Amy Foster
Encyclopedia
"Amy Foster" is a short story by Joseph Conrad
written in 1901. It was first published in the Illustrated London News
(December 1901), and was collected in Typhoon and Other Stories (1903).
"Yanko Goorall", a Polish
immigrant en route for America is shipwreck
ed on the shores of Kent
, England
. The name he assumes is a corruption of his actual name, Janko Góral, which means "Johnny Highlander" in Polish
. Speaking no English, he is treated as a madman and is whipped, stoned, beaten and imprisoned by the locals. Eventually he is given a job by a Mr. Swaffer, learns to speak English, and falls in love with Amy Foster, an English girl who had shown him kindness. They marry and have a son.
Several months later, Yanko falls severely ill and, suffering from a severe fever, begins to rave in his native language. Amy, frightened, takes their child and flees for her life. The following morning, Yanko dies of heart failure. It is revealed that he had simply been asking, in his native language, for water.
The character of Yanko Goorall shares some similarities with Conrad
himself. Like Yanko, Conrad too is a Pole living in England, far from his native land; the pivotal scene of Amy being scared by the fevered Yanko is based on an actual incident which occurred during Conrad's honeymoon, Conrad reverted to his native Polish when in fever and at first his wife was scared when he was in delirium. The book is believed to reflect Conrad's own social alienation
in English society.
In 1997, "Amy Foster" was made into the film
, Swept from the Sea
.
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
written in 1901. It was first published in the Illustrated London News
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
(December 1901), and was collected in Typhoon and Other Stories (1903).
"Yanko Goorall", a Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
immigrant en route for America is shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
ed on the shores of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The name he assumes is a corruption of his actual name, Janko Góral, which means "Johnny Highlander" in Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
. Speaking no English, he is treated as a madman and is whipped, stoned, beaten and imprisoned by the locals. Eventually he is given a job by a Mr. Swaffer, learns to speak English, and falls in love with Amy Foster, an English girl who had shown him kindness. They marry and have a son.
Several months later, Yanko falls severely ill and, suffering from a severe fever, begins to rave in his native language. Amy, frightened, takes their child and flees for her life. The following morning, Yanko dies of heart failure. It is revealed that he had simply been asking, in his native language, for water.
The character of Yanko Goorall shares some similarities with Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
himself. Like Yanko, Conrad too is a Pole living in England, far from his native land; the pivotal scene of Amy being scared by the fevered Yanko is based on an actual incident which occurred during Conrad's honeymoon, Conrad reverted to his native Polish when in fever and at first his wife was scared when he was in delirium. The book is believed to reflect Conrad's own social alienation
Social alienation
The term social alienation has many discipline-specific uses; Roberts notes how even within the social sciences, it “is used to refer both to a personal psychological state and to a type of social relationship”...
in English society.
In 1997, "Amy Foster" was made into the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Swept from the Sea
Swept from the Sea
Swept from the Sea is a 1997 American drama film based on a 1903 short story, "Amy Foster" by Joseph Conrad. It stars Vincent Perez, Rachel Weisz, Ian McKellen, Joss Ackland, Kathy Bates, Zoë Wanamaker and Tom Bell and was directed by Beeban Kidron....
.