A Personal Record · Chapter
Chapter II explained
The narrator reflects on family history, including the death of a beloved aunt and the character of his mother, and recounts his granduncle Nicholas B.'s infamous meal of a Lithuanian dog.
What happens
The narrator reflects on family history, including the death of a beloved aunt and the character of his mother, and recounts his granduncle Nicholas B.'s infamous meal of a Lithuanian dog. He then explores themes of fidelity, illusion, and self-indulgence, comparing his own seafaring vocation to Don Quixote's chivalric quest. The chapter concludes with a memory of his tutor's warning on the Furca Pass and the tutor's later life as a beloved doctor.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This passage marks the dramatic climax because it reveals the psychological turning point where Conrad, despit…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Memory and Nostalgia
The narrator dwells on the deaths of his aunt and mother, and recalls his granduncle's legendary meal.
- Family Heritage and Obligation
Discusses the moral legacy of his mother and the patriotic sacrifices of his uncle.
- The Spectacle of Existence
Compares his own seafaring life to Don Quixote's illusions, questioning the nature of fidelity and self-indulgence.
Characters to notice
- Narrator
Reflects on family losses, his own youthful vocation, and the influence of his tutor.
- Nicholas B.
Granduncle who ate a Lithuanian dog on active service; his deed is recalled with childish horror.
- Joseph Conrad
Implied as the narrator; mentions his own diet of 'la vache enragée' and his life at sea.
Key passages
“I know the taste of shark, of trepang, of snake, of nondescript dishes containing things without a name—but of the Lithuanian village dog never!”
I have eaten many strange foods, but never a Lithuanian dog.
Narrator distinguishes his own diet from his granduncle's.
“He had eaten him to appease his hunger, no doubt, but also for the sake of an unappeasable and patriotic desire, in the glow of a great faith that lives still, and in the pursuit of a great illusion kindled like a false beacon by a great man to lead astray the effort of a brave nation.”
He ate the dog not only from hunger but also out of patriotic fervor, following a grand illusion inspired by Napoleon.
Justifies granduncle's act as part of national struggle.
“You are an incorrigible, hopeless Don Quixote. That’s what you are.”
You are an incurable dreamer, like Don Quixote.
Tutor's rebuke to the young narrator about his sea vocation.
