Endurance: Thoughts

I was thrilled to return to the Antarctic in F. A. Worsley’s Endurance. I had heard a great deal about this fateful voyage lead by Sir Ernest Shackleton, and I was not disappointed. By now I am thoroughly convinced that Antarctic expeditions are the most daring and adventurous of them all. In this forgotten corner of the world you never know what is going to happen. Worsley described it perfectly when he said,

“…You felt as though you had stepped into a world where the laws of Nature, as you had known them, were suspended and overruled by some vaster Power, which was making itself known to you.”

These men got stuck in the pack ice before ever reaching the continent. Their ship sank and they were forced to live for months on top of the frozen ocean surface. Here they encountered all sorts of dangers, from being chased by ravenous sea-leopards (almost 15 feet long), to having massive ice bergs charge their camp with the power of 40 battleships, to having the very ice beneath them split open while they were sleeping. Through incredible hardships, and against incredible odds, they were able to make it to land and then eventually to safety. In the process however, they suffered hunger, thirst, fatigue, and most especially, bitter, relentless cold. Shackleton led a rescue party by boat across 800 nautical miles of Antarctic Ocean, during which time they were never able to get dry for even a moment. After landing on South Georgia they were forced to cross the frozen, mountainous landscape on foot to reach the safety of the whaling port. Their success was nothing short of miraculous. In fact, Worsley often commented that he believed they were being helped by a greater power.

For example, there was the time they lost their rudder, and after six days it inexplicably returned to them.

“After six days’ wandering, with the vast Southern Ocean and all the shores of South Georgia to choose from, that rudder, as though it were faithfully performing what it knew to be its duty, had returned to our very feet. This incident strengthened in us the feeling that we were being protected in some inexplicable way by a Power of which we were aware but could not aspire to understand.”

Worsley also mentioned that during the trio’s crossing of South Georgia he had felt that a greater power had been with them all the way.

“There was no doubt that Providence had been with us. There was indeed one curious thing about our crossing of South Georgia, a thing that has given me much food for thought, and which I have never been able to explain. Whenever I reviewed the incidents of that march I had the sub-conscious feeling that there were four of us, instead of three. Moreover, this impression was shared by both Shackleton and Crean.”

The thing I loved most about this book, however, was the sense of honor and dignity showed by these men, and most especially by Shackleton himself. He felt a profound sense of duty to his crew and as a result, he was loved and revered by them.

“Shackleton had always insisted that the ultimate responsibility for anything that befell us was his and his only... My view was that we were all grown men, going off of our own free wills on this expedition, and that it was up to us to bear whatever was coming to us. Not so Shackleton. His idea was that we had trusted him, that we had placed ourselves in his hands, and that should anything happen to any one of us, he was morally responsible. His attitude was almost patriarchal.”

I really appreciated reading about the dignity and honor of this incredible man. There aren’t many men like that these days--men who look to the well being of their fellows above their own. There are many important lessons that can be learned from his example of self sacrifice. I am looking forward to reading about his South Pole attempt in the coming months.

My rating: 9 out of 10