Jean Rivard - University of British Columbia

Figure 3. The ARC Rhenus Bootshaus on the Rhine, a more than likely model for Frederick
Philip Grove's fanciful rendering of his fictitious childhood home, "Castle Thurow." The
photo dates from 1899 when Felix Grève was one of the club's leading members.
for their navigation. Perhaps the chimney and tower anticipated the "lighthouse"
and "tower near the beach" close to the "Thurow" estate from where
young "Phil" set out on a trip in a small rowboat, risking the danger of
"being swept out, through the Sound, into the Kattegatt" (ISM 36 ff.)?
Anyway, the impressive new Rhenus boathouse and the many trips taken
from there to various places borne on the treacherous currents of the river
may indeed have given him dreams of drifting from here "into the North
Sea, or the Atlantic, whence the Gulf Stream might take me into the Arctic
Ocean" (ISM 39).
The Bootshaus must have struck young Felix Grève as a singular and
imposing structure. In terms of social ambition, it was indeed the proving
ground for the young man. If the university exposed him to the world of
learning, then the elite society at the boat-house, with its competitiveness,
its manly fencing rituals and festive celebrations, provided a sheltered entry
to high society. Grève also gained access to a network of wealthy and influential
men all over the world who considered the Bootshaus a shared home
long after they had left university. To those expelled from the club or the few
occasionally removed for other reasons, leaving the club not only meant
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