Chapter 16 Summary

Thinking back on that time, Marlow recalls that Chester and his expedition had, after visiting an Australian port, never been heard from again. A hurricane had, a month or so after Chester's last sighting, supposedly washed over Walpole shoals. Marlow then considers that night in his room once more and remembers a storm came up, and that Jim had stepped inside from the veranda. He asked for a cigarette and also thanked Marlow for the use of his room. After a brief dalliance, he opened the door and made to leave. Marlow entreated him to come back inside.

Chapter 16 Analysis

In this chapter Marlow speaks to the very heart of the matter. It is not the disgrace that matters, but the guilt. Jim is in time forgiven; many of the people he encounters do not care about his past, but because it haunts...