“The poor boy was dead… There was no need for her now to stay there, in that kitchen, in that house, with that man- since that boy was gone for ever. No need whatever. And on that Mrs. Verloc rose as if raised by a sprig. But neither could she see what there was to keep her in the world at all. And this inability arrested her. Mr. Verloc watched her with a marital solicitude… At that precise moment Mrs. Verloc began to look upon herself as released from all earthly ties. She had her freedom. Her contract with existence, as represented by that man standing over there, was at end. She was a free woman.”(Conrad 212)
“But neither could she see what there was to keep her in the world at all. And this inability arrested her.”-----> Winnie feels worthless now that her mother and brother are dead. The word inability shows how much she depended on the taking care of her brother, now that he is dead she is weakened. So weakened it’s as if she is under arrest.
“...Mrs. Verloc began to look upon herself as released from all earthly ties. She had her freedom.”-----> “Earthly ties” suggest that she believed she was put on this earth to care for her mother and brother. Conrad says she is a free woman, but still refers to her as Mrs. Verloc therefore she feels free, but society still sees her as a married woman.
“Her contract with existence, as represented by that man standing over there, was at end. She was a free woman.”-----> The contract being her marriage license with Mr. Verloc. Conrad sets it up in a way which that Winnie doesn’t allow her to say Mr. Verloc name because she sees him as just a man, a not as her husband.
Although Conrad writes that Winnie is a free women and how her “contract” is now over, he doesn’t stop referring to her as Mrs. Verloc. This contrast leads the audience to believe that even when a women thinks/feels she is “free” she still has to carry the constant burden and reminder of her husband because society still refers to her by her former husband’s name. Because Winnie is now free she doesn’t know what to do with herself and feels a sense of inability.
Winnie felt obligated to care for her mother and brother because she saw it as her “earthly tied”. She felt as though now that her mother is gone and her brother is dead, the earth has released her from her duties. Conrad said, “...Mrs. Verloc began to look upon herself as released from all earthly ties. She had her freedom” (Conrad 212). Freedom means to have the independence and not being confined by her husband. If Conrad claims that Winnie has her “freedom” why does he still refer to her as Mrs. Verloc? Doing this shows the reader that Winnie is free, but still has carries the burden of her husband's name because the society of the Victorian Age will only ever see her as Mr. Verloc’s former wife, even though her contract has ended. Conrad writes, “Her contract with existence, as represented by that man standing over there, was at end. She was a free woman” (Conrad 212). Using the word “contract,” Conrad reveals to the reader an agreement by law that Winnie and Mr. Verloc had to abide by. “ The man standing over there”, who was Mr. Verloc, was a nice way of putting that Winnie hadn’t had any more respect for him. To Winnie, Mr. Verloc was just a man in her house who she owed nothing to. Now that she was free and didn’t have the earthly duty to take care of her mother and brother she could now focus on herself.
When Winnie realized that she feels useless and lost on what she is going to do from now on, Conrad wrote,“But neither could she see what there was to keep her in the world at all. And this inability arrested her”(Conrad 212). She was so depended on the taking care of everyone besides herself she felt like she been arrested. People who are arrested are in confinement and restrained from all things that makes them different from others. So when Conrad told his readers that this was the way Winnie felt now that she doesn’t have to care for her mother and Stevie. Winnie found taking care of her family made her different because she enjoyed it.
Conrad, Joseph. "The Secret Agent." Toronto, Ontario: Broadview Editions, 2009. Print.
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