The “Secret Sharer” explores the relationship between the narrator, an inexperienced young captain setting out for the first time on a ship with an established crew and Leggatt, who was a mate on the Sephora until he murdered a crew member during a raging storm. Conrad’s almost poetic style lends itself to the reflections of the young captain as he recounts this tale many years after it occurred. The depth and interplay between the captain and Leggatt is shown not only in how they are similar, but also in how life has placed them in vastly different circumstances.
The text starts out setting the location and tone with the captain’s self-evaluation on the first page that he was not only a stranger to the ship but also still “a stranger to myself” . He knows from the start that the crew has its misgivings regarding his qualifications, and is testing him to see how far they can push him. The first mate, a grizzled old sailor with “a face overcharged by a terrible growth of whiskers” is disrespectful to the point of sneering, and the young captain is still finding his way in maintaining decorum and control of his crew. Since the crew put in long hours, preparing the ship for its coming journey the captain takes the night watch to wait for the wind to pick up so they may start. As he is on deck, he looks over the side and sees Leggett, the murder, clinging to the ladder. Through the rest of the story Leggatt becomes his secret self.
The captain helps Leggatt on board and gives him a sleeping suit similar to his own. As Leggatt relates his story, the captain realizes how similar they are, not just physically, but in age and background as well. Leggatt is even a “Conway” man, although the captain preceded him though that school a few years earlier. Upon reflection, he realizes he related so well to Leggatt he felt as though, “ I, too, was not the sort that would have done for the chief mate of a ship like the Sephora.” . The similarities between the captain and Leggatt are so great the contrast then becomes one of circumstance. This is brought home sharply when the captain of the Sephora comes searching for Leggatt. The young captain shows the older man around, making it obvious that Leggett is not on board his ship. After the Sephora’s captain pushes off there are a few tense situations with the crew, further underscoring the captain’s need to step forward and take charge, and Leggatt’s compromised circumstances which dictate a future life in hiding. Finally, the breeze picks up and the captain complies with Leggatt’s request that he be marooned on one of the small islands they are to pass shortly. Against conventional and totally at odds with his crew’s opinions, the captain calls for them to cut close to one of these islands to take advantage of “the land breeze” . Leggatt escapes the ship losing, in the process a hat that the captain gave him. It is this hat, floating in the water that guides the captain to safe waters. As a result of this difficult first confrontation with the crew the captain finds the confidence within himself to feel secure in his command of his ship and feel, “,,,the perfect communion of a seaman with his first command.”
References
Conrad, Joseph. "The Secret Sharer." Project Gutenberg. 22 2 2012
