'no consideration, no delicacy, no tenderness, no
scruples should stand in the way of a woman ...from
taking the shortest cut towards securing for herself the
easiest possible existence' Chance(1914) was the first
of Conrad's novels to bring him popular success and it
holds a unique place among his works. It tells the story
of Flora de Barral, a vulnerable and abandoned young
girl who is 'like a beggar,without a right to anything
but compassion'. After her bankrupt father is
imprisoned, she learns the harsh fact that a woman in
her position 'has no resources but in herself. Her only
means of action is to be what she is.' Flora's long
struggle to achieve some dignity and happiness makes her
Conrad's most moving female character. Reflecting the
contemporary interest in the New Woman and the
Suffragette question, Chance also marks the final
appearance of Marlow, Conrad's most effective and wise
narrator. This revised edition uses the English first
edition text and has a new chronology and bibliography.
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