The Secret Sharer Summary

"The Secret Sharer" was published in 1910 and is based on a real event, though Conrad changed some details for artistic reasons. In the 1880s, a sailor on the Cutty Sark killed another sailor in a fight, and like the killer in the story, he escaped punishment by swimming away to start a new life. Conrad uses this story to explore big ideas.

The story can also be seen as a coming-of-age tale, similar to books like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, or A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. Looking at the story this way adds deeper meaning, turning it from just an adventure into a work full of symbolism.

Summary

As the evening sets in, the unnamed narrator, who is the Captain of the ship, stands on the deck, which is anchored at the mouth of the Meinam River in the Gulf of Siam. It is about eight o'clock when the Captain leaves the deck to join his crew for supper.

During the meal, the Captain mentions seeing the masts of another ship anchored nearby among the islands. The Chief Mate suggests that it is likely another English ship, waiting for the right moment to sail home with the right tide. The Second Mate adds more details, explaining that the ship is called the Sephora, a Liverpool ship returning from Cardiff with a cargo of coal. He heard this information from the tugboat skipper who had come to deliver the Captain’s mail.

The Captain, feeling generous, offers to take the anchor watch himself until one o'clock, after which the Second Mate can relieve him. Alone again on deck, the Captain smokes a cigar and reflects on his own sense of "strangeness" aboard the ship and in his position as its commander. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew sleeps peacefully.

The Captain notices that the rope ladder, which had been lowered to allow the tugboat skipper to come aboard, has not been hauled back up. As he starts to pull the ladder up, he feels a sudden tug on the other end. Curious, he looks over the ship’s side and sees a man floating in the water, holding onto the ladder. The man introduces himself as Leggatt, explaining that he has been in the water since about nine o’clock, which impresses the Captain with his strength and youth. Leggatt climbs up the ladder, and the Captain quickly goes to his cabin to get him some clothes.

The Captain learns that Leggatt was once the chief mate of the Sephora, but he had accidentally killed a crewman. Although the killing was unintentional, the Skipper of the Sephora had stripped Leggatt of his title. Leggatt tells the Captain that he was then placed under arrest and kept in his cabin for nearly seven weeks. About six weeks into his confinement, Leggatt asked to see the Skipper and requested that he leave his cabin door unlocked one night when the Sephora sailed through the Sunda Straits, so he could escape by jumping off the ship and swimming to the Java coast. The Skipper refused.

A few weeks later, when the Sephora arrived at its current location, Leggatt discovered that the ship’s steward had left his cabin door unlocked by accident. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Leggatt snuck out and jumped into the sea. He swam to a small islet, while the crew of the Sephora searched for him in a boat. Leggatt then took off his clothes and sank them, deciding that he would never return. He swam to another small island and saw the light of the Captain’s ship in the distance. He swam to it and eventually reached the rope ladder. After swimming more than a mile, he was completely exhausted. The Captain helps Leggatt into his bed, where he immediately falls asleep. The Captain soon falls asleep as well.

The next morning, the steward comes into the Captain’s cabin to bring him coffee. The steward doesn’t notice Leggatt because the Captain had drawn the curtains around the bed. The Captain begins to worry that someone might discover Leggatt, so he decides to go on deck. He learns that a ship’s boat is approaching, and he orders the ladder to be lowered. The Captain believes the boat is from the Sephora, and that the Skipper is coming to look for Leggatt. He leaves the cabin to meet the approaching boat, leaving Leggatt behind in his cabin.

The Skipper of the Sephora arrives on the Captain's ship, looking for any sign of Leggatt. He is upset over what happened with Leggatt and the disappearance of the crew member. He tells the Captain that he has been at sea for thirty-seven years and has never seen anything like it.

The Captain suggests that perhaps the rough sea caused the crewman's death, not Leggatt, but the Skipper disagrees. He says he will have to report Leggatt’s death as a suicide.

The Skipper is suspicious of the Captain, pointing out that although the mainland is seven miles away, the Captain’s ship is only two miles away from the Sephora. To distract him, the Captain offers to show the Skipper more of his cabin. He hopes that by doing so, Leggatt will know to stay hidden. As the Skipper is leaving to return to his ship, he asks the Captain if he thinks Leggatt might be on board. The Captain quickly dismisses him, saying, “Certainly not.”

The Captain and Leggatt have another secret conversation. Leggatt tells the Captain that the Skipper lied when he said he ordered the repair of the foresail. Instead, Leggatt had repaired it himself, even though the Skipper hadn’t told him to. The Captain, convinced that Leggatt is innocent, believes that the stormy weather on the night the crewman died "destroyed an unworthy life."

Leggatt’s presence in the Captain’s cabin makes the Captain constantly think of him. The Chief Mate and the helmsman notice that the Captain is acting strangely. The Captain becomes more and more tense. During this time, Leggatt stays mostly in the Captain’s bathroom and sleeps in his bed. He eats preserved food from the Captain’s locker and drinks the Captain’s coffee.

Leggatt asks the Captain to leave him on a nearby shore, saying he won’t go back to England to be tried and hanged. The Captain initially refuses but later agrees to help him escape.

At midnight, the Captain orders the ship to change its course and head toward the east side of the Gulf. The Chief Mate quietly shows his disapproval and tells the Second Mate that the order was not wise. By noon, the Chief Mate wonders when the Captain will change the course. However, the Captain tells him that they will stay close to the islands to take advantage of the "land breezes" and move faster. The Chief Mate is shocked by this decision.

Later that night, the Captain tells Leggatt that he plans to steer the ship near Koh-ring, an island that might have people on it. The Captain intends to bring the ship within half a mile of the shore. Leggatt warns him to be careful, as a mistake could cost the Captain his first command.

The Captain then goes back to the deck and orders the Second Mate to open the quarter-deck ports. He returns to his cabin and tells Leggatt to escape through the ports while the rest of the crew is distracted. He tells Leggatt to lower himself into the sea with a rope so there’s no splash. Leggatt silently thanks the Captain by grabbing his arm.

That night, the Captain visits Leggatt for the last time. He gives Leggatt three sovereigns. Leggatt initially refuses but eventually accepts them. Neither man says anything when they part for the final time.

When the Captain returns to the deck, he is shocked to see how close they are to the land, but he knows he must keep sailing this course so Leggatt can escape. He orders the helmsman to continue, while the crew watches in disbelief. The ship gets closer to Koh-ring, and the crew begins to voice their concerns. The Chief Mate cries that the ship could be wrecked if they stay this close to shore, and the helmsman questions the Captain’s order to maintain course.

Despite his crew’s doubts, the Captain stays firm. However, he feels unsure about whether they will make it safely. The dark sky and the shadow of the hills of Koh-ring make navigation difficult, and the Captain wishes he had something in the water to guide him. Suddenly, he notices a white object in the water next to the ship. It’s his hat, which had fallen off when he gave it to Leggatt and watched him swim toward the shore. The Captain uses the hat as a marker to help steer the ship, avoiding danger and steering clear of the land.

As the ship sails on, the Captain feels completely in control of the ship and his crew. He watches the hat disappear from view and thinks of Leggatt, “striking out for a new destiny.”

Character Analysis

The Nameless Captain

The narrator of the story is a young man who, just two weeks before the events of the novel, gets his first command as the captain of a ship. At the start, he feels like a "stranger" both to the ship and even to himself. He is very introspective and struggles with self-doubt. Throughout the story, the captain faces personal challenges that he must overcome. His journey to self-understanding begins when he rescues Leggatt, an escaped criminal. The captain feels a deep connection to Leggatt, thinking of him as his "secret self." By helping Leggatt escape, the captain regains control of his life, earns the respect of his crew, and, most importantly, learns to understand himself better.

Leggatt
Leggatt is an escaped criminal and the source of much of the conflict on the ship. He was once the first mate on the nearby ship, the Sephora. During a violent storm, Leggatt killed a man who was inferior to him but had saved the ship at the same time. Because his actions were misunderstood, he was locked up. After escaping, Leggatt swims to the ship where the nameless captain commands. He shares a strange connection with the captain, as they both attended the same prep school and are similar in appearance, even wearing identical gray sleeping suits. As the story progresses, Leggatt accepts that he cannot return to society and is ready to face the consequences of his actions. The captain helps him escape, and Leggatt disappears from the story.

Captain Archbold

Captain Archbold, the captain of the Sephora, is often seen as the true villain in the story. With his red whiskers and nervous demeanor, he seems to be afraid of everything on his ship, including his first mate, Leggatt, and even his wife. He is harsh and stubborn, unwilling to change his views, especially when it comes to Leggatt. His strict obedience to rules makes him a contrast to the more playful and thoughtful nameless captain. In one scene, he even imitates the death mask of Leggatt's victim by sticking out his tongue, a moment that highlights his silliness despite his serious position.

The Chief Mate

This character is often referred to by the captain as "terrible whiskers" or "frightful whiskers." He is the one the captain ponders over the most, always trying to understand the "why" behind every strange occurrence on the ship. He is especially concerned when a scorpion decides to drown in an inkwell in the captain's cabin, which only deepens the captain's curiosity.

The Second Mate

The second mate is the only crew member younger than the captain, and he is highly critical of the captain’s leadership. He constantly looks down on the captain and is skeptical of his abilities.

The Steward

The steward’s main role is to help move the plot along. He is the one closest to discovering the secret about Leggatt. As the captain becomes more tense and nervous about keeping Leggatt’s secret, he grows rude and distant toward the steward, showing how much stress the situation is causing him.