An Outcast of the Islands · Chapters

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Chapter companions for An Outcast of the Islands by Joseph Conrad.

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Chapter 1
Epigraph
The chapter opens with a single epigraph from Calderón, suggesting that the greatest crime of man is to have been born, setting a tone of existential guilt and predetermined suffering.
Chapter 2
Dedication
The book is dedicated to Edward Lancelot Sanderson.
Chapter 3
Author's Note
Conrad reflects on the origins of 'An Outcast of the Islands,' describing how a real, unremarkable man living as a dependent outcast in Sambir inspired the character of Willems. He recounts his own creative indecision after 'Almayer's Folly' and how Edward Garnett's suggestion to 'write another' spurred him to begin the novel. Conrad admits the story engaged his imagination more than his affection, but he felt a creator's regard for Willems, whose fictional fate he made less squalid than the real man's.
Chapter 4
Part I
The opening chapter introduces Willems, a man who has risen from obscurity to a position of trust under Hudig, only to betray that trust through embezzlement. His exposure and expulsion from the European community set the stage for his journey to Sambir under Captain Lingard, where he will encounter new temptations and conflicts.
Chapter 5
I
Willems, a confident and ambitious clerk for Hudig & Co., reflects on his rise from cabin boy to a position of power and respect in Macassar. He enjoys his status, his skill at poker and billiards, and the adulation of his wife's impoverished half-caste family. However, he has secretly embezzled money from Hudig, justifying it as a temporary lapse that he will soon rectify. The chapter establishes his pride, his sense of superiority, and the moral compromise that sets the stage for his downfall.

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Epigraph

Dedication

Author's Note

Part I

I