Four:Chapters 11-12 (197-253)

“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.

Three: Chapters 8-10 (143-197)

“On account of that shrinking delicacy, which exists side by side with aggressive brutality in masculine nature, the inquiries into her circumstances had not been pushed very far. She had checked them by a variable compression of the lips and some display of an emotion determined to be eloquently silent. And the men would become suddenly incurious, after the manner of their kind...The tears of that large female in a dark dusty wig, and ancient silk dress festooned with dingy white cotton lace, wear the tears of genuine distress. She had wept because she was heroic and unscrupulous and full of love for both of her children. Girls frequently get sacrificed to the welfare of boys. In this case she was sacrificing Winnie. By the suppression of truth she was slandering her. Of course, Winnie was independent, and needed not care for the opinion of people that she would never see and who would never see her; whereas poor Stevie had nothing in the world he could call his own except his mother’s heroism and unscrupulousness.” (Conrad 149-150)

“On account of that shrinking delicacy, which exists side by side with aggressive brutality in masculine nature, the inquiries into her circumstances had not been pushed very far.”-----> Brutality suggests the inhumanity of men. Nature, is in a way a word that women use to make the brutality sound natural and fair.

“She had wept because she was heroic and unscrupulous and full of love for both of her children. Girls frequently get sacrificed to the welfare of boys. In this case she was sacrificing Winnie.”-----> When Winnie’s mother gave Winnie up to Mr. Verloc it made her mother heroic. The adjective unscrupulous refers to the morals that Winnie’s mother had to go against for the benefit of her children. Sacrificed suggests how girls surrender themselves for the benefit of the boys.

“whereas poor Stevie had nothing in the world he could call his own except his mother’s heroism and unscrupulousness.”-----> The word “nothing” shows what society sees when they see someone like Stevie. They see them even more disadvantaged than women because people like Stevie depend on women to take care of them.

Although men are controlling, brutal, dominant, and in a way greater than women,Conrad presents to the reader how heroic, loving and selfless women are. By setting up this contrast of men and women, Conrad introduces how Stevie and others like him are even more disadvantaged than women.

Men are controlling because they, without realizing, “force” women to marry them if women want to live a decent, standard life. Men can live a decent, standard life with or without a woman, creating their overall dominance. Because they lead, they get to be brutal. Conrad writes that there is an “aggressive brutality in masculine nature” (Conrad 149). The word “nature” suggests to the reader that because it’s natural it makes being brutal and inhuman to women fair. They can be brutal because they have nothing to lose. While this goes on women have to learn to be heroic and loving. Conrad writes, “she was heroic and unscrupulous and full of love for both of her children. Girls frequently get sacrificed to the welfare of boys” (Conrad 150). When Winnie’s mother gave Winnie up to Mr. Verloc, she earned the title of heroic. This made her heroic because she was brave enough to give her child away to some man she barely knew. Winnie also showed bravery when she sacrificed herself for her mother and brother so they can also have a decent life. This suggests how girls surrender themselves for the benefit of the boys.

Stevie on the other hand is described as nothing.  Due to his limited mobility, and mental state, he is categorized as even more disadvantaged  than women. Conrad showed this to his readers by writing, “Poor Stevie had nothing in the world he could call his own except his mother’s heroism and unscrupulousness” (Conrad 150). Writing this shows the reader how Stevie depends on his mother. For a man to depend on his mother who is a women is really low, lower than women depending on men. It’s ironic how men are showed as this dominant being, but when it comes to one of their “own” who is different from the rest, and quoted to be a “weak-minded creature,” automatically fall under women.   

Conrad, Joseph.  "The Secret Agent." Toronto, Ontario: Broadview Editions, 2009. Print.

Man's overall dominance 

Two:Chapters 5-7 (93-143)

“She had developed these discoveries to the Assistant Commissioner with all of the serce fearlessness of an old woman who had escaped the blight of indifference. He had made for himself the rule to receive everything of that sort in a silence which he took care from policy and inclination not to make offensive. He had an affection for the aged disciple of Michaelis, a complex sentiment depending a little on her prestige, on her personality, but most of all of the institute of fattered gratitude.  He felt himself really liked in her house. She was kindness personified. And she was practically wise too, after the manner of experienced women...Her influence upon his wife, a woman devoured by all sorts of small selfishnesses, small denvies, small jealousies, was excellent. Unfortunately, both her kindness and her wisdom were of unreasonable complexion, distinctly feminine, and difficult to deal with. She remained a perfect women all along her full tale of years, and no as some of them do become- a sort of slippery, pestilential old man in petticoats.” (Conrad 115)

“She was kindness personified. And she was practically wise too, after the manner of experienced women.”-----> “Practically wise” meaning she almost smart, but still not smart enough just to have the word wise there by itself to describe her intelligence.

“ Unfortunately both her kindness and her wisdom were of unreasonable complexion, distinctly feminine, and difficult to deal with.”-----> Women are seen to be too kind when working with them, from man's point of view. She was difficult to deal with because she was feminine. Her wisdom was unreasonable because she doesn’t have any previous working experience. This doesn't make sense because the men are the reason the women don’t have any previous work experience. The Assistant Commissioner believes women aren’t trustworthy.  

“She remained a perfect women all along her full tale of years, and not as some of them do become- a sort of slippery, pestilential old man in petticoats.” -----> A perfect women must be someone who is safe and clean dressed in a petticoat. An old man is unstable, can’t do things for himself, and harmful because he can’t be left alone.

Despite the fact that the Assistant Commissioner’s wife worked with Michaelis, he still shows the characteristics of women, why these characteristics makes it difficult to work with them, and what is likely to happen if women start to work with men. The Assistant Commissioner thought,“She was kindness personified. And she was practically wise too, after the manner of experienced women”(Conrad 115). When Conrad used the word “practically” it took away the strength of the word wise, almost making it watered down like. His reasoning for watering down the word wise was because she was a woman, and woman are kind. If this woman wasn't kind it would have been ok to call her wise? Not necessarily, since Conrad then writes, “ Unfortunately both her kindness and her wisdom were of unreasonable complexion, distinctly feminine, and difficult to deal with”(Conrad 115). This to the reader shows how he really feels towards women working. In other words The Assistant Commissioner believes the kindness and wisdom of women is silly and girly. That’s why he relates them both to being unreasonable. Being silly and girly is too difficult for men to deal with. To make the man's life easy, woman should just stay at home and control the household.

After all of this, if women still choose to work with men there is a change that they won't be a “perfect woman” anymore. Expect for if you were in the shoes of the Assistant Commissioner’s wife:She managed to stay a “Perfect woman” “She remained a perfect women all along her full tale of years, and not as some of them do become- a sort of slippery, pestilential old man in petticoats.”(Conrad 115) This doesn't work for every woman, according to The Assistant Commissioner , she managed to stay safe and clean. Society won’t see woman anymore than silly and kind, even if they have worked alongside men. The only option men give to women is to be kind and not wise or be wise and become an old man. The Assistant Commissioner's wife managed to stay kind, something that Conrad doesn't recommend for women to be when working with men. If she isn't kind she then turns into an unstable, harmful old man.

Conrad, Joseph.  "The Secret Agent." Toronto, Ontario: Broadview Editions, 2009. Print.

"Perfect woman"

One:Chapters 1-4 (39-93)

“You revolutionists,” the other continued, with leisurely self-confidence, “are the slaves of the social convention, which is afraid of you; slaves of it as much as the very police that stands up in the defence of that convention. Clearly you are, since you want to revolutionise it. It governs your thought, of course, and your action too, and thus neither your thought nor your action can ever be conclusive… You are not a bit better than the forces arrayed against you - than the police, for instance. The other day I came suddenly upon Chief Inspector Heat at the corner of Tottenham Court Road. He looked at me very steadily. But I did not look at him. Why should I give him more than a glance? He was thinking of many things - of his superiors, of his reputation, of a hundred things. But I was thinking of my perfect detonator only. He meant nothing to me. He was as insignificant as - I can’t call to mind anything insignificant enough to compare to him with… The terrorist and the policemen both come from the same basket. Revolution, legality - counter moves in the same game; forms of idleness at bottom identical. He plays his little game - so do you propagandist. But I don’t play...I who am the true propagandist.”( Conrad 86)

“The slaves of the social convention”-----> The professor refers to revolutionist this way to give the readers a sense of how they they don’t have any control of their thoughts or actions

“The same basket” -----> The police and revolutionist think that they are going against each other, but one's job doesn’t exist without the other.

“My perfect detonator”-----> Here the professor is so self absorbed about his “perfect”invention, he refers to the police officer as “insignificant”

“But I don’t play...I who am the true propagandist” -----> The professor is not in the same basket and removed from the game.

Through the professor, Conrad makes clear his opinion of what he believes revolutionaries and anarchist are. Conrad makes clear his opinion that revolutionaries and anarchists are fakes. He believes they want change from the government. However, with the phase “the slaves of the social convention”, the revolutionist aren’t allowed to be human beings  because they are “slaves”, and they just do what they're told to and act accordingly. This is still following a set of rules, when they are supposed to be against following the rules. The police too are also in “the same basket,”. They can only follow the laws and enforce them.The Professor doesn’t see change fast enough which is why he praises working individually. The professor thinks the people who work together don’t get anything accomplished, if they do it’s small change. He believes people who work together are playing.

Conrad then makes clear his preferences for more radical behavior to not change the government, but to destroy it. The professor talks about his “perfect detonator” when he passed the police office, he didn't at all feel threaten. This is because the Professor knows he hold the true power. The job position that the officer carried didn’t faze him, the office was “insignificant”(Conrad 86). The Professor’s  attitude toward himself leads towards anarchism, because he doesn’t “play” games like the revolutionaries or the police officers. The professor states, “I am the true propagandist.” People who work together don’t get anything accomplished, if they do it’s small change. With this Conrad reminds readers how this machine called society knits us out and knits us in”(Conrad 264). The machine may change a little, but it will never be destroyed, unless you are a “millionaire” (Conrad 265). The Professor is not saying that he is the millionaire when he says that he is the “true propagandist.” Conrad uses his to show that all others are shams.

Conrad, Joseph.  "The Secret Agent." Toronto, Ontario: Broadview Editions, 2009. Print.