The Enigma Code of "The Secret Sharer".

While most commentary on Joseph Conrad's .short story, "The Secret Sharer," focuses on the loneliness of the Narrator-Captain and on his perception of the fugitive Leggatt as his "double, " this article shifts the attention away from these issues, and onto some other noteworthy aspects of the story....

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Published in:Anachronist Vol. 21; no. 2; pp. 188 - 209
Main Author: KUTASH, GEORGE
Format: Article
Published: Anachronist 2023
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: The Enigma Code of "The Secret Sharer".
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        au: KUTASH, GEORGE
        affil:
          Retired Senior Lecturer in Japanese, formerly of James Cook University in Townsville, Australia
          Undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Chinese Studies at Eötvös Loránd University
          Master's Degree in Area Studies at Tsukuba University, Japan
          PhD in Japanese Linguistics at James Cook University, Australia
      su:
        Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924
        Social status
        Loneliness
        Social hierarchies
        Curiosities & wonders
        Reincarnation
        Personal names
        Sympathy
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        subj:
          Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924
          Social status
          Loneliness
          Social hierarchies
          Curiosities & wonders
          Reincarnation
          Personal names
          Sympathy
      ab: While most commentary on Joseph Conrad's .short story, "The Secret Sharer," focuses on the loneliness of the Narrator-Captain and on his perception of the fugitive Leggatt as his "double, " this article shifts the attention away from these issues, and onto some other noteworthy aspects of the story. Conrad's piece of fiction is connected to a historical event which took place on board HMS Cutty Sark in 1880. There, Captain James Wallace committed suicide under the weight of responsibility he felt for a crime that had taken place on his clipper, and for his decision to allow the murder-accused to quietly slip away, thus perverting the course of justice. As an analysis of hints given in the story as to the protagonists' age and personal circumstances reveals, Conrad's Narrator-Captain is, in fact, James Wallace's fictional reincarnation, for whom Conrad rewrites history and provides him with a triumphant denouement. Conrad, thus, gives a different finale to the real-life saga and rescues young Captain James Wallace form an ignominious suicidal end. Conrad is motivated in this both by personal sympathy, and by social-class solidarity felt for Captain James Wallace. Further, the article contains a discussion of the structure of the narrative, which shows that the first half of the text is crafted in the form of a "tale of assembly," and an examination of the naming convention, which reveals that Conrad's practice of naming or leaving a person un-named in the story marks position in social hierarchy, and is a deliberate device.
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