Characters Discussed
Wolf Larsen
Wolf Larsen, captain of the Ghost, a ship used in hunting seals. Larsen is a fierce, satanic figure, driving his men relentlessly and beating them brutally when they disobey him. He calls himself a materialist who does not believe in morality, ethics, or religion. He is contemptuous of anyone who believes in a spiritual dimension to existence. Although he is a monster, he is also courageous and curiously intellectual. He loves debating his views of life and earns the admiration of the novel’s narrator, Humphrey Van Weyden, who learns from Larsen a code of self-reliance and honest self-scrutiny.
Humphrey Van Weyden
Humphrey Van Weyden, a writer and gentleman rescued from the sea by Larsen. At first, Van Weyden is revolted at Larsen’s cruelty and physical violence, and he refuses to believe that such an intelligent man could really believe completely in the doctrine of “might makes right,” no matter what the circumstances. Van Weyden confesses that he is soft and unused to physical labor and that he was called a sissy at school. He gradually comes to admire Larsen’s independence and lack of sentimentality. He cannot accept Larsen’s philosophy, but he is grateful for the opportunity to test himself against the elements and to discover reserves of energy and pluck that he did not realize he possessed.
Thomas Mugridge
Thomas Mugridge, the ship’s cook, who is assigned the task of teaching Van Weyden his tasks. Mugridge, a Cockney, despises Van Weyden for his gentlemanly ways and for the privileges that Mugridge has never enjoyed. He bullies Van Weyden and even threatens to kill him, but Van Weyden rebels and eventually masters Mugridge.
Johnson
Johnson, one of two hunters aboard ship who mutiny against Larsen. Johnson is a courageous rebel who fights Larsen, even though Johnson knows he cannot best the stronger man. Losing his battle against the captain, Johnson and his accomplice, Leach, escape the ship. Larsen catches up with the men and then toys with them, allowing them to drown in their small boats.
Leach
Leach, John’s fellow mutineer, whose implacable hatred of Larsen causes him to risk everything to subdue the captain. He escapes from the ship when the mutiny fails.
Maud Brewster
Maud Brewster, a writer who also is rescued at sea by Larsen. Like Van Weyden, she despises Larsen’s vicious amorality, but also like Van Weyden, she is mesmerized by his titanic will and strength. She is shocked by the inhumanity aboard ship. Although she is frail in health, she confederates with Van Weyden in plotting an escape. The couple succeed and are washed ashore on an island they call Endeavor. Through their struggles, Brewster supplies the inspiration and the grit that sustains Van Weyden. Their respite is short lived: The Ghost also washes up on shore. Although its crew is gone, Larsen remains as the couple’s nemesis. They discover that Larsen is dying, possibly suffering from a brain tumor that has blinded him and is slowly numbing other parts of his body. The couple, now in love, fight desperately to oppose Larsen’s efforts to thwart their escape in a rerigged Ghost. Contrary as ever, Larsen tries to burn the ship, but the couple prevails. Largely at Brewster’s instigation, they nurse Larsen until he dies, evincing an admiration of his indomitability even as they reject his antihumanist philosophy.
Characters
Humphrey van Weyden and Wolf Larsen from The Sea-Wolf serve as contrasting opposites, allowing London to explore extremes in background, behavior, and belief. Their conflict fuels the novel's dramatic tension.
Humphrey van Weyden is a physically...
(This entire section contains 362 words.)
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inept aesthete who unexpectedly finds himself in a fiercely competitive world where his social status is irrelevant. Renamed "Hump" and tasked with working as a cabin boy on theGhost, van Weyden begins his journey into "the world of the real," through which he forms a new identity. Although van Weyden starts the novel as weak and naive, his hidden adaptability makes him more suited for survival than Wolf Larsen. Unlike Larsen, van Weyden's hopeful intelligence and capacity for love steer him towards life.
Wolf Larsen is undeniably London's most unforgettable character—a materialistic nihilist and a dark reflection of Nietzsche's superman. Ambrose Bierce remarked that "the hewing out and setting up of such a figure is enough for a man to do in a lifetime," and other critics have likened Larsen to Shakespeare's Hamlet, Milton's Satan, and Melville's Ahab. Despite his oppressive brutality, Larsen possesses many sympathetic traits. He is sensitive, intelligent, unrestrained, and profoundly lonely. However, without belief or purpose to guide him, Larsen is hopelessly disoriented. Alienated from both the natural and human realms by his hyperrational mindset and self-centeredness, Larsen engages in pointless violence that ultimately leads to his self-destruction.
Maud Brewster, the American poet introduced midway through the novel, may not be as successful a character; however, she plays a crucial role in van Weyden's evolution. His love for her becomes the catalyst that drives him to break free from Larsen. Additionally, her presence allows London to suggest that a fulfilling life must encompass both male and female elements, as well as the real and the ideal.
The Sea-Wolf is a meticulously structured novel, so it is not surprising that secondary characters reflect the conflict between the protagonist and antagonist. For instance, the young seaman Johnson is a lesser version of van Weyden, embodying idealism and courage, willing to die for his manhood. Similarly, Thomas Mugridge, the cowardly and spiteful cook, represents Larsen's violent nihilism but lacks his intelligence and sensitivity.
