Lord Jim

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.

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.

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.

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 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.