SOURCE: "Leggatt and the Promised Land: A New Reading of The Secret Sharer," in Conradiana, Vol. III, No. 2, 1971-72, pp. 26-34.

In the following essay, Bidwell discusses parallels to the biblical story of Moses in "The Secret Sharer."

Of all Conrad's stories none word-for-word has generated more comment and confusion than "The Secret Sharer." Although readers have differed about many aspects of the tale it is particularly a fair judgment of Leggatt, the fugitive "killer" from the Sephora, which has proved most contentious. That a correct understanding of Leggatt is crucial to one's conception of the sea captain who narrates the tale has never been doubted, yet interpretations of Leggatt confusingly oscillate between the view that he represents man's dark, evil impulses to the opinion that he is an ideal model for moral conduct. While it is probable that the mate of the Sephora symbolizes neither pure violence...