Jewel to Lena: How and Why the female Protagonist Ended Up Stealing the (Tragic) Scene in Conrad’s Novels

Richard Ambrosini argues that, although they are marginalized in the plots, female protagonists come to steal the tragic scene from male protagonists thanks to the narrative structure of Conrad’s texts. Basing his analysis on Jewel in Lord Jim and Lena in Victory, he shows how male antagonists are presented as cardboard villains, which cannot but deflate the heroes’ feats. Even though Marlow fails to recognize Jewel’s tragic potentials, the heart of the story, according to Richard Ambrosini, is Jewel’s suffering, not Jim’s death, a suffering which he feels is at once repeated and avenged by Lena’s proud victory.