The Vessel of Wrath

"The Vessel of Wrath" is a short story by W. Somerset Maugham. Written in 1931 it first appeared in the April, 1931 edition of "International Magazine" (see Stott, 1973). Maugham often introduced short stories as a contribution to periodicals and then later included them in books or collected editions. In 1933 "The Vessel of Wrath" was included in his book "Ah King".

The story has been adapted for film and television at least four times:

* The 1938 film "The Vessel of Wrath", released in the U.S. as "The Beachcomber", starred Charles Laughton as Ginger Ted, Elsa Lanchester as Miss Jones, Robert Newton as the Contrôleur, and Tyrone Guthrie as Reverend Jones.

* The 1954 film, "The Beachcomber", starred Robert Newton as Ginger Ted, Glynis Johns as Miss Jones, Donald Sinden as the Resident, and Paul Rogers as Reverend Jones. The location is transferred from the Dutch-colonised Alas Islands to the fictitious British-colonised Welcome Islands, with Donald Sinden as the Resident.

* A 1970 television production starred James Booth as Ginger Ted, Siân Phillips as Miss Jones, Ronald Lacey as the Contrôleur, and John Glyn-Jones as Reverend Jones.

* A 1980 television production titled "Wilson's Reward" starred Gerald S. O'Loughlin as Ginger Ted and Sandy Dennis as Miss Jones, renamed Martha James.

Title

The title of the story refers to Romans 9:22, which reads:

:9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 9:24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

Plot summary

Ginger Ted, a drunkard and womanizer, and Miss Jones, a missionary, live in the Alas Islands. During a cholera epidemic, Ginger Ted and Miss Jones are sent to an outlying part of the islands to run a hospital; on their return, their motorboat breaks down, and they are marooned overnight on a small island. Miss Jones is certain that Ginger Ted means to rape her as soon as the sun goes down. When morning comes and her virtue is still intact, she is convinced that he has had a change of heart and that he is a good man in spite of his many faults. Ginger Ted himself is outraged by this explanation; it never occurred to him to rape Miss Jones, who is middle-aged and unattractive. Nevertheless, at the end of the story, Miss Jones and Ginger Ted have married and Ginger Ted, now known as Edward, has become a missionary.

References

* Stott, RT., 1973 "A bibliography of the works of W. Somerset Maugham". Edmonton: The University of Alberta Press.