It probably doesn't seem like the narrator shows a whole lot of compassion to the characters in this book, but compassion is definitely an important theme in The Secret Agent. It's especially through Stevie and Michaelis that Conrad tries to figure out if people in the modern world are even capable to looking after one another.
Without doubt, Stevie and Michaelis are both really compassionate dudes, but for a bunch of reasons, neither of them can get anything done when it comes to making the world a better place. Maybe it's because they're surrounded by definitively uncompassionate psychopaths?
Questions About Compassion
- Why do Michaelis and Stevie fail in their attempts to make the world a more loving place? What keeps them from making an impact?
- Apart from Michaelis, Stevie, and Winnie, do you see any other examples of characters in this book that show genuine compassion to another person?
- For a book that criticizes characters for their lack of compassion, why does The Secret Agent take such a distanced and ironic approach toward its characters? Why is the narrator not more loving?
- How do you interpret the awful feelings that Comrade Ossipon feels in the books final chapter? Does he feel guilty for his lack of compassion toward Winnie, or does his problem lie somewhere else?
Chew on This
In The Secret Agent, Conrad suggests that true compassion might very well exist, but it will be destroyed and exploited by a world full of bad people.
The Secret Agent satirizes many of its characters, but when you get down to its core ideals, you discover that it ultimately sides with the socialist beliefs of Michaelis, regardless of whether or not these beliefs are practical.