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Chapter 17
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Lord Jim, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Fantasy vs. Reality
Justice and Duty
Racism and Colonialism
Truth and Perspective
Summary
Analysis
Six months after Jim was in Marlow’s bedroom, an eccentric friend of Marlow’s who owns a rice mill was interested in Jim and hired him, and now his letter to Marlow is full of compliments for Jim. The friend says Jim seems to be positively blooming in his new environment, and while the friend knows Jim has an incident in his past, the friend figures it can’t be too unforgivable.
Marlow’s friend has a personality like Marlow’s. Unlike Marlow, however, the friend doesn’t seem to have the same boundaries of formality with Jim. At first, this seems to allow the friend to become closer to Jim than Marlow did.
Themes
Not too long after, however, Marlow receives a new letter from his friend saying that Jim is gone. The friend makes clear that Jim hasn’t stolen anything—he just seems to have disappeared. By sheer coincidence, Marlow notices he also has a new letter from Jim. Jim says Marlow’s old friend was too familiar, but he got a new job at a chandler (a store that sells equipment for ships and boats) by mentioning Marlow’s name. He asks for a formal recommendation from Marlow in order to make his job permanent. Marlow is disappointed but sends the letter.
Predictably, however, when Marlow’s friend gets too familiar, Jim gets his old impulse to run again. Marlow recognizes that as much as Jim wants acceptance, he also craves independence. Part of why Jim keeps moving from job to job seems to be that despite his many opportunities to start over, he can’t do so without calling on Marlow for assistance.
Themes
Marlow goes to meet Jim at the chandler and asks him what he has to say for himself. Jim says he said it all in his letter. Jim explains that he started to dislike Marlow’s friend after the friend started treating Jim like a son. Jim says he knew the friend liked him, but he was too familiar; once, the friend slipped a hand under Jim’s arm, and that was too much for Jim. The friend also mentioned the Patna case. While Jim and Marlow talk, the chandler’s two owners argue in the background. Jim says they treat him well, even though the one is annoying sometimes.
Again, it is ambiguous whether this passage is supposed to imply that Marlow’s friend is homosexual or whether he is simply too familiar. In either case, it’s clear that Jim is uncomfortable with intimacy, an issue that will continue to cause problems for him throughout the story.
Themes
Marlow doesn’t see Jim again on that trip but returns six months later. The shop owners, however, inform Marlow that Jim has left them suddenly without saying where he went. Jim’s sudden disappearance confuses the owners. Marlow asks if there was any mention of the Patna case, and the owners say there was, shortly before Jim disappeared.
The constant mentions of the Patna symbolize how no matter where in the world Jim goes and no matter what he does, his past will always follow him.
Themes
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The owners of the chandler are surprised that Jim left because he seemed so dedicated to the store. They’ve had a hard time replacing him. Marlow reveals that Jim was in fact the first mate of the Patna. The shop owners ask who actually cares about that, and Marlow agrees it might not be so important to most people anymore.
For all his flaws, Jim is actually a very capable worker, particularly in situations that don’t require courage. What makes Jim tragic is that he is a genuinely good person in many ways, and if he had never had his courage tested, he might have lived happily not knowing that he was coward.
Themes
