In Chapter 2, the narrator employs an oxymoron referring to a rock to describe Mr. Verloc’s character. The verbal irony of the oxymoron in this passage reflects the conflicted nature of Verloc’s personality. As he walks through London on his way to the Embassy, the narrator remarks:
And Mr. Verloc, steady like a rock – a soft kind of rock – marched now along a street which could with every propriety be described as private.
The author’s choice to describe Mr. Verloc as a "soft kind of rock" is immediately intriguing, because it seems to cancel itself out. The image of a rock typically conjures images of stability, dependability, and strength. However, Conrad makes this “rock” oxymoronic by describing it with the unexpected adjective soft. This juxtaposition challenges the reader’s understanding. Even at this early point in the novel, Conrad is suggesting that this secret agent is not quite what he seems from the outside. Describing him as a “soft kind of rock” suggests a certain malleability or susceptibility in his character. This oxymoron serves a dual purpose. On the one hand, it paints a portrait of a man who appears strong. On the other, it suggests that on closer inspection, Verloc is not quite as strong as he looks.
When it’s put in the broader context of the book, the reader sees a layer of verbal irony in this oxymoron. This irony lies in the subtle contradiction between the expectation set by the word rock and the reality suggested by the soft qualifier Conrad adds. The narrator mentions that Verloc is “a soft kind of rock” as an aside, as though they’re making sure the reader doesn’t get a false impression of him. Rather than being solid, this suggests that Mr. Verloc might be prone to cracking up or being easily crushed when faced with challenges.
