While reading The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad, the truth of Legatt and the captain's relationship became more evident to me with each page turn.
From their first encounter, we can tell that the captain is attracted to Legatt from the way he describes him. Up until the captain describes Legatt's features, he uses almost whimsically styled language to paint an elaborate image, but while talking about Legatt's "rather regular features," he is quite literal. It's almost like he is snapped awake from this solitary, dreamlike state and finds himself in Legatt's reality.
As the story progresses, and as they have spent more time together, Conrad leaves less to the imagination about their relationship. The captain narrates,"And in the noisy cries and rush overhead of the men running away with the main brace we two, down in my cabin, came together in our usual position by the bed place," (159).
The two share an emotional connection that is inarguable. This could be taken as a bond over their likeness, but I think it goes deeper than that. The captain struggled to form a relationship with anyone until he met Legatt, because he felt inexplicably different from his crew. He and Legatt share an understanding that they can't receive from anyone else.
The pair are not only misunderstood, they are cannot possibly be understood, and I think this is because they share an attraction that was not accepted at that time. As the captain explains, "everything was against us in our secret partnership; time itself - for this could not go on forever," (153).
As the captain predicted, their romance had to come to a close so Legatt could retreat to safety, but not before they share an intimate moment, clutching each other's hands in the dark.
The only truthful secret shared by the pair was their secret and subtle love affair.
Pretty much agreed with everything here.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there was a romantic relationship between the narrator and Legatt, and I think it becomes even more interesting when you consider the time in which the story was written. When taking into account that homosexuality was not accepted or even outwardly acknowledged at the time, I think it makes it even more obvious that Conrad's subtle hints have a deeper meaning.
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