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Gentleman Brown
Jewel (who is often simply called “the girl”) is the part-white, part-Malay stepdaughter of Cornelius and the eventual wife of Jim. Jewel seems to be a nickname, signifying the immense value she has to Jim—but also perhaps the way he makes her a treasure in his fantastical adventures he constructs in his mind. Cornelius treats Jewel cruelly ( he was equally cruel to his late wife, Jewel’s mother), and this motivates Jim to try to save Jewel. Ultimately, Jim’s interest in Jewel sets off a chain of events that leads to Cornelius helping Gentleman Brown to betray Jim. At the end of the story, Jim chooses to sacrifice his own life for an abstract ideal rather than listening to the advice of his loving wife. Thus, Jewel embodies everything a romantic like Jim seek—but also what he’s willing to leave behind to chase his abstract ideals about honor.
Jewel Quotes in Lord Jim
The Lord Jim quotes below are all either spoken by Jewel or refer to Jewel. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 28 Quotes
‘Next day, talking casually with the people of the little native court of the place, I discovered that a story was travelling slowly down the coast about a mysterious white man in Patusan who had got hold of an extraordinary gem—namely, an emerald of an enormous size, and altogether priceless.’
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Chapter 29 Quotes
‘This was the theory of Jim’s marital evening walks. I made a third on more than one occasion, unpleasantly aware every time of Cornelius, who nursed the aggrieved sense of his legal paternity, slinking in the neighbourhood with that peculiar twist of his mouth as if he were perpetually on the point of gnashing his teeth.’
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Chapter 33 Quotes
‘Why did I come, then? After a slight movement she was as still as a marble statue in the night. I tried to explain briefly: friendship, business; if I had any wish in the matter it was rather to see him stay. . . . “They always leave us,” she murmured. The breath of sad wisdom from the grave which her piety wreathed with flowers seemed to pass in a faint sigh. . . . Nothing, I said, could separate Jim from her.’
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Chapter 45 Quotes
‘Who knows? He is gone, inscrutable at heart, and the poor girl is leading a sort of soundless, inert life in Stein’s house. Stein has aged greatly of late. He feels it himself, and says often that he is “preparing to leave all this; preparing to leave . . .” while he waves his hand sadly at his butterflies.’
September 1899—July 1900.
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Jewel Character Timeline in Lord Jim
The timeline below shows where the character Jewel appears in Lord Jim. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 28
...time at Patusan, Jim also falls in love. Jim meets a woman that he calls Jewel—she is the part-white, part-Malay stepdaughter of Cornelius (Stein’s trading partner in Patusan before Jim arrived),...
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Chapter 29
During Marlow’s visit to Patusan, Jim goes on walks with Jewel in the evening and how sometimes when Marlow is there, he walks, too. Otherwise, Marlow...
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...that time, he took up residence with Cornelius (Stein’s previous contact in the area and Jewel’s stepfather). Marlow figures Cornelius must have also had some level of protection from Doramin, due...
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...his record books have pages torn and missing (which he blamed on his late wife, Jewel’s biological mother). Rumor has it that Rajah Allang wanted to kill Jim, but for six...
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Chapter 30
During the period of time when Jim lives with Cornelius, Jim instantly sympathizes with Jewel for having to endure the mean things Cornelius does to her. Cornelius screams at Jewel...
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...plan for how to use the cannons to take Sherif Ali’s camp. He excitedly tells Jewel about his plan; Jewel approves.
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Chapter 31
Jim wakes in the middle of the night at Cornelius’s. Jewel is telling him to get up. Jim grabs his revolver and gets up, although Jewel...
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Jim calls out to Cornelius, but Jewel warns him to run away, since now they know he’s awake. Jim wants to stay...
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Chapter 32
...Later, when Jim tells Marlow about this episode, he mentions how fond he is of Jewel and how at that moment, she was clearly fond of him too.
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After Jim and Marlow part ways, Jewel stops Marlow—she seems to have been waiting for him. She’s looking for some sort of...
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Chapter 33
After Jewel stops Marlow, Jewel asks suspiciously why Marlow came to see Jim if he has no...
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Jewel tells Marlow about how on the night that the four men came to assassinate Jim,...
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After the attackers jumped in the river to swim back to Sherif Ali, Jewel urged Jim to leave her and get out of Patusan. But Jim stayed with her....
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Jewel begins asking Marlow about what it is from Jim’s past that haunts him and troubles...
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All around, the air in Patusan is silent. At last, Jewel asks why no one outside wants Jim. Marlow is a little annoyed at her insistence...
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Chapter 34
Jewel continues to be skeptical of what Marlow tells her. Jim’s footsteps interrupt Marlow and Jewel’s...
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...Cornelius feels entitled to some money from Jim as payment for his role in raising Jewel. In order to look less like an extortionist, Cornelius adds that he will happily take...
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Chapter 37
Stein comes out to greet Marlow and stays that the girl (Jewel) is also there, though she is too frightened to say anything to Stein. Stein stays...
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When Marlow goes to the part of the house where Jewel is staying, she recognizes him at once. She says Jim left her after all, despite...
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Marlow sees Jewel a second time on his visit to Stein. She’s walking with Stein. She says Jim...
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Chapter 45
...they might have to fight for their lives, but Jim says he has no life. Jewel also encourages Jim to fight, but Jim just says to open the gates of his...
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...emerges from his contemplation and says to Tamb’ Itam that it’s time to finish things. Jewel again pleads with Jim to fight or flee, but Jim says he has no reason...
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...his ideals. Though Jim is no more, Marlow sometimes still sees him as a ghost. Jewel lives a dull life with Stein, who is getting older and is ready to die...
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