What struck me most as I was reading Washington Irving’s “The Voyage” were the themes of solitude and the unknown that weaved their way through the story. The short story begins with Irving discussing the idea that a sea voyage “makes us conscious of being cast loose from the secure anchorage of settled life” (Irving 6). This notion that going out to sea for some time isolates us from the world, despite our being surrounded by sailors and other voyagers, holds some truth in my opinion. While on a ship, a person severs himself from land; and despite all the people around, a voyage is a very solitary experience. Irving details how on his trip, he withdrew into himself, spending his days daydreaming and musing about the sea. You could even read further into this by believing that the voyage is a metaphor for life, and though billions of people are living together in this world, you are ultimately alone in your own existence. A disconcerting thought for some, it remains true: we share the world, but our lives our own belongings. In the end of the story, Irving delves into the subject of isolation even further by expressing that he “alone was solitary and idle” with “no friend to meet [and] no cheering to receive” (11) upon the ship’s arrival on land. While a crowd of people surrounded the ship, happy for its arrival and its passengers, Irving stood alone among many, feeling like a stranger in the land of his forefathers. Again, the theme of solitude among the masses appears, and while in this instance Irving feels alone because he knows no one there, even those that are being welcomed by family members and friends remain by themselves though it appears that they do not. The unknown is another prominent theme in Irving’s story. While at sea, he spends his time imagining the “fathomless valleys,” “shapeless monsters,” and “wild phantasms” that lurk below the surface of the water. While one can imagine whatever one wants, the fact remains that nobody can really know what lies in the unknown. While witnessing a ship wreck, Irving wonders to himself about the mistresses, wives, and mothers who are left not knowing what has happened to the fallen members of that ship. The sight of the ship stirs the crew members on Irving’s voyage to share their own scary tales of wreckage. The captain’s tale has all the elements of the unknown: the obscuring fog, the unexpected collision, and the uncertainty of the crew’s fate. These elements are of course what make the tale a horrific one. After all, the reason the movie Jaws strikes terror in the hearts of its viewers is not the obviously mechanical, giant shark that hunts people, but rather the fear of not knowing who and when it will strike or what else lies beneath the surface of the water.The unknown is a haunting thought because people fear what they don’t know. If a horror movie or scary campfire tale were to outline when and how each victim would be attacked, the story would not accomplish its intended goal of being terrifying; it would simply be a predictable and boring story.
Here’s a link to the chilling opening scene of Jaws. You don’t even see the shark, but you’re terrified all the same. Chrissie’s Last Swim
World of Wonder 