The Sea-Wolf

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1904

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Chapters 22-24Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 22 Summary

Maud approaches Humphrey with her misgivings about the Ghost. He cautions her: “You bring with you certain fine conceptions of humanity, manhood, conduct, and such things; but here you will find them misconceptions” (162). Humphrey is fatalistic, explaining to Maud that Larsen’s tainted sense of morality rules the ship. He says he is “a slave to that monster” (163) and incapable of challenging Larsen. Instead, Humphrey proposes that they form a secret alliance against the captain, evading his anger by pretending to go along with his whims. Humphrey claims that this is the best way forward for them, both being incapable of physically matching Larsen.

Humphrey cautions Maud that “All your experience of men and things is worthless here. You must begin over again” (164). He says that while Maud may be used to “command[ing]” (164) men with her eyes, she will not find Larsen so easily managed. When Larsen approaches them, Humphrey and Maud quickly change the topic to poetry and publication to not arouse his suspicion. As Humphrey leaves to complete his duties, he sees that Maud is taking his advice and not attempting to combat Larsen, instead engaging him in conversation.

Chapter 23 Summary

The Ghost follows the seal herd north and spends several days in a thick fog bank. One of the hunters whom Larsen stole from another ship in the sealing fleet escapes, and the crew learns several days later that he managed to return to his original ship. Humphrey plans to copy this maneuver at the next chance and escape with Maud.

Humphrey begins to observe Maud more and more, finding himself enamored. He describes her body in detail: “I was continually impressed with what I may call her fragility” (166) and how closely her body seems to reflect the “sublimated and spiritual” (166) quality of her published works. In watching Maud and Larsen interacting, Humphrey observes that Larsen, who seems to be smitten with Maud, often turns seductive eyes upon her. “Her own terror rushed upon [Humphrey]” (167) in those instances, prompting him to recognize his own love for Maud.

This is a revelation for Humphrey, as he has never been in love before. “Love had come when I least expected it and under the most forbidding conditions” (168). This fills Humphrey with doubt as to how he could have found himself in such a strange circumstance.

Chapter 24 Summary

Out of jealousy, Larsen orders the hunters to eat in steerage (a grave faux pas on sealing vessels) to stop two of the hunters from flirting with Maud. The hunters are immediately displeased, yet none challenge Larsen. Humphrey reflects that the hunters would have resorted to violence “had not Maud Brewster been present” (171). Smoke is spotted on the horizon; Larsen’s brother’s steamer the Macedonia is nearby. As the steamer lowers its own boats in the same area, the Ghost’s hunters cannot kill as many seals as they normally would: “[E]ach man felt that he had been robbed” (173).

On deck, Maud and Larsen discuss morality. Humphrey is amazed as he listens to Maud, mostly because she reminds him of the society he left; all of Larsen’s negative influence [on what?] is beginning to fade. Through their conversation, Larsen again reveals his yearning for a life of pleasure instead of the intellectual path he has walked, saying that “Emotional delight is more filling and lasting than intellectual delight” (175). Humphrey counters this by remarking how Larsen is “a wise man looking upon fools and wishing he too were a fool” (176), to which Larsen readily agrees.

Chapters 22-24 Analysis

Larsen has a secure hold over Humphrey and the rest of the crew: The fear he inspires, and the moral code he establishes, infects the entire crew. To Maud, Humphrey confesses: “I am a slave to that monster” (163), but, as he spends more time with Maud, Larsen’s grip loosens, and Humphrey becomes more confident in his thoughts and actions. He is developing the sense of self that Larsen alluded to in the beginning, of standing on his own two legs. In a way, Larsen’s brutality has worked as he intended: fostering Humphrey’s independence.

Humphrey reflects upon the sea romances he’s read and how the female character in each narrative is integral to the plot overall (166). Not only is this a quick foreshadowing nod to Maud’s eventual role in Humphrey’s narrative, but it is paired with Humphrey’s observations of Maud’s physical form and character. He shifts from intensely analyzing Larsen and places his focus on Maud. His idealization—detailing the fragility and inherent spirituality that he perceives within her physical form—allows him to think of her as separate from other women: “And though I had been surrounded by women all my days, my appreciation of them had been aesthetic and nothing more” (169).

The contrast between Maud and Larsen intensifies the longer Humphrey observes them interacting. Maud represents the culmination of civilization, and Larsen represents that of savagery. In this contrast, Maud begins to occupy the space that Humphrey himself did at the beginning of the narrative; Larsen seeks her out for intellectual debates. Now that Maud has essentially become Humphrey’s stand-in with Larsen, Humphrey no longer receives much of the captain’s attention and is therefore less influenced. He is able to consider escape.