The Sea Wolf.

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The Sea Wolf.

"'My man,' she said, looking at me for an instant with tremulous lids which fluttered down and veiled her eyes as she snuggled her head against my breast with a happy little sigh." (page 252) With such affectionate words and the theme of love so ardent in this ending, it is hard to conceive that this story could be anything beyond a romance novel. It is a fact, though, that the themes of jealousy and courage are just as prevalent as love in this book by Jack London, called The Sea Wolf. Themes of jealousy and courage stem from the more distinctive theme of love in this novel.

"The knowledge that I loved her rushed upon me..." (page 147) and, "I, Humphrey Van Weyden, was in love!" (page 149) are the words of the novel's protagonist, also known as Hump. The "her" in his thoughts is the character Maude Brewster, an intelligent writer, who is coincidentally brought aboard the Ghost. The ship's deranged captain, Wolf Larson, experiences what can be assumed a certain amount of affection for Maude as well. While Hump is observing a conversation between the two, he notices Wolf's eyes become "warm and soft and golden, and all adance with tiny lights..." (page 147) It is this that makes evident the fact that Wolf could be experiencing a form of love, and it is also this that brings out jealousy in Hump.
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While it was his idea for Maude to talk to Wolf and try be on his good side, it pained Hump to see them in the least bit intimate with each other. To describe how he felt after realizing that his prompting conversation between Wolf and Maude, Hump is thinking, "And yet I was conscious of a slight shock or hurt..." (page 145), the "slight shock or hurt" being jealousy. While it seems natural that Hump felt jealous of anyone stealing the attention of Maude away from him, it doesn't seem so common for jealousy to be brought ...

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