Deceitful Relationships in the Secret Agent Essay Example

that the couple has been married for seven years and one would think that Winnie would be fully revealed to her husband by now.

The passage describes Winnie as motionless like a statue during the intimate moment of lying in bed with her partner in a comfortable marriage. Although it should be a time for conversation and relaxation, Winnie remains still like a figure made of stone. Other moments in the novel also portray her as being mysteriously motionless or frozen in contemplation. Conrad's writing illustrates her stillness through images such as a white-hot iron drawn across her eyes and her heart turning to ice, causing her body to inwardly shudder and her features to become frozen. The passage highlights Mr. [insert last name] realizing Winnie's continued lack of movement, possibly indicating a deeper issue in their relationship.

Verloc and Winnie both keep secrets from each other, preventing them from truly opening up. Mr. Verloc conceals the fact that he works as a secret agent for the French Embassy from Winnie, while Winnie pretends to be a devoted wife to ensure financial stability for herself and her brother, Stevie. This passage highlights Winnie's lack of emotional investment in her marriage.

Despite appearing to be a devoted wife to Mr. Verloc, an outsider like Comrade Ossipon would be surprised to learn that Winnie has sacrificed her entire life for her brother. She protected him from their abusive father and took care of him when their mother became disabled. Winnie married Mr. Verloc with the intention of ensuring that Stevie would always be cared for and would not have to work. However, she had to give up her freedom

and love for her brother and threw all her trust on Mr. Verloc, who keeps a secret life that he refuses to unveil to her.

Both Verloc and Winnie are hindered from getting married due to their respective secrets. They are similar in their dishonesty, being morally corrupt. Verloc is unaware of the unpleasantness of his means of earning money and even tries to get rid of Stevie, who has a disability, showing a lack of empathy for Winnie. Winnie marries Mr. Verloc, whom she does not love, to accommodate Stevie and her mother. She also carelessly offers herself to Comrade Ossipon towards the end of the book.

By labeling Winnie as mysterious, the excerpt establishes that she and Mr. Verloc are relatively unknown to each other in the story. The narrator intensifies this observation by characterizing her as possessing a mysteriousness akin to that of living beings (Conrad 148). The way Mr. Verloc describes Winnie is notably imprecise and lacking in affection, depth, or familiarity.

Despite being in her own home, Mrs. Verloc is often perceived as enigmatic, as evidenced by Conrad's text: “Mrs. Verloc sat still under her black veil, in her own house, like a masked and mysterious visitor of impenetrable intentions” (211). This mysteriousness causes a rift between her and Mr. Verloc, particularly after the truth about Stevie's death is revealed. Clearly, Mr. Verloc struggles to connect with his wife.

By believing that he is doing Winnie a favor by sparing his own life and letting Stevie be in control of the bomb, Verloc shows that he does not truly know Winnie. This is evident in Verloc's unwavering defense of his actions to Winnie,

as he asks her, "Do be reasonable, Winnie. What would it have been if you had lost me?" (Conrad 193). Verloc's assumption that Winnie would be more devastated if he died instead of Stevie highlights his ignorance of his wife's true feelings.

It is evident that Mr. Verloc was unaware of Winnie's intentions for their marriage and the extent of her affection for Stevie, which ultimately led to their demise in the novel due to their deception.

Mr. Verloc and Winnie shared the experience of being morally corrupt and being in a loveless marriage. Their secrets from each other paralleled their situation.

Works Cited: Conrad, Joseph. The Secret Agent. New York: Signet Classics, 2007.