Once Abord the Lugger - Essay Example

Once Abord the Lugger is a short story by Arthur Quiller-Couch telling the story about couples who fall in love under strange situations. Samuel and Nance are the lead characters in the story with Nance coming out as aggressive and determined to win the love of the man. However, Nance is motivated by several factors such as need to get married and feel loved by Samuel who has come to Troy to spread the word of God. The woman also wants to impress Samuel through her nagging behaviors when she refuses to let the man go despite getting for his duties.

Deception used by Nance works because instead of using the ferry, she resorts to using her boat to convince Samuel on the need to help a sick woman in Ruan (Couch 5). Additionally, Nance is encouraged by the honesty and mystery of Samuel Bax who has not fallen in love with any woman despite his wide appeal. Grapevine stories about Samuel also motivate Nance to purse the preacher who prefers to help people and keep to himself rather than interact with others. Marriage to a preacher also appeals to Nance because she lies to the man in order to go and force him for the proposal.

Samuel’s motives, on the other hand, relied on aloofness instead of reaching out to the women who admired his character. However, when Nance approached him with the lie concerning the suffering woman, his instinct registered a strange attraction. For example, despite being late in the night, he was still convinced by Nance to go give the dying woman a present. He also did not question the validity or credibility of the story because he had already developed an affinity for Nance unconsciously.

Another interesting motive concerns the desire to help the dying woman before she could eventually die. Samuel Bax believed he had a larger obligation in Troy to help the suffering and assist them in finding salvation (Couch 2). The preacher also got intrigued with Nance’ behavior of using her boat