The captain (and narrator of the short story) changes in subtle yet noticeable ways over the duration of the short story "The Secret Sharer". In the beginning, he is tentative, a new captain on a ship that he is unfamiliar with, surrounded by crew members who doubt him and are suspicious of his youth. It is revealed that the captain does not give orders to his crew when he mentions upon giving one that it is his first. Some of his first instructions to them are, also, not commanding in nature. He gives them a rest from their duties, something unusual and perhaps more timid an act than a noble one.
The captain is also consumed by the belief that he is insufficient and by the fear of rejection by his crew. He says: "My strangeness, which had made me sleepless" (21), an indication that he is plagued by thoughts of his own newness. In the beginning, the captain overall is therefore timid, weak, and preoccupied.
Following his peculiar relationship and interactions with his "double", the fugitive he has hidden on his ship, the Captain undergoes an interesting change. In the end, he directs his crew in an orderly manner, instructing them to turn the ship towards land despite their doubts and trepidations. He also realizes at this point that he barely knows the ship of which he is the Captain, and resolves within himself to get to know his property as a captain should. He shrugs off his preoccupation with his inadequacy, coming to fulfill the role of a captain with more confidence and conviction.
The reason for this transformation: the captain is introduced to another part of himself when he lets Leggatt onboard his ship. Leggatt is always stoic, calm, and strong, whereas the Captain is nervous and feeble. Leggatt is like the Captain's alter-ego, which intrigues him greatly (he always calls the fugitive his "double" with great affection). After rescuing the man representing his alter-ego, the Captain sees more so in himself the traits that Leggatt embodied, and decided, perhaps, the embody them himself.
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