In the following essay, Hoffmann analyzes the narrative point of view in "The Secret Sharer, " stating that it "creates both the psychological and thematic bases" for the captain's identification with Leggatt.

Much attention has been given to the psychological and thematic Identification of the captain with Leggatt in Conrad's "The Secret Sharer," but too little attention has been paid to the point of view which creates both the psychological and thematic bases for the identification. On the immediate narrative level the story is told in the first person by the captain himself, but on the psychological and thematic level Conrad sought to objectify the subjectivity of the first person point of view by introducing Leggatt, the captain's "double." If Leggatt, as the captain's other self, is examined in relation to Conrad's narrative technique, then the point of view will provide us with a clearer understanding of "The...