THE SHADOW LINE, A CONFESSION BY JOSEPH CONRAD Joseph Conrad was a Polish born English novelist. His family was living in the Russian part of Poland and was given punishment of exile by the Russians. Conrad’s parents were dead in his childhood and he was brought up by his paternal uncle. He spent nearly twenty years as a British merchant navy before becoming a full time novelist. The Shadow-Line is a short autobiographical novel by Joseph Conrad. He himself commented on his novel as “it is not a story really but an exact autobiography”. It was publishe publ ished d in 1917. This is the story based on Conrad’s first command on Otago, sailing from Bangkok to Singapore. The former captain of the ship had died at sea. He took over the ship in unfavorable circumstances and the ship traveled 800 miles in three weeks because because of lack of wind and the whole ship’s company, except Conrad and the cook, was down with fever. Then Conrad discovered that his predecessor had sold almost all of the quinine, drug used for the treatment of fever. The story of The of The Shadow-Line revolves around an unnamed young protagonist who had given his first command. In the beginning of the novel the protagonist had left his job at sea and was living at Officers’ Sailors’ Home in Singapore. He took over the captaincy of the ship which brought with it a succession of crises: a crew that is laid low with fever, startling discovery of missing quinine, deranged first mate Mr. Burns who was convinced that the ship is haunted by the spirit of former captain and the extreme weather conditions. But despite of those difficult situations the captain was succeeded in bringing b ringing the ship to its destination, Singapore port. The title of the novel The Shadow Line is symbolic and contained in it various themes of the novel. The title can be suggestive of the crossing line from youth to maturity, from innocence to wisdom. The captain progresses from his ignorant life, through grappling with the ironical and contradictory problems at sea, to the wisdom and maturity. The title can also refer to the shadowline of death, the ending of life which is the final destiny of mankind. The death is the constant threat in the novel. The lurking death is evident either in the shape of diseased crew’s endangered lives or in the form of Mr. Burns’ hallucination of dead captain’s evil ghost. The subtitle of the novel is A Confession which suggests the retrospective and autobiographical nature of the novel. Conrad admits that the story is actually “a ConfessionConfession - for from a certain point of view, it is that- and essentially as sincere sincere as any confession can be”. The writer, Joseph Conrad, is the unnamed protagonist of the novel telling his own story when he had taken over his first command on Otago-the ship. There are a number of themes incorporated in the novel: maturation maturation of the captain, man’s relation to others, man’s relation to fate, the novel as a metaphor of World War and representation of Oriental geography. The Shadow-Line is a bildungsroman which deals with the development of Page | 1
the protagonist in matters of experience and wisdom. In the beginning of the novel the protagonist was at the stage of adolescence, his thoughts were immature and his decisions were bereft of meditation and contemplation. His non contemplative nature was evident in his sudden leaving of job without any reason as quoted, “And suddenly I left all this. I left it in that, to us, inconsequential manner in which a bird
flies away from a comfortable branch.
”
He was in the twilight region between youth and maturity, his inexperience and immaturity was evident in his actions. When he was talking about his inability of explaining his experiences he admitted that “ I f pressed, I would have burst into tears simply”.
At that stage he was unconcerned of the affairs going on in his surroundings as it is the demand of the young age. He was a man who was living in imaginative world and had no concern with the real world. Therefore according to him the realistic and experienced person like Captain Giles was “the most dull, unimaginative person on earth” . And when Captain Giles hinted at the intrigue against him, he did not pay any heed to it. Until he met steward and the intrigue was unfolded in front of him that a try was made to keep him away from the command of the ship. He had found out the attempt of harming him but it did not surprise him as quoted, “ As I was still young enough, still too much on this side of shadow line, not to be surprised and indignant at such things”.
His imagination and dream like world is presented through his speculations of his first command over the ship. He was very excited like a child and his feelings were expressed in these words, “A strange sense of exultation began to creep into me”.
The charm and illusive nature of youngsters lied in the preoccupation of their most favorite ideas. So the protagonist was also preoccupied with the thoughts of his ship beforehand. The extent of his preoccupation was such that he did not want any communication. He expressed his feelings about the ship as, “It was amusement enough, torment enough, occupation enough”.
When he took over the command of the ship and started sailing towards their destination he became aware of the hard and difficult times that came across his wa y in the sea. His crew fell ill, his first mate Mr. Burns was preoccupied with the ghost of the former captain. As Mr. Burns showed his utmost fear and requested the captain to save the seamen from his devilry, “Mustn’t let him. If he gets hold of one he will get them all”.
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And the weather was also not in their favor. He had to fight with all those difficulties alone and this loneliness was acting on his brain like poison. He himself admitted that this loneliness drove him mad almost. He was getting experience from these complications. But he described experience as “something disagreeable as opposed to the charm and innocence of illusions”. He, also, came across the cruel and selfish aspect of mankind through the character of former captain who had put the lives of several men at stake just because of some rupees. He had sold the drug, quinine which can be used for the treatment of fever. Such horrifying deed of dead captain s presented through the mouth of Mr. Burns in following words, “He f eared neither God, nor devil, nor man, nor wind, nor sea, nor his own conscience”.
There came a time of utmost desperation and disappointment that the captain thought his first command would become a “death-haunted command” . At last by struggling with all the complications and desperations he succeeded in taking the ship to Singapore port. There he met Captain Giles and admitted he had crossed the shadow line, passed the twilight region and had attained wisdom and experience. He said to Captain Giles, “I am no longer a youngster”.
Another theme of the novel is man’s relation to other human beings which affirmed the positive value of solidarity. The crew of the ship despite of their illness and weakness they helped the captain. They offered their services even with their low strength. They assured him of their cooperation even at the crucial moment of their lives when they knew that the drug which could save them is treacherously replaced. As the protagonist had written in his diary, “I received the encouragement of a low assenting murmur”.
Ransome, one of the crew members, volunteered himself, after the death of the steward, for the double work. He, also, nursed the sick people on the ship and was present whenever he was needed. At the end Ransome was the one who had opened the compressors of the ship. Mr. Burns was mentally unstable and his health was also very low that he could not even sit in his bed. But he fought against his own superstition of the demon of the dead captain and came up the deck as stated, “Mr. Burns came on deck dragging himself painfully aft in his enormous overcoat” .
And he assisted the captain in anchoring the ship at the harbor on the command of the captain. The writer had also employed the theme of man’s relation to inscrutable fate. He presented fate as incomprehensive and non-understandable entity. The protagonist of the novel despite of his inexperience and young age got the captaincy of the ship without any effort. As stated, Page | 3
“I was brought there to rule by an agency as remote from the people and as inscrutable almost to them as the Grace of God”.
The inexplicable nature of fate is presented through the illness of the seaman and the absence of quinine. The drug was not there when it was needed most. The ship remained immobile because of the lack of the wind and it caused the delay. The cruel nature of fate is presented through the character of Ransome who was a trustworthy man but he had a weak heart. The strangeness of fate and its indifference towards the seamen is an important theme in the novel. The novel is set in an Oriental surroundings and the writer depicted an unpleasant picture of an Eastern climate. The writer held the climate of the east responsible for the sickness and ailment of seamen. He compared the air of Eastern countries to “an invisible monster ” which made the sailors sick and unhealthy. He portrayed an Oriental woman in very indignant terms. “She was dressed in semi -oriental, vulgar, fancy costume”.
He depicted Bangkok harbor as “pestilential hot harbor without air” the town is described in terms of “squalid” and the shore was “contaminated” which gives a depressing and bleak picture of East. This novel can be cited as a metaphor of World War 1 as the atmosphere of menace and death is presented in the novel. The sailors had to fight against the fate and impending evil of dead captain’s ghost to save their lives. At times there was hopeless and desperate situations through which the crew of the ship had to pass. This desperation and hopelessness draws a picture of the war which brought destruction with it. The long and strenuous struggle of the seamen depicts the war. The narration of the novel is in first person. The protagonist of the novel is relating his own story when he got the first command. Conrad had presented this story as bildungsroman in which the protagonist travels the passage from youth to maturity, from innocence to wisdom. The protagonist’s attitude was immature in the beginning as he was in his adolescence. The writer had depicted that experiences play a vital role in the maturation of a man. The narrator-captain was a competent and good sailor who used to live in the world of his dreams. But with the passage of the time when he fell in complications he got experience and learned to live in realistic world. On his voyage, he met different people and took benefit from their experiences and wisdom. He also had the quality of honesty and truthfulness as he told the sailors about the misplacement of quinine. He was also capable of standing against the difficulties at sea and succeeded in taking the ship to its destination. Another important character of the novel is Ransome, the cook at ship. The writer described the appearance of Ransome as having “intelligent, quiet eyes, a well -bred face” . The qualities of intelligence and brilliance are evident from his physical appearance. He always stood by the captain of the ship in crucial moments. The only flaw in his character is his weak heart otherwise Page | 4
he is a trustworthy man. He worked outside the borders of his capacity. At the end of the novel his work tired him and the captain feared that he would fell dead in front of his eyes. He was the only one who encourages the captain and gives him hope for the better days. The narrator described him “indefatigable” as he was doing the work of many men at the same time. He was sympathetic and a devoted sailor who not only did his own work but took the responsibility of others’ work and did it with full heart. The character of Mr. Burns is a major character in the novel. The narrator described his appearance as his face looked very pale, meager and even haggard”. He was mentally sick and preoccupied with the notion that the evil spirit of former captain would attack the ship as the dead captain had cursed the ship in his last days. Mr. Burns is the character who threatens the ability of the narrator-captain and through his words tried to shatter the faith of the captain. This character helped to show the shortcomings and flaws in the protagonist. His superstitions about the evil ghost challenged the brilliance of the captain and his fear of inability came out of him. “
Captain Giles’ character is very important as it presents maturity and wisdom. His physical appearance is mentioned in following words, “Stout and pale, with a great shiny dome of a bald forehead and prominent brown eyes”.
He is the one who compels the narrator to find out the intrigue against him. The steward at Sailors’ home had planned the intrigue and with the experience of Captain Giles the protagonist was able to find it and he got his first command. At the end of the novel the captain met Captain Giles and was advised that “A man has got to learn everything—and that’s what so many of youngsters don’t understand”.
The Shadow-Line is Conrad’s masterpiece in which he has employed important themes of man’ relation to fate, man’s relation to others and has critically depicted the Oriental climate. This novel not only deals with the lives of the seamen but it is universal. The fears, struggle and the changing psychology of a person are universal ideas dealt in this novel.
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