoid her and keep her in ignorance of the truth. He now must honorably and mercifully confirm Clara’s horrible suspicion.
Lieutenant Crayford asks his wife how Clara became persuaded of her suspicions. Mrs. Crayford fills him in on Clara’s ideas of how the men would come together eventually despite being on separate ships. His wife informs him of the words from Clara’s trance which astonished him because they were the exact words he had spoken to Frank. His wife begs him to continue to deny the truth the Clara so that she cannot confirm the superstitions she believes in.
Search Parties Findings - the Question of CannibalismIt was 9 years after the initial voyage, March 31, 1845, that the crew was declared dead. Lady Franklin would not accept her widow’s pension and changed her mourning black for bright colors. She felt it would be hypocritical of her when she still hadn’t given up hope.
At this same time, Dr. John Rae of the Hudson’s Bay Company, set out on an Arctic expedition of his own to chart the northern coast of North America. He made contact with an Inuit interpreter in his travels. They met a group of Esquimaux who provided information about Franklin’s crew that 30-40 white men had starved to death. Artifacts were discovered that connected Franklin to the area which convinced Rae of the fate of the expedition. He brought his news back to England in August 1854.
Rae’s prepared report was published (intended only for the Admiralty and the Hudson’s Bay Company) in a book called The Melancholy Fate of Sir John Franklin. Among the reports was news that Esquimaux had seen white men dragging a boat over the ice. The men could not speak the language very well but through signs, it was understood that the ship(s) had been crushed by ice and they were searching for deer. The men appeared thin. At a later date in the same season, 30 bodies were discovered on the Continent and 5 on an island nearby. Some had been buried and others lay scattered about.
From the mutilated state of many of the corpses and the contents of the kettles, it is evident that our wretched countrymen had been driven to the last resource — cannibalism — as a means of prolonging existence.
Dr. Rae’s report also indicated that the Inuit he spoke with were not witnesses to this but had provided second-hand information from ones who had been there.
Charles Dickens ReactsThe people of Britain reacted with difficulty over this report, especially Lady Franklin. The most vocal was Charles Dickens who devoted two installments in Household Words in an article called ”The Lost Arctic Explorers” in December 1854. Dickens acknowledged Dr. Rae’s findings of the deaths of the men because of the relics he brought back. He even permitted Dr. Rae to write an article to be published in Household Words.
However, Dickens fiercely disputed the suggestion that these upstanding gentlemen would resort to cannibalism to survive. In his article, Dickens called the Esquimaux a race of savages and presumed the men had been mutilated by scurvy and wolves. Dickens would and could not concede that men of the caliber of those trained for the English Navy would have resorted to cannibalism and would have starved to death instead.
“The memory of the lost Arctic voyagers is placed, by reason and experience, high above the taint of [the suggestion of cannibalism]; and that the noble conduct and example of such men, and of their own great leader himself . . . outweighs by the weight of the whole universe the chatter of a gross handful of uncivilised people, with domesticity of blood and blubber.”
https://abarbararich.medium.com/out-o...
https://www.canadianmysteries.ca/site...
***Read Dr. Rae’s report which was published in Household Words here:https://www.canadianmysteries.ca/site...
****Read Charles Dickens’ rebuttal in two parts here:
“The Lost Arctic Voyagers”
Part 1 -
https://www.canadianmysteries.ca/site...
Part 2 -
https://www.canadianmysteries.ca/site...
A painting by William Thomas Smith, first exhibited in 1895, originally titled “They forged the last link with their lives: H.M.S. Erebus and Terror.”
Credit...
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Cannibalism is a gruesome subject so I appreciate your efforts in researching, Lori. I skimmed the articles but felt that there were many unknowns. No one really knows if a few people from the expedition may have become mentally unstable after their ordeal, or who else was lurking in the Arctic. Some things will remain a mystery forever.It's sad that the Esquimaux are being labeled "a race of savages" since they seem to have a family and community structure, and are quite good at providing for their own needs. Their lives are totally different from people in England, but they have adapted to their harsh environment.
Connie,It is shocking to think that it may have happened but we may never know the truth. There has been evidence of poisoning from the tin cans that the food was preserved in. A researcher in 1981 discovered high amounts of lead in the bones of some of the bodies which leads them to think they were poisoned.
I've posted this link before and it contains lots of information and you have to scroll down to get to the section that mentions this and cannibalism.
https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/...
Anyone now have any thoughts about why the humourous Chef John Want who was crushing the bones in the pot was written?We all thought that was a very Dickens chapter. I think this cannibalism idea had to be in the back of his mind when conceiving this story.
I had wondered if cannibalism was alluded to in the previous chapters, but at one point, Richard said he was going hunting, and I think there was a mention of a dog. In one of the previous comments you made, Lori, was a typical list of provisions that was usual on one of these expeditions. One was a cat to control the rat problem, as well as some chickens. I'd assumed that it came down to eating those, and if they had had any dogs on board. I figured after eating all the meat, that the bone broth was made of their bones.
I also wondered about polar bears, but there was no mention of them. It was a mystery, though, where did these bones come from? 2 years is a long time in the artic to be stranded. What did they eat prior to the bone broth?
About Chef John Want, I just think that he wants everyone to believe he's such a martyr, and everyone was sick of him by the time they were in the boathouse. Still, the mystery surrounding Frank and Richard has not been solved. Only 2 more chapters to go!
Laura, I like what you say about John Want. Remember he was the one who spoke of the men being so weak that some might not make it a week! Grumbler, though he claimed not to be. Just thinking about the food situation after 2 years being gone here in the story is daunting. The bones of animals is what I hoped he was crushing!
I am excited for the final 2 chapters.
Summary 17Scene - The Boat-House
Ch 17
Clara enters the boathouse and takes Lieutenant Crayford aside begging him not to deceive her even if it will bring her pain. Evasively he answers wondering what he has done to deceive her. A welcome interruption of officers allows Lieutenant Crayford to allude Clara for the moment. They bring word of the departure of the ship and refreshments for the passengers. Now Mrs. Crayford has an opportunity to deflect Clara’s mind away from the news by setting her to helping organize the food.
However, Clara seizes the opportunity to speak to the officer (Steventon) who brought the refreshments. (He has been warned to be discreet.) Clara wants clarity on one aspect - what happened when the exploring party took leave to search for help. Was it true that Frank cast the lot to go and Richard Wardour cast the lot to stay behind? They confirmed.
Still searching for further answers, Clara investigates further - Why does Richard Wardour’s name appear on the list of the missing if he was to stay behind like Crayford and Steventon?
Not letting up, Clara asks how Frank is missing from the relief party and Wardour is missing from the huts?
She is making these two men nervous. Mrs. Crayford interrupts to exclaim Wardour is missing from the huts! Yet the men hesitate. Clara asks Steventon to confirm what Mrs. Crayford has said. Finally he owned up to the truth that Wardour had replaced an injured officer and Frank and Wardour are missing together.
Fate has brought them together according to Clara. Clara discussed her Second Sight with Steventon who knows nothing about it and she describes her dream. Clara insists on being told how the two missing men got separated from the rest of the party.
Finally Lieutenant Crayford gives in and tells her what he knows: how Frank’s strength failed him and he fell behind.They waited half a day for him before continuing on.
The strongest man volunteered to stay with Frank and bring him on. She knew it was Wardour and wanted to know why he was so ready to risk his life for Frank? Were they friends? Or did they quarrel?
They go about setting up the lunch, however, Clara softly repeats the words Wardour had said to her the day he had spoken to her at the ball.
Clara is frightened thinking about the possibility of Frank’s death when a figure appears. A man comes slowly up and stops in the doorway.
Dickens Household Words Polar ArticlesAn abstract of a scholarly journal article describes the polar interest in Household Words. During the years of Dickens’ editorship, 1850-1859, there were 13 articles written by various authors on polar topics. What makes this interesting is knowing what some of the middle classes were reading regarding the topic.
Here are some of the articles (I could not find a comprehensive list anywhere or links to the articles):
“Arctic Heroes” by R.H Horne
“A Visit to the Arctic Discovery Ships” by F.K. Hunt
“Christmas in the Frozen Regions” by Dr. Robert McCormick
“Our Phantom Ship” by H. Morley
“Unspotted Snow” by H. Morley
“The Lost English Sailors” by H. Morley
“Official Patriotism” by H. Morley
“Dr. Rae’s Report” by Dr. John Rae
“The Lost Arctic Voyage” by Charles Dickens
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journa...
RelicsImage of relics found from Franklin’s ship
The wrecks of the HMS Terror and Erebus were discovered in 2014 and 2016 providing more information. The Royal Museums Greenwich website will give much insight about the findings being made by Parks Canada. The pictures are incredible.
https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/blog/cu...
The following website for Parks Canada provides some very interesting pictures of items that have been retrieved from the ships since they were found.
https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/nu/ep...
I've been keeping up with the reading, and have just caught up with the comments as well. I just wanted to add my thanks as well to Lori for leading the group and providing this wealth of background information. I'll need to go back and dive more deeply into some of the links and readings. Great stuff!I find it interesting how this climax is playing out, and how the action is being revealed in fits and starts, indirectly and with many interruptions. We had the image of the men on the iceberg earlier, then jump forward in time to Clara's "vision", and now we are finally getting the story thanks to Clara's persistance, but it's still not the real story (and is interrupted by the picnic preparations too). It certainly creates effective and sustained tension compared to a more straightforward narration about the fates of the two men. Who is the figure at the end?? I'm determined not to peek until tomorrow night...
Wendy wrote: "I've been keeping up with the reading, and have just caught up with the comments as well. I just wanted to add my thanks as well to Lori for leading the group and providing this wealth of backgroun..."Wendy this is a very perceptive observation about the constant interruptions we are getting. I had not thought about it until now and you’re right that it adds to the tension.
Who is this figure? We want to know!! What has happened to the missing men?
Summary 18Fifth Scene - The Boat-House
Ch 18
The man looked sinister and terrible with the glaring eyes of a wild animal. His long gray hair was tangled and he was covered in rags. Starving and fatigued, he asked for bones from the table as if he were a dog.
Some bread and meat were brought for the man. He ate one portion and saved the other into an old canvas bag.
Steventon asked if the man was wrecked. The man visibly had difficulty collecting his thoughts to reply and when he did it was wild as his appearance.
…”When did the gnawing in my breast and the burning in my head first begin? I have lost all reckoning of it. I can’t think; I can’t sleep; I can’t get the wash of the sea out of my ears. What are you baiting me with questions for? Let me eat!”
He drank some grog and saved half of it in his bag. The man notices Mrs. Crayford and wishes to look more closely at her. But she wasn’t the face she was looking for. Mrs. Crayford asks who and what the girl is like?
Young, sad, fair face, kind eyes, clear voice. Wandering, tramping, tossing till he finds her!
The man hears another voice that of Lieutenant Crayford who automatically recognizes the wasted man before him. He seizes the man by the throat calling him a “Villain” assuming that Frank is dead and he is there to answer for him.
Clara suddenly appears hearing the names of Frank and Richard. Upon hearing Clara’s voice Richard Wardour breaks free from the hold upon his throat and sees her face to face.
”Found!”
He rushes out to the beach before anyone could stop him. Clara was unmoving as if petrified.
Minutes go by and a sound of cheering erupts from the sailors. Richard Wardour approaches the doorway of the boathouse again, this time carrying another man.
”Saved, Clara! Saved for you!”
There was Frank, alive and in her arms.
”Which of us was right? I who believed in the mercy of God or you who believed in a dream?”
Clara is speechless as Richard Wardour steps away from completing his task, ending his struggle. His strength is wavering as he had given all of his reserves to Frank. Staggering, he is caught up by his friend Lieutenant Crayford who begs his forgiveness!
Richard Wardour is happy now that he has made Clara happy and wishes to lay his weary head and rest at last.
All gathered around the two lovers and forgot the man who had saved him who was dying in his friend’s arms.
Richard Wardour’s countenance changed as he remembered the events of the past. He confesses to Lieutenant Crayford his desire to leave Frank to die. He heard the tempter telling him what to do but Frank’s mutterings changed his heart when he listened and heard ”Love him Clara for helping me!”
Frank saw Wardour, went over to him and did not forget the man who had saved him. Wardour tries to tell Frank he saved him some food and soon he can carry him down to the ship.
But the end was near and all around could see. Frank appealed for something to strengthen his savior. Frank, now strong as Wardour lies weak and fading. Frank tells of the valiant actions by Wardour which saved his life.
Clara speaks to Wardour asking if he had forgotten her. ”Should I have been strong enough to save him, if I could have forgotten you?”
Clara stoops and kisses his forehead, Wardour smiles faintly and stillness possesses his face.
It's our last chapter. What are everyone's thoughts about the ending?
This is the second time I've read "The Frozen Deep." The first time I read it, I thought the ending was a bit too melodramatic. This time, knowing more about the real explorers and picturing Dickens and Collins acting the scene, the ending brought tears to my eyes. Wardour is a very complex man with a loving heart under his gruff exterior and his hot temper. So I was sad to see this self-sacrificing man die. While this is just a story, it made me think about the real explorers who probably sacrificed to keep each other alive as long as possible.Lori, all the great information you posted enhanced my reading of the story.
The ending was a real surprise for me (I was expecting Frank, alone for a happy ending, or Richard alone for a more tragic one). I really like that Wardour got a chance for redemption -- I feel somewhat vindicated in my struggle to figure him out earlier. Like Connie said, this ending shows he's much more complex a character than we expected.However, I think this ending also shows how both Collins and Dickens benefit from their huge, sprawling novels, and that the conciseness of this book undercuts the emotion. I wish we had gotten a few hundred pages more to get to know Frank and Richard better. I think the "melodramatic" feeling Connie mentioned (and I noticed too) is because the emotion and redemption here doesn't yet feel earned. The image of Richard carrying Frank reminded me of the big scene in Les Miserables where Valjean is carrying Marius through the sewers, but at that point we've had about a thousand pages of getting to know VJ and so the scene packs a huge emotional punch. But here we just have to trust Richard at his word, and the last time we saw him was with an axe, so it feels more bait-and-switch to catch the audience off guard than an organic development (although, as I said earlier, I do like that he gives in to being the better man, I just wish I knew him better so I could appreciate his turn to the good more).
Overall, I'm really glad I read it, and I think perhaps the actual events the story is based on lend it a bigger emotional impact than it would have had if it had, say, just centered on a general shipwreck-type of plot.
Thanks again Lori!
To me, the ending showed the basic good v evil conflict in many novels throughout literary history; when a villain (or evil) as a separate individual(s), or within oneself. “There was a time when the fiend within me hungered for his life. I had my hands on the boat. I heard the voice of the Tempter speaking to me: Launch it and leave him to die! I waited with my hands on the boat, and my eyes on the place where he slept. 'Leave him! leave him!' the voice whispered…” [Collins, Wilkie. The Frozen Deep (p. 67). Kindle Edition.]
I think this quote of Richard speaking is the epitome and an individual dealing with the good vs evil that is within all mankind. The “Tempter” is a name that can been referred to the devil for Christians. IMO, the “fiend” is what Richard calls his capacity for his own sin.
However, the good won; love (goodness) prevailed.
'Love him!' the lad's voice answered, moaning and murmuring in his sleep. 'Love him, Clara, for helping me!' [Collins, Wilkie. The Frozen Deep (p. 67). Kindle Edition.]
Frank wanted happiness for the man helping him; IMO, “goodness”. This act of kindness on Frank’s part was a turning point in Richard’s struggle for revenge or to decide on sacrificing himself for the sake of his love for Clara, giving her the gift of the man she loves for marriage.
So, this conflict was a mortal one in which Clara predicted; just not in the way one would think in the first couple of chapters. It’s nice to have a twist like that; it makes you think about it long after you finished the last page.
What impressed me about the ending was something I never expected: the fantasy that some of the well known men survived! There was a reason for the love triangle after all - to draw attention away from the larger tragedy the public had been struggling with. So Collin’s and Dickens served the public by distracting them and perhaps giving them something to think about: the unknown heroics that must have taken place during that doomed expedition. It was a reminder that man does have strong and heroic and loving capabilities in the worst of circumstances.
Hi, sorry I haven't been around but I've been keeping up. Here's some of my random thoughts:The thing that has stood out the most to me is the concept of good vs evil in this story. Throughout, they kept forcing Richard and Frank together, giving you a sense that it was a good man vs an evil man. But I think that was the point. The battle of good vs evil is not necessarily one person vs another, but your own evil vs your own good.
I believe Clara's visions were a way to redirect the readers' perspective towards the conflict between Richard and Frank. Very interestingly, Clara's visions seemed completely correct, I just don't think she evey really appreciated how accurate they were. Her visions gave her a warning, but she decided to take that warning and think the worst.
In my opinion, at no point in either visions does it say Frank died just that he was in trouble:
"Frank! Frank! Frank! Don't drop behind—don't trust Richard Wardour. While you can stand, keep with the other men, Frank!"
"Wake, Frank! wake and defend yourself! Richard Wardour knows that I love you—Richard Wardour's vengeance will take your life! Wake, Frank—wake! You are drifting to your death!" (p.57)
This line really stood out to me:
"'I am sorry I spoke as I did, Lucy. We look at some subjects in very different ways. I don't dispute, dear, that yours is the reasonable view.' 'You don't dispute?' retorted Mrs. Crayford, warmly. 'No! you do what is worse—you believe in your own opinion; you persist in your own conclusion—' (p. 62)
This is a line I'd definitely use on someone who is overly pessimistic in the future haha. Clara was so drawn into her own way of thinking that she applied her own interpretation to her visions (which we all know doesn't typically go well for characters in other stories). In the end, I'm glad she was wrong and Frank lived.
I am of a different opinion than Wendy. I think the conciseness was perfect for this story. The description of Richard's state and the fact that he's not even recognized when he appears helps show you how much he's been through. Not only that but the fact that he lost his sanity then still hangs on and saves Frank thanks to one small line: 'Love him, Clara, for helping me!' (P. 86). I think more would've diminished the surprise and any less would've lost the emotion behind seeing both characters again.
Overall I really enjoyed this story. Thank you for setting this up. It has been a lot of fun!
Connie wrote: "This is the second time I've read "The Frozen Deep." The first time I read it, I thought the ending was a bit too melodramatic. This time, knowing more about the real explorers and picturing Dicken..."Connie, I'm so glad the extras added so greatly to your second reading of this story. I have to say, the first time I read it through I wasn't as affected until after getting into the historical information. That's when it changed in my mind as well.
Wendy wrote: "The ending was a real surprise for me (I was expecting Frank, alone for a happy ending, or Richard alone for a more tragic one). I really like that Wardour got a chance for redemption -- I feel som..."Thanks Wendy for these excellent points. I do understand where you are coming from with wanting more background and time to get to know these men that we get from the longer novels. It would be an interesting twist to have more story and development.
The original play is shorter and if you have a chance to read it with us next week, you might see how Collins expanded on the characters or not in this longer novella. I still need to read it again and will certainly look at this aspect when I do. Thanks for this insight.
Laura wrote: "To me, the ending showed the basic good v evil conflict in many novels throughout literary history; when a villain (or evil) as a separate individual(s), or within oneself. “There was a time when..."
Laura, I really love your thoughts on the good v evil theme and especially the idea of "fiend" as Richard's own sin. This redemption was very important for Dickens to have as his message. The quotes you chose to highlight are excellent ones and they really pinpoint the goodness message.
Lee wrote: "What impressed me about the ending was something I never expected: the fantasy that some of the well known men survived! There was a reason for the love triangle after all - to draw attention away ..."Lee this is also an interesting perspective on Dickens and Collins distracting the public with the love triangle. I appreciate your willingness to dive deeper into learning more about the real life expedition. We won't ever forget about it now that we've read this story!
Tyler wrote: "Hi, sorry I haven't been around but I've been keeping up. Here's some of my random thoughts:The thing that has stood out the most to me is the concept of good vs evil in this story. Throughout, t..."
Tyler - you mentioned this was good v evil - but different as it deals more with internal struggles and deciding whether to exact revenge or not against another person. That is an internal good or internal evil as you say. Here Wardour had to choose and he allowed his love for Clara to make his sacrifice meaningful.
I haven't much to add here. Suspense was prioitized first and morality a close second with the ending. IMO, stressing those elements left the story less complete but that is the cost of emphasizing one element over another. I would have preferred having one more scene with Frank and Richard before the ending but others may disagee. Is it possible the Frank/Richard plotline was partially devised to refute the charges of cannibalism? It does stress the nobility and moral courage of man when faced with the choice to act inappropiately while under duress.
Sam wrote: "I haven't much to add here. Suspense was prioitized first and morality a close second with the ending. IMO, stressing those elements left the story less complete but that is the cost of emphasizing..."For sure, Sam, it one of the themes that Dickens insisted on in refuting cannibalism and demonstrating the noble and moral uprightness of these men. You explained it perfectly as well.
Thank you!
Thanks to everyone who joined in and discussed this story with me. I had fun doing all of the research and sharing it with you. I had planned to post a few extra posts in a few days if anyone wanted to compare and contrast the original 3 act play. It will also provide a bit more depth to the plans Dickens had that I couldn’t discuss until now. Please feel free to come back and share your thoughts before next Sunday when we will wrap it up.
Lori wrote: "Thanks to everyone who joined in and discussed this story with me. I had fun doing all of the research and sharing it with you. I had planned to post a few extra posts in a few days if anyone wante..."Yes please post those thoughts in comparison with the play. Thanks!
No problem, Sam. I’m happy to. I’m not going to post summaries this time and it will just be very open ended.
Lori, you did an absolutely wonderful job leading this read! I really enjoyed the discussions and following all your links. I think I read every single one!This is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week for me so I am behind a day or two but I will catch up tomorrow.
Yes, please Lori. I am interested to see your comparison.And Sam made an excellent point about Dickens wanting to show all of us - then and now - what we don’t know about those last dreadful years of survival must have held many acts of courage and heroism. Morality doesn’t always disintegrate under duress —- it can also be strengthened.
Lori, I would also be interested in your thoughts about how the play differed from the novella. I remember when the first men went up in space, and how the public was both worried and impressed with their bravery. The Expedition must have aroused the same types of feelings back home, but to a much greater degree since there was no communication for years.
3 Act Play
Image The Frozen Deep private theatricals at Tavistock House final scene
The scene from Dickens's Tavistock House Twelfth Night production of "The Frozen Deep" on the stage of "The Smallest Theatre in the World" is from The Illustrated London News for 17 January 1857, pages 51-52. "Wardour [played by Dickens] in rags, wild as a maniac, rushes into the cave [on the Newfoundland coast]. He claims food and drink, part of which he takes, and carefully preserves the rest in a wallet. Crayford at last recognises him--endeavours to seize him--but the madman dashes away, soon to return, with poor exhausted Aldersley in his arms. He had become the preserver of the man whom he had seduced to the most desolate spots on the Arctic snows for the purpose of destroying. He makes full reparation for his intended crime; and, ere his death [pictured here], blesses the union of Clara Burnham and Frank Aldersley. The reader will perceive that Mr. Charles Dickens had in such a character as this a part that required the consummate acting of a well-practised performer" (p. 52).
https://victorianweb.org/mt/frozendee...
Read online http://www.bottecilindro.it/bottecili...
This is the only source I could find of an early version of the original play that would have been performed at one of the Manchester performances. It is a photocopied book which is from His Production of The Frozen Deep. There are footnotes throughout which give some directions and additions and changes for this location as opposed to Tavistock House.
****This version will be the one to read containing characters and ideas specific to Dickens.
Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Works...
If you have this collection from Kindle, you will find a newer version of the 3 act play which reads more like the novella we just finished. This version is so different from the original in the first act because of several different characters and how the Second Sight is portrayed. I’ll get into that later. I believe this is the version that Wilkie Collins revised after Dicken’s death and took out the characters and parts that were primarily Dicken’s ideas.
The Frozen Deep in Three Acts begins with a Prologue. Prologue
(Curtain rises. Mists and darkness. Soft music throughout.)
One savage footprint on the lonely shore,
Where one man listen’d to the surge’s roar;
Not all the winds that stir the mighty sea
Can ever ruffle in the memory.
If such its interest and thrall, O then
Pause on the footprints of heroic men,
Making a garden of the desert wide
Where PARRY conquer’d and FRANKLIN died.
To that white region where the Lost lie low,
Wrapp’d in their mantles of eternal snow;
Unvisited by change, nothing to mock
Those statues sculptured in the icy rock,
We pray your company; that hearts as true
(Though nothings of the air) may live for you;
Nor only yet that on our little glass
A faint reflection of those wilds may pass,
But, that the secrets of the vast Profound
Within us, an exploring hand may sound,
Testing the region of the ice-bound soul,
Seeking the passage at its northern pole,
Soft’ning the horrors of its wintry sleep,
Melting the surface of that ‘Frozen Deep.’
Vanish, ye mists! But ere this gloom departs,
And to the union of three sister arts
We give a winter evening, good to know
That in the charms of such another show,
That in the fiction of a friendly play,
The Arctic sailors, too, put gloom away,
Forgot their long night, saw no starry dome,
Hail’d the warm sun, and were again at Home.
Vanish ye mists! Not yet do we repair
To the still country of the piercing air;
But seek, before we cross the troubled Seas,
An English hearth and Devon’s waving trees.
****The prologue, written by Dickens, was spoken by John Forster during the Tavistock House performances and by Dickens during the Gallery of Illustration and Manchester performances. This version is taken from The Letters of Charles Dickens, ed. Georgina Hogarth and Mamie Dickens (pp. 522-523).
Short RecapThe Scene of the First Act takes place in an Old Country House in Devonshire. There are 4 women discussing the Arctic expedition: Rose Ebsworth whose father captain of one of the ships, Mrs. Steventon whose husband, Lieutenant Steventon is serving, Lucy Crayford whose brother is Lieutenant Crayford (not her husband), and Clara Burnham who waits for Frank and is already engaged. Three years have passed since they have heard anything of their men and these women have been living together. The women represent Jane Franklin.
Clara’s mother is mentioned as having gone to America to remarry and Clara has not forgiven her for the marriage. So she has a Scotch Nurse whom the women discuss as odd and strange who has much influence over Clara. It is Nurse Esther who has the Second Sight and the vision of lost men wandering over the icy North. The women do not approve of her superstitions nor of her influence over Clara. They believe she is rather uncivilized.
Throughout there are directions for music that plays in the background.
Lucy and Clara have the same discussion about what saddens Clara and she tells the story of Richard Wardour and the revenge he swore against her betrothed, still ignorant of his identity the two men ship out on the same expedition on separate ships.
She reveals that on the night she parts from Frank he tells her he met the men of his ship and of the other ship and told her they were pleasant and that one moody stranger had joined as a volunteer whose name was Richard Wardour. This causes her to tremble knowing what Richard had told her.
The scene ends with the Nurse exclaiming the men are lost and in terrible danger. Clara asks if she sees Frank. She sees Frank and another beside him. Her words cause Clara to faint.
I see the lamb I’ the grasp o’ the lion. I see your bonnie bird alone wi’ the hawk. I see you and all around you crying bluid! The stain is on you! Oh my bairn, my bairn, the stain o’ that bluid in on you!
The second act moves the action to a camp where the men are marooned and running out of supplies. John Want (as his name suggests) has no food to prepare and must pound bones for soup. The men choose by drawing lots from Want’s empty cook pot and the tension builds as Wardour discovers that Clara is Frank’s fiancé (in the same manner with the axe). The scene ends with Wardour joining Frank in the rescue attempt and leading him off into the icy wastes.
In Act 3, the women travel to Newfoundland to meet the rescued men. Everyone is accounted for except Frank and Richard. Richard shows up looking disheveled seeming to have done the villainous act. However, he goes outside, returns with Frank in his arms. He describes his debates over the voices telling him to kill Frank and then dies in the final scene sacrificing his life for Clara’s happiness.
The Nurse is also with the women at the rescue and the woman are constantly trying to keep her away from Clara.
Dickens, Collins, and the Influence of the Arctichttps://www.jstor.org/stable/44372600
If you would like to read this scholarly article, you can as long as you make an account on Jstor. This is usually a site that you have to be connected to a university to have access to the articles but I found that you can read 100 articles for free each month just by signing up. I highly recommend it.
This article suggests that the play itself is an adaptation of Charles Dickens’s “Lost Arctic Voyagers” articles but in a melodramatic way. Franklin being mentioned in the prologue and the image of the two ships stuck in the ice clearly denote the lost expedition as the influence. The women waiting are like Lady Franklin and the British public. Nurse Esther’s misleading second sight represents the speculations fueled by Franklin’s disappearance as well as the secondhand information Dr. Rae brought back from the Inuit.
References to hunger abound throughout as well as cannibalistic allusions done through the chef, John Want. His comedic references to empty cook pots and the drawing of lots allude to cannibalism. The story he tells of overcoming seasickness reinforces Dickens’s belief in the civilizing power of discipline. Never give in to your stomach and your stomach will end in giving in to you.
We discussed this chapter as being very Dickens and I think we were spot on.
Dickens also wanted the notion of Wardour’s regeneration through self-sacrifice as well as the Scottish character of Nurse Esther. These were strictly Dickens’ ideas and Collins worked them into a plot of his own construction and then would submit to Dickens for revisions. So, this is a Collins plot built around Dickens’ ideas.
The women waiting at home, the rivalry plot and Wardour’s long march at the end all appear to be Collins’ creations. The element of the explorers leaving their boats and marching are Arctic exploration tropes and would be familiar to the public.
Wardour’s battle with himself on the march reinforces Dicken’s belief in the morality of Franklin and his men. By having Wardour sacrifice himself redeems his character and illustrates the sacrifice Dickens imagined Franklin and his men made. Never wanting to stain the image of the Navy men, they are imagined as honorable and disciplined to the end.
Unequal Partners: Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and Victorian AuthorshipBy Lillian Nayder
Unequal Partners: Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and Victorian Authorship - Lillian Nayder
Lillian Nayder writes, “Indeed, Dickens conceived of the melodrama as a defense of the national honor; it was to safeguard the values embodied by Sir John Franklin and his lost band of Arctic explorers.” pg 60
Dicken’s use of Nurse Esther was meant to convey the idea that she came from a savage northern place and this equates her character to the savage Esquimaux (as that is how Dickens saw them). One of the reasons Dickens chose the nurse to be of Scottish heritage comes from Dr. Rae’s report when he defends the Eskimaux and compares them favorably with Franklin’s crew and more generally with the “lower classes of England or Scotland”. He said “my Eskimo interpreter speaks English fluently and perhaps more correctly than one half of the lower classes in England and Scotland”.
Dickens also wrote to Wills telling him of the Scotch influence, themes and music that his next play (The Frozen Deep) would entail.
Collins was interested in denoting class and gender differences and conflicts. He does this by contrasting the privileges of the officers with the deprivations of their men. Four years after Dickens death, Collins rewrote the play with his vision and concept of the failed expedition. Collins turns the story in a new direction by making the female visionary the heroine and a way to address one of the primary literary themes he was interested in by the 1870s - the problem of gender inequalities.
I would love to know if anyone has read the version with the Scottish Nurse Esther. It is very different and as you can see from the references I found, it provides the Dickens influence which we were all wondering about from the beginning. I enjoyed my reading of it after I finally located a copy (link above) but it was difficult to find. Wilkie Collins version he rewrote before be made it into a novella is more readily found online. I'd love to know your thoughts!
Tremendous work, Lori! Give me a day or so to read all your new information before I comment!
Lori, thanks for the interesting look at how the play changed over the years. I read the later version of the play where Collins revised it after Dickens' death. Clara has the visions, and the Scottish nurse is not present. There were some additional minor characters, and Lucy is Crayford's sister. The prologue was not included in the version I read, probably because it was not written by Collins.I liked the play, and would have enjoyed seeing it performed. Since the the first scene at the dance from the novella is not in the play, the women have to converse about Clara's situation.
The Frozen Deep: A Drama in Three Acts is the version I read. The librarians have merged it with the novella. (The cover has nothing to do with "The Frozen Deep," so I imagine it's a generic cover for a series of plays.)
Dickensians!
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Open this for the priceless singing ballad "Lady Franklin's Lament". It is embedded near the top of the article in a Utube video.It is beautiful! Thanks, Lori.
Lady Jane Franklin (at age 37) became John Franklin’s second wife. Her husband became the governor of a penal colony in Australia called Van Diemen’s Land in 1836. Here Lady Frank..."