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Marlow's Views on Love Story
Marlow says that most love stories are the stories of opportunities. People regarded it as an episode of passion, youth and temptation.
Jewel, An Issue of Mixed Descent
Jewel was the daughter of a half-breed white woman who had fallen in love with a white man. She failed to marry that man but had given birth to a daughter, Jewel. Later on, Cornelius married that woman and, thus, became the step-father of Jewel. 'Jewel' is not the name given by her mother, father or step-father but by Jim. Jim calls her Jewel because she is most important for him in his life.
Cornelius's Ill-Treatment of Jewel
After arriving at Patusan, Jim meets Jewel but often finds her badly treated by Cornelius, her step-father. Jim falls in love with this girl and gives her the name 'Jewel'. The superstitious people of Patusan start thinking that Jim has caught hold of an enormous gem and laid it hidden somewhere in the body of Jewel in whose company he is often seen.
Jewel's Immense Love for Jim
Jewel was much attracted to Jim but Jim notices her love for the first time when Jewel saves Jim's life from a conspiracy against him. When Jim comes back from there, Jewel bursts out in love. Their intimacy develops with the passage of time and they start to spend all their leisure time in each other's company. Marlow, who comes to visit Jim at Patusan, sees, with his own eyes, the intimate relation existing between Jim and Jewel. Jim says to Marlow that Jewel is very dear to him and he will never leave her under any circumstances. Jewel is most worried and full of suspicion that Marlow has come to take Jim away from Patusan. When she tells Marlow about this suspicion in a private discussion with him, he dispels her fear by saying that he has come to Patusan for some trading purpose and to meet his friend. He consoles her and says that he will never come again to Patusan and Jim will never leave her. But Jewel cannot get over her apprehensions that Jim (a white man) would, one day; leave her and go to his own country.
Jewel: A Courageous Lady
When Brown, an illegal element, arrives at Patusan, Jim was not present there. He was away from the capital city and had gone into the interior of Patusan. In his absence, Jewel unlocks the store-house and hands over the weapons to the men of Bugis community to face Brown. Thus, she proves to be a courageous lady capable of taking initiative. She shows her courage at the moment when she leads Jim to the group of men conspiring against him.
Jim's Rejection of Jewel's Advice
When the situation was much adverse and against Jim in Patusan, when all the members of Bugis Community had turned against Jim, Jewel urges him to fight with the men who attack him, but Jim says that he finds nothing to fight for. Though, many times, she insists, Jim disregards her advice. He, inwardly, has resolved to surrender himself in front of Doramin and confess the responsibility of the murder of Dain Waris. When he goes in front of Doramin, the latter shoots Jim dead. After his death, Jewel and Tamb Itam flee from Patusan and go to Samarang where they meet Stein and tell him the whole story of Jim's death. Thus their love story ends in tragedy.
The Importance of the Love Story of Lord Jim and Jewel
The love-story of Jim and Jewel is most significant in various aspects. First, it reveals to us one more aspect of Jim's personality. Stein called him a romantic who must be left in the hands of destructive elements. We see Jim, from the very beginning, as a romantic dreamer. His insight, energy and heroic pursuits are seen in his campaign against Sherif All's headquarters. Through his nobility and highly commendable virtues, he succeeds in establishing himself, winning the love, respect and trust of the people. People of Patusan begin to think of him as someone possessing supernatural powers. Jim's love for jewel shows another aspect of his romanticism. Jewel's erotic appeal is well described by Marlow in romantic terms. Jim finds her exotic beauty ceaseless.
The love story intensifies the reader's interest in the story of the novel. Love has its own importance in everybody's life and in the novel too. Without love; a novel seems spiceless and dull. Thus, this love story of Jim and Jewel is not insignificant but very important for the plot of the novel.