Chapter 7 Summary

That night at dinner and then afterwards while having a coffee and cigars in the front gallery, Jim reveals, or tries to, why it is that he, and he alone, has stayed to face the inquiry – the others being unwilling or unable to do so. For one, Jim says that he will never be able to go home, unable to face his father, reasoning that he just would not understand.

He also resolves to confide in Marlow, and begins to relate the tale. After abandoning the ship, the four crewmembers were picked up by a passing steamer, the Avondale, and though the captain of the Patna had furnished them with a story, it was obvious to all involved that there was more to it than what he had told. Ten days later they arrived in port. Jim is confounded by the fact that...