by Sandra Petersen

Created on: December 06, 2011   Last Updated: December 08, 2011

The title of William Wymark Jacobs's “The Castaway” is appropriate for this short story about a seafaring man who returns to his wife after being presumed dead.

For three years, Mary Boxer waited longingly for her husband John to come back to her. The vessel on which he sailed, the North Star, had been reported as sunk and her husband missing but she continued to hope. She lived with her mother, Mrs. Gimpson, and tended her mother's shop in Shinglesea.

Mrs. Gimpson persuaded her daughter to seek the services of an old fortune teller by the name of Mr. Silver to tell her whether Mr. Boxer was alive or dead. Mr. Silver's answer, that he was alive but with untold mystery concerning his activities during his absence, convinced Mrs. Gimpson her son-in-law would return. Her daughter was hopeful but uncertain.

Upon his arrival, the castaway seaman faced Mrs. Gimpson's open hostility and suspicion. Mr. Boxer demanded a meeting with Mr. Silver to expose the fortune teller as a fraud and to show his mother-in-law's suspicions to be unfounded. What happened next was almost the undoing of his marriage.

The term “castaway” in the title is a reflection of the state of the main character Mr. John Boxer. Three years prior to his return, he had been a castaway in the South Pacific. After confronting Mr. Silver, he became a type of social castaway when the old fortune teller revealed the possibility that the former castaway had not spent all of his time looking for a way home.

Jacobs sprinkles dialect throughout his characters' speech. This allows us to determine to which social class the main characters belong. The dialect gives the story an air of authenticity.

The author does not give much description of the characters. Instead, he allows dialogue and actions to describe them. For example, the author indicates Mrs. Gimpson is an older woman because at the outset of the story she is taking a nap in a parlor chair during the hours her shop is open. Her superstitious nature drives her to urge her daughter to consult Mr. Silver. It draws her back to his door when her son-in-law determines to visit the fortune teller later in the day. She is a self-righteous woman who has never fully trusted her daughter's husband. Like many mothers-in-law, she seems bent on casting her son-in-law in the worst possible light. She does not openly condemn him through her words but implies her distrust through indignant sniffs and cleverly worded statements.

We are not given

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>