La línea de sombra

Autobiographical in nature, specifically recounting the author's first experience as captain of a merchant ship between 1887 and 1888, The Shadow Line alludes in its title to "the transition from youth, ardent and carefree, to the more conscious and significant period of life in maturity." It is, therefore, a coming-of-age novel, centered on a young sailor who, in the opening pages, after spending two years on a Scottish ship, longs only to return to England. But unexpectedly, he is offered the opportunity to command a merchant sailing vessel, which he accepts with enthusiasm. The voyage, however, very much in Conrad's style, is far from epic: here there are no typhoons or pirates to contend with, but rather long days of doldrums in which the ship can barely make any progress, and a crew decimated by a malaria epidemic and tormented by the possibility of a curse. Life at sea teaches the young man its darkest aspects and plunges him into withdrawal and inactivity. But he ultimately emerges from the experience strengthened and with a renewed desire to sail, or rather, to face life and the world. Published in 1917, this short novel remains a touchstone in the work of Joseph Conrad.