Friday, October 16, 2015
The Mystery of Leggatt
The man is considered a ghost, a lover, or a doppleganger. Some would argue one or the other but I believe Leggatt is most useful as an idea. Conrad wrote The Secret Sharer in such a way that allows the character of Leggatt to be molded into a symbol people chose him to be. Depending on one's personal views, they will find a different meaning within the story. That is why the text is so hard to explain or apply. The vast ways that Leggatt interacts with the Captain is representative of the complex relationships people form within their lives. I say Leggatt is an idea because throughout the novel, his purpose and relationship with the Captain shifts. His role as a character is to teach the captain about himself, as well as what he truly feels about and wants from the world. Leggatt should not be characterized into a certain group because that limits the potential affect he could have on the Captain. In real life, you cannot put the people around you into one group. They have various connections and purposes within your life.
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ReplyDeleteI love how you said that Leggatt was a symbol and could become any idea that a reader deemed fit. I personally believed at first that Leggatt was a "ghost" or a figment of the Captains imagination, the fact that Leggatt was never discovered by anybody on the ship I found highly unlikely so he had to be invisible, but I could also see how Leggatt was a lover. With both (and/or all) of the possible scenarios Leggatt showed the Captain bravery and how to be, as you said, himself.