The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad

Over the course of “The Secret Sharer,” the narrator becomes more and more confident in his abilities as a commander. Near the beginning, the narrator instructs his mates that after the hard work done recently, he would take the first watch of the night alone. After saying this, he feels “painfully” that he, a “stranger” is doing something unusual. He also comments that all of the phrases of the sea are familiar to him, but he feels strange because he is not used to being in command. Because of his newness to command and his disposition to quietude, he feels uncomfortable in his new position. Throughout the course of the book, the narrator interacts with his “other self,” the murderer from the Sephora, who has a remarkable calm and determination in the face of terrible calamity and harsh situations. By the end of the short story, the narrator has acquired the other man’s calm determination. It is as if, the final wordless clasp of hands between the two, caused the narrator to acquire the other’s spirit and being. The narrator’s old self is then washed away when the other man jumps overboard. The result of the transformation is apparent when he declares that he is alone with his ship, and that no one in the world should stand between them. The captain even finds that he has “the perfect communion of a seaman with his first command.” He no longer timidly orders the crew around, but the chief mate from the Sephora has helped him become confident and assertive. The change in the narrator causes him to feel mentally and emotionally torn for most of the time while his “double” is on the ship. Aside from the influence of his “double’s” character, he is forced to make arbitrary commands and take extraordinary precautions. In these ways, his normal adherence to custom and timidity are forcibly strained until he finally releases them.