Science

One of the themes that winds throughout the stories in Ship Fever and Other Stories is the love of science. All of the stories involve science and the excitement for discovery. The characters prize scientific knowledge and seek to add to that knowledge. Alec in "Birds with No Feet" seeks to expand scientific knowledge by collecting species from distant lands and bringing back specimens to the United States. Sarah Anne and Catherine in "Rare Bird" test the hypothesis that swallows hibernated under the water during the winter. They believed that this idea was false and set out to test it, with no other motivation other than finding the truth.

This love for science was evident in the characters despite their time period or their social standing. In several of the stories, marginalized or socially disadvantaged individuals sought lives revolving around science and discovery. They engaged in science for...