“Secret Sharer”, written by Joseph Conrad, is a story depicting the first sailing experience of an unnamed sea captain and that of an escaped sea criminal from another ship named Sephora. Leggatt, the criminal, is secretly sheltered by the captain. Though the story looks simple, Conrad uses rich symbolism to pack the events with great psychological meaning. The two characters fuse into one to expose the dark subconscious self of the captain. As the story moves, the readers too become the secret sharers of the mysterious communication going on between these main characters. They also discover that the irrationality of Leggatt is the true hidden nature of the captain. This brief paper looks at the significance of the title in the light of the settings and the symbolism in the story. Leggatt resembles the captain in several ways. It is repeatedly reminded by the narrator in the story. They have many things in common, including the dress, and “there was no one in the whole ship whom I dared take into my confidence” (Conrad, 316). This reality enables the captain to look within himself. The setting, with the darkness shrouding these characters, helps the readers to understand the nature of the subconscious self. That one has no escape from confronting this dark reality is the emerging theme of the story. That is how the title becomes significant: “I had become so connected in thoughts and impressions with the secret sharer”, tells the captain (314). The more he secretly shares his thoughts and impressions with Leggatt, the more the captain’s self grows. He admits that his loneliness vanishes when he is with his double. Leggatt symbolizes cowardice, murderous instincts, and irrationality, and the captain knows that he carries with him all these evils. Thus it gives the story a biblical touch. Everyone must overcome the evils within the self. Initially, Conrad tells the readers how unsure the captain is about himself: “I was almost as much of a stranger on board as himself “, says the captain (309). He keeps on watching himself, his secret self, and his actions. This habit changes as he found Leggatt in the form of his other-self. “I gazed upon my other self for a while” (310), says the captain, and later on he admits that he felt less torn in two when he was with Leggatt. Therefore, it becomes evident that the captain keeps him in his cabin and shares secrets with him only to gain his confidence. When the skipper of Sephora, Captain Archbold, comes to search and take away the escaped criminal, the unnamed captain pretends to ignore Archbold’s version of the episode in Sephora. He represents the authority or the society. He also helps the readers in discovering the actual reality in that ship by serving as a villain in the story, as a contrast to the captain. Finally, the captain decides to let Leggatt, “the unsuspected sharer of my cabin” (313), free and it is through this maneuvering struggle in the sea with his ship that he attains maturity as a captain and achieves confidence. He becomes “a free man, a proud swimmer striking out for a new destiny” (326). The hat he gifts to Leggatt at his parting stands as a symbol of his secret sharing. Secret Sharer, like Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim, is also an autobiographical novel. The sense of loneliness which the unnamed captain unde