Seals Symbol Analysis

The Sea-Wolf contains numerous allusions to “survival of the fittest,” a phrase Charles Darwin coined to describe how the organisms that are most likely to survive and reproduce are those that are best adjusted to their natural environment.  In The Sea-Wolf, seals—which Wolf Larsen and his crew hunt for their valuable pelts—are at the bottom of the evolutionary hierarchy. On the one hand, the seals represent the consequences of weakness—how a lack of strength (fitness) and cunning makes for an easy target. On the other hand, however, the seals are innocent victims that help demonstrate the cruelty of modern society. The narrator, Humphrey Van Weyden notes that the seals are turned into clothing for wealthy women who never have to witness the cruelty and violence involved in the processing of seal pelts. In this way, the seals reveal the hidden violence and cruelty inherent in many aspects of (outwardly) refined, wealthy society. The seals also represent a turning point in the character arcs of Van Weyden and Maud Brewster—when Van Weyden and Brewster find themselves stranded on an uninhabited island, they must club seals for survival. That Van Weyden and Brewster can bring themselves to kill the seals represents a new level of self-sufficiency for Van Weyden and Brewster—both characters come from affluent backgrounds that did not require much grueling, physical labor. In addition, Van Weyden and Brewster’s willingness to murder the seals shows how survival often requires cruelty. In this way, London shows how the cruelty of modern society mirrors the cruelty inherent in nature.