Exploring the Sea as a Symbol in Conrad's 'The Secret Sharer'
Introduction
In Joseph Conrad’s 1909 short story “The Secret Sharer,” the sea and its mysterious depths serve as a complex central symbol representing the unconscious realm, secrecy, intimacy with the hidden self, and the profound yet obscured parts of one’s identity. Through poetic descriptive language, Conrad develops the rich metaphorical significance of the sea, using it as an aesthetic vehicle to explore intense connection, the Jungian “shadow” side of the psyche, and the captain’s inner journey toward acknowledging and integrating submerged aspects of his nature. This essay will analyze how Conrad skillfully employs the symbolic meanings associated with the sea in “The Secret Sharer” to examine concepts of identity, the darkness within, and the captain achieving wholeness through embracing his covert duality.
Conrad's Tale of Secrets and Identity
Set on a ship anchored in the Gulf of Siam, "The Secret Sharer" follows a young sea captain who harbors a fugitive sailor below deck and develops a complex bond with this secret “double,” reflecting the captain's inner conflicts as he assumes command.
The Unconscious Depths of the Sea
Conrad utilizes the unfathomable immensity and obscurity of the ocean to symbolize the unconscious realm of the psyche and its hidden contents, as critic Harold Bloom argues the sea represents “the unconscious itself” with its dark mysteries and cryptic depths (Bloom 95). The captain's growing connection with the sea parallels his integration of the buried, enigmatic aspects of selfhood.
The Sea as a Metaphor for Inner Duality
The story develops parallels between concealing the fugitive Leggatt and the captain keeping covert parts of himself below surface appearances in order to lead, suggesting the sea as a metaphor for inner duality and the unknown elements of the soul. Scholar Carl Gustav Jung notes this represents the “shadow” side of personality (Jung 20). The ocean symbolizes the captain’s reckoning with his obscured other half.
The Sea's Role in Self-Integration
Additionally, Conrad associates the sublime power and solitude of the sea with the captain achieving momentous self-knowledge through embracing his hidden fugitive self. Critic Jenni Ramone argues this relationship enables integrating “different aspects of the self” for the captain through the liminal space of the water (Ramone 195). The sea facilitates profound introspection and unification with his double.
Sailing Toward Self-Knowledge in "The Secret Sharer"
Through masterful symbolic use of the sea’s aesthetic power and metaphorical resonance, Joseph Conrad’s “The Secret Sharer” compellingly develops the water’s complex association with the subconscious, concealment, and deeply knowing the self. Conrad’s maritime setting transcends literal significance.
