Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer discusses that both Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Sharer" and Susan Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers," depict law-abiding individuals who gradually come to identify with people who have violated the law. The writer looks at both works in order to examine this issue. The writer maintains that as a result of their identification with these individuals who have allegedly transgressed, the married women of Glaspell's tale and Conrad's nameless sea captain gain a new sense of identity. The writer concludes that the changes undergone by the characters in both works are both external and internal, and both are life-long changes, although the changes that take place in the Glaspell story may have greater external consequences.

From the Paper:

"Like "A Jury of Her Peers," Joseph Conrad's short story "The Secret Sharer" is also told in retrospect. The narrator is a sea captain who finds a man named Leggatt, drowning in the water, who seems to be his 'double,' much like the women of Glaspell's story perceive Mrs. Wright to be their double, or a physical mirror of their personal pain. Leggatt is also condemned as a murderer like Mrs. Wright, but rather than reject the fugitive, Conrad's narrator gives him a place to stay. The image of the law arises, but like the woman, the captain has already experienced a kind of internal, moral shift. Like the woman the captain cannot bear to morally condemn the murderer, or reveal the fact that Leggatt is on his ship when the authorities arrive. Captain Archbold wants to act according to the law, like the men of the Glaspell tale, but Leggatt's protective captain pretends the ship is empty and points out that Leggatt's actions helped save the ship during a storm."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Conrad, Joseph. "The Secret Sharer." Project Gutenberg e-text. 9 Feb 2008 http://www.gutenberg.org/files/220/220.txt
• Glaspell, Susan. "A Jury of Her Peers." Learner.org. Full text. 9 Feb 2008. http://www.learner.org/interactives/literature/story/fulltext.html

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