Discussion Topic
Interpretation of the Narrator's Reflection on Personal Ideals in "The Secret Sharer"
Summary:
The narrator in "The Secret Sharer" reflects on his personal ideals by grappling with his insecurities and the responsibilities of leadership. Through his interactions with Leggatt, he gains a deeper understanding of his own identity and moral convictions, ultimately emerging as a more confident and self-assured captain.
What does the captain/narrator mean by the following quote in Conrad's "The Secret Sharer"?
"They had simply to be equal to their tasks; but I wondered how far I should turn out faithful to that ideal conception of one's own personality every man sets up for himself secretly."
The themes of confidence and self-doubt within a larger question of identity are central in Joseph Conrad's story. The young captain lacks self-confidence in his leadership abilities and even in his seamanship. His emotional investment in his new role as captain is so strong that it threatens to overwhelm his common sense. The captain's wishes to be a strong leader—not merely to seem like one—are part of his secret. He keeps "secret" within himself this "ideal conception of one's own personality...."
Throughout the story, Conrad builds on this idea of the secret ideal that the captain tries to hold onto "faithfully." He finds it not among any of his crew, an undistinguished lot "simply... equal to their tasks," from whom he distances himself. Rather, this ideal appears in the figure of Leggatt. Seeing him first in the water, thinking him not just dead but headless, the captain quickly perceives...
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him as his "double." As he hears the other's tale, his admiration and dismay grow simultaneously—would he himself ever kill a disobedient man?
Once he decides to release Leggatt, to free himself from that man and his dark secret, his understanding of his role is deepened. He knows that he will be faithful to the best side of the leader personality that he "set up for himself." And in guiding them safely near the shore, he symbolically assumes the heroic savior quality he craved.
This important quote relates explicitly to the way in which the Captain, who is also the narrator of this brilliant short story, is struggling to define himself and also is desperately eager to prove himself as a Captain and as a leader. Consider the way in which the Captain appears to be overwhelmed by the many duties that come with his role. In the quote you have identified, the Captain draws a comparison between himself and his sailors, who have to be "equal to their tasks" and no more, and himself, and in particular to the "ideal conception" that he has of who he is and the set of expectations he has placed on himself. Of course, the story, and in particular the friendship that the Captain strikes up with Leggatt, who functions as a double of the Captain, explores how the Captain manages to come to terms with his natural aggressiveness and how he manages to cope with the expectations he places on himself and the reality of who he is.
What does the narrator in "The Secret Sharer" mean when he says the following quote?
"I wondered how far I should turn out faithful to that ideal conception of one's own personality every man sets up for himself secretly".
These lines from Part I of Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Sharer" express the young captain's insecurities regarding his first command of a ship which has a crew that has been sailing together for eighteen months or more, but he does not know. The captain remarks that he is "somewhat of a stranger to myself," and he wonders if he will measure up to what he has expected of himself as the commander of a ship. Observing the gestures and the facial expressions of the chief mate and other crew members, the captain realizes that the crew does not have a great deal of confidence in his abilities. In fact, he astonishes the crew when, out of commiseration for the crew's fatigue, he takes the night watch on the ship himself. He spends the solitary hours of the night "to get on terms with the ship of which I knew nothing..."
Before Leggatt arrives on board, the captain looks to the crew for assurance that he is doing well, an action that perplexes the crew and worries them. Once Leggatt is taken into the captain's confidence, the captain learns from Leggatt's tale and from watching his quiet assurance that being more assertive and commanding is a better way to lead a crew. From his "secret sharer," then, comes meaning and the captain acquires confidence and a definition of self. It is after his "second self" departs into the sea, leaving behind the captain's hat that directs him in steering the ship away from the shore that the captain receives the accolades of the crew.