Voyage In The Dark

In 1934, Jean Rhys wrote Voyage in the Dark, her third published novel and a book believed to besemi-autobiographical.

Voyage in the Dark is the story of eighteen-year-old Anna Morgan, a woman transitioning from her childhood in the West Indies into her adulthood in England. For Anna, Britain is a foreign landscape that is as mundane and repetitive as it is cold and harsh. Although she appears to adjust herself to England, her thoughts are easily led to the fragrant and warm memories of the Caribbean.

In the beginning, Anna is a chorus girl on tour with a theatrical company and boards with a colleague, Maudie. They have been through a string of towns and are now stationed in Southsea. On a free night, the ladies take a stroll and discover two men following them with apparent interest. Inviting them over for drinks, the men introduce themselves as Mr. Jones and Mr. Jeffries. Anna takes a dislike to them initially but allows Mr. Jeffries to have her contact details before he departs. Upon discovering her tour ends in London, he hopes that they may meet as he works in “the City” (13).

When Anna arrives to Holloway, she dines with Mr. Jeffries, or Walter, a man twice her age with considerable wealth. As they drink and converse, Walter expresses his desire for Anna, who in a moment of shock, declines his advances.

After berating herself for that night, the following morning she finds a gift of violets and a large sum of money from Walter. On an impulse, she fulfills her repressed yearning for fashionable clothing. A metaphorical door opens for Anna; she believes she can live her dreams and, with newfound power, steps onto unacquainted shores of love and romance as she proceeds into a liaison.

She quickly grows accustomed to Walter’s affection and indulgences. She spends her days centered on him, without giving a thought to the future. When Maudie visits her for her birthday, her warnings about men are ignored by Anna. In the meantime, Hester, Anna’s stepmother, visits Anna in London with a letter from her Uncle Bo that has riled her, as Hester wrote Bo to assist her in sending Anna back to the West Indies. Her hopes for Anna have not come to fruition and Hester concludes that England is not the place for her. Instead, her uncle accuses Hester of usurping Anna’s father’s property and her inheritance and refusing responsibility for Anna, as it was Hester’s decisions that led Anna to an aimless state. An offended Hester decidedly proclaims that despite her best intentions for Anna, she cannot continue to support her. Going forward, both choose little with the other as their correspondence slowly ceases.

Previously, Walter introduced Anna to his cousin, Vincent, for singing lessons, and probed her on her aspirations, as Anna’s attachment to Walter becomes more fervent each day. During a stay at the countryside, Anna discovers the men are set to leave for New York. They return after an unexpectedly short trip, and Anna receives a letter from Vincent written on behalf of Walter that Walter shall financially support her but wishes to terminate their relationship. Heartbroken and distraught, she asks to meet Walter, who confirms and leaves her lodging without providing an address.

Subsequently, Anna dips into depression and discovers solace in drinking. Her financial resources have dwindled. She meets Ethel, a woman who offers Anna a room in her flat and a chance to work with her as a manicurist. By chance, Anna runs into Laurie, a former colleague from her show days, who consoles her and invites her out with two American men, Carl and Joe. Although the night ends in turmoil, with Anna belligerent, Laurie forgives her. Later, Anna takes up Ethel’s proposal, butane turns out to be a terrible manicurist.

Laurie stops by Ethel’s fledgling operation and asks an increasingly morose Anna to join her and the Americans for dinner. Eventually, Anna engages in a tryst with Carl until he leaves. Anna meets up with Maudie, who borrows her money from the rendezvous to impress a marital prospect.

Afterwards, Anna brings another man home, this one with a broken hand, and realizes that she is pregnant. Upon destroying Ethel’s flat, she moves in with Laurie. Despite her conflicting feelings, she knows she must get an abortion and Laurie urges her to reach out to Walter and his promises to help. Vincent arranges the money needed but requests that she give him all the letters between her and Walter. Anna obliges.

Anna’s abortion goes awry as Laurie and Mrs. Polo, the charwoman, seek a solution to her progressively dismal condition. A doctor is called to treat Anna, who is roving between her memories and hallucinations of the West Indies. He declares her free from danger as Anna gains consciousness and contemplates a fresh start to life.