Conscience Is an Anchor
The Man Who Laughs“Conscience Is an Anchor” is a metaphor for moral restraint at the point when Gwynplaine’s desire threatens to overwhelm his judgment. Its force lies in the reversal it contains: conscience may hold a person steady, yet it is not invulnerable.
The Metaphor in Context
After one surprise follows another, Gwynplaine becomes desperate and feels himself awakening into a state he cannot control. His attention fixes on the woman, and the happiness her love promises seems capable of overwhelming him. He has lost his compass; an irresistible current draws him toward a reef figured not as stone but as a siren, a magnet at the bottom of an abyss. He wants to pull away, but can no longer find firm ground from which to act.
Against that image of drift, the text declares, “Conscience is an anchor.” The anchor represents a moral force that might resist the current and keep desire from carrying Gwynplaine toward a destructive choice. But the sentence does not offer reassurance: it immediately adds that conscience is terrible and, like an anchor, may be carried away.
Moral Balance and Instability
The surrounding reflection describes a crisis as a moment when the scales hesitate before tipping. If a person leans toward the worst side of their nature instead of strengthening their better qualities, the moral force that preserved the balance gives way. The anchor image thus makes conscience a source of restraint, not a guarantee of safety: Gwynplaine’s inward struggle remains unresolved, and the question is whether this is the critical moment when his balance will fail.
