Ship of Fools

Ship of Fools: Summary

Ship of Fools does not have a traditional narrative; it is a summary of many anecdotes and stories featuring the passengers on the boat. The novel is divided into three sections; Embarkation, High Seas, and The Harbor.

Part I: Embarkation

The novel opens in the sweaty port of Veracruz, Mexico. In August 1931, a group of passengers of various nationalities waits to board a German liner Vera. They are anxious to begin their journey to Bremerhaven, Germany, and escape the escalating political unrest in Mexico. As the narrative continues, the passengers are each described physically but not yet named. The ship's passenger list contains Germans, Swiss, Americans, Mexicans, Cubans, one Swede, and a group of almost 900 Spanish sugar workers shoved into steerage for their return journey home.

As the passengers settle into their cabins, they realize they have been poorly matched with bunkmates. As the various characters begin to interact with each other's nationalist identities, the passengers start to divide as the multiple groups hold each other in suspicion.

Fig. 1 - The passengers quickly segregate themselves along national lines onboard Vera.

Part II: High Sea

The voyage hits the high seas, and the reader is introduced to the daily adventures of many characters. Dr. Schumann, the ship's physician, invites the German passengers to dine with him at the captain's table. The group includes the Hutten family with their beloved bulldog, the Baumgartners, who unsuccessfully attempt to cover up the father's alcoholism, and Wilhelm Freytag, a young businessman interested in oil. Herr Löwenthal, a German Jew, remains cautiously distant from the rest of the passengers.

Also on board are an American couple named David and Jenny, who has a series of bickering matches as David grows increasingly jealous at Jenny's flirtations with Freytag, William Denny, a bigoted Texan on his way to start a job in Berlin, Mrs. Treadwell, a wealthy widow, and several other American tourists.

As the passengers continue to interact, a series of petty conflicts and incidents ensue. When Freytag confides to Mrs. Treadwell that his wife is Jewish, the information spreads around the ship. At dinner, the rest of the Germans inform him of their support for Hitler's anti-Semitic policies and exile him from the table. He is forced to eat with Löwenthal, but the pair soon bicker.

Fig 2. - Ship of Fools explores anti-semitism to challenge the thinking behind nationalistic identities and the dangers of ideology

Meanwhile, Dr. Schumann falls in love with a Cuban countess. Schumann begins to supply her with drugs as the pair conduct a secret affair. A mischievous set of Spanish twins known as Ric and Rac pull pranks and cause general mayhem in the adult's lives throughout the cruise. They finally go too far and throw the Hatten's bulldog overboard. A man from steerage dies saving the dog, and the twins finally face punishment.

Part III: The Harbors

After the cruise briefly lands at the Canary Island, it enters the final leg of the journey. A group of Spanish performers plan an elaborate performance for the last night and sell tickets to the event. When the night arrives, the passengers become drunk, and the strained peace which has held for most of the journey begins to disintegrate. The Spanish performers stage an act mocking the fake politeness of the passengers and take over the captain's table. Two German men enter a brawl, and David erupts after finding Jenny kissing Freytag. As chaos ensues, the drunken father of the Baumgartner family leads his children in a goose-step Nazi march around the ship.

The following morning the cruise reaches Bremerhaven. The passengers, pretending nothing happened, disembark and greet each other with the same strained politeness they had displayed throughout most of the trip.

Ship of Fools: Themes

One of the novel's most important themes is the delusional nature of many characters, which reflects more significant global political problems in the lead-up to WWII.

Delusion

As characters from various nationalities interact with people of different backgrounds, they each judge and look down upon the cultural differences they encounter. Many of the characters want to be left alone and isolated from others but crave the company of other people. Ironically, when they receive what they want, they often end up unhappy and further isolate themselves within their national group.

The people onboard believe they know what they want and why they want it, but their actions and reactions often disprove this belief. Even the characters headed to Germany to begin a new life believe this fresh start will solve all of their problems. Ultimately, many of them think that they can be self-sufficient and can live with others. Porter uses this attitude to reflect the global attitude toward the political situation of the 1930s.

Ship of Fools: Analysis

Katherine Ann Porter is best remembered for her short story collections like Flowering Judas (1930) and Pale Horse, Pale Rider (1939). Considered a master of the short story format, Ship of Fools is Porter's first and only novel and was published when the author was 72. The idea for the book first occurred to Porter in 1940 but would not be completed for almost 20 years as the writer struggled to harness the many characters and intersecting storylines. Upon publication, the novel became the best-selling novel of 1962, though critical opinion was divided.

Ship of Fools explores the thinking behind nationalistic identities and the dangers of ideology. It is an example of the

Psychological fiction genre.

Throughout the novel, Porter provides deep insight into the internal thoughts of many characters. Each group is presented as having feelings of superiority and resentment towards other nationalities and cultures. While many works of psychological fiction deal with a character's development or growth, Porter presents the reader with a group of unlikeable characters who only become more entrenched in their narrow-minded views as the journey continues.

The book's title comes from the English translation of the poem "Das Narrenschiff" (1494). The verse, by German writer Sebastian Brant (1458-1521), tells the tale of 100 passengers onboard a ship traveling to a fool's paradise. Porter drew inspiration from Brant's cutting satirize on corruption in the Catholic Church. She was intrigued by the idea that a ship could represent the entire world and play host to some relationships and interactions.

Ship of Fools: Quotes

The following quotes display Katherine Ann Porter's ability to explore deeper psychological issues through some of the novel's many characters.

After one of Jenny and David's many fights, Jenny yearns to start over again but realizes it is impossible to return to a reset point. Many passengers are traveling to start a new life but find themselves weighed down by the baggage of the past.

During a conversation with his bunkmate, Freytag, Hansen attempts to understand why there is so much hostility on the boat and the world at large. Freytag, distracted by shaving himself, does not listen to his mate's thoughts and dismisses him.