The Phantom Ship by Frederick Marryat
"The Phantom Ship" is a narrative that explores themes of curse, love, and sacrifice, drawing heavily from the legend of the Flying Dutchman. The story follows Philip Vanderdecken, who learns of a curse placed upon his father, the captain of the ill-fated ship, destined to sail until Judgment Day. In a quest to save his father and break the curse, Philip must retrieve a holy relic, a piece of the true cross, which leads him to encounter the enchanting Amine, the daughter of a local merchant.
As their love blossoms, Philip faces numerous challenges, including betrayal, greed, and tragic loss. He embarks on multiple voyages, each marred by misfortune, with a mysterious sailor named Schriften playing a sinister role in his fate. Amine's tragic fate at the hands of the Spanish Inquisition deeply impacts Philip, driving him to madness.
Ultimately, the tale culminates in a dramatic resolution when Philip discovers the truth behind his father's curse and the nature of Schriften’s involvement. The narrative concludes with a poignant reunion between father and son as they face the consequences of their past and find redemption, symbolized by their descent into the sea together. The story weaves elements of romance, supernatural intrigue, and moral lessons, encapsulating the enduring power of love and forgiveness.
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The Phantom Ship
First published: 1839 (serial form, New Monthly Magazine, 1837)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—occult
Time of work: The seventeenth century
Locale: Holland, Goa, and the seas between
The Plot
The Phantom Ship is the most extensive English handling of the legend of the Flying Dutchman (widely known through Richard Wagner’s 1843 operatic version The Flying Dutchman). Philip Vanderdecken’s dying mother tells him of the curse upon his father, for whom he is named. En route to India, Captain Vanderdecken swore that he would round the Cape of Good Hope if it took him until Judgment Day. As a result, he and his crew are cursed to sail the seas in nautical limbo until then. The only way to break the spell is for a family member to present him with a holy relic, a piece of the true cross contained in a necklace. Philip vows to do this.
In a futile attempt to save his dying mother, Philip engages the medical services of Mynheer Poots, who steals the relic. Philip chases Poots to his house and encounters his beautiful half-Arab daughter Amine, with whom he immediately falls in love. She obtains the necklace for him. On the way home, Philip overhears a plot against Poots, Amine, and their property. Philip, with the aid of Amine, foils this attempt and offers the Pootses the safety of his own home, because he is planning to begin at once to seek out his father.
Amine returns his love, and they marry once Poots hears of a fortune in a hidden room on the Vanderdecken property. Summoned by a mysterious sailor named Schriften, Philip sets out on his first voyage and succeeds in sighting the Flying Dutchman. Unfortunately, the Phantom Ship bodes ill for those who see it, and Philip’s voyage ends in shipwreck, with Philip apparently the sole survivor.
He returns home, to the joy of Amine, but his father-in-law, suffused with greed and skilled in the art of poisoning by his sojourn in Arab lands, attempts to kill Philip. The plan is thwarted by Amine, who inherited magical and medical skills from her mother. Philip is saved, and Poots himself is poisoned accidentally.
After his health returns, Philip sets out on a second voyage, with little better fortune than before. Schriften, assumed by Philip to be dead, turns up and takes on an increasing supernatural and evil role.
Amine divines that Philip’s fourth voyage will be the deciding one. She accompanies him on the third nautical outing, but it too is attended by disaster and the appearance of Schriften. Amine and Philip are separated. Because of her beauty, her insistence upon practicing forbidden divinatory magic, and her stubborn refusal to fully accept the Christian faith, Amine eventually finds herself in the hands of the Spanish Inquisition. Philip arrives in Goa on the day of her execution but is powerless to prevent it. Amine is burned at the stake. Philip goes mad and is institutionalized for many years. He is an old man when finally released. He goes to sea for the last time and encounters Schriften, who reveals that he had been murdered by Philip’s father and given the infernal mission of impeding any efforts to mitigate the suffering of the Flying Dutchman. Because Schriften briefly had been a friend to Amine, Philip is able to forgive him. This breaks the spell. Schriften disappears, and at last Philip can board the Phantom Ship. Time is suspended there, and Philip has difficulty convincing the crew of their true situation. He finally passes the necklace to his father. Receiving the relic, Vanderdecken begs forgiveness, the ship disintegrates, and father and son descend together into the sea.