Editing Joseph Conrad (section)

====Attempted suicide====
In March 1878, at the end of his [[Marseille]] period, 20-year-old Conrad attempted suicide, by shooting himself in the chest with a revolver.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dean|first=Biron|title=The Death of the Writer|date=2011|url=https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/52-may-2011/316-the-death-of-the-writer|journal=Australian Book Review|volume=331|pages=36–44|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917143910/https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/52-may-2011/316-the-death-of-the-writer |archive-date=17 September 2014 }}</ref> According to his uncle, who was summoned by a friend, Conrad had fallen into debt. Bobrowski described his subsequent "study" of his nephew in an extensive letter to [[:pl:Stefan Buszczyński|Stefan Buszczyński]], his own ideological opponent and a friend of Conrad's late father [[Apollo Korzeniowski|Apollo]].{{NoteTag|"Although Konrad had been absolutely certain of accompanying Captain Escarras on his next voyage, the ''Bureau de l'Inscription'' forbade him to go on the grounds of his being a 21-year-old alien who was under the obligation of... military service in his own country. Then it was discovered... he had never had a permit from his [c]onsul—the ex-Inspector of the Port of Marseilles was summoned who... had [certified] the existence of such a permit—he was... reprimanded and nearly lost his job—which was undoubtedly very unpleasant for Konrad. The whole affair became... widely known, and all endeavors by... Captain [Escarras] and the ship-owner [Jean-Baptiste Delestang] proved fruitless... and Konrad was forced to stay behind with no hope of serving on French vessels. However, before all this happened another catastrophe—this time financial—befell him. While still in possession of the 3,000 fr[ancs] sent to him for the voyage, he met his former captain, Mr. Duteil, who persuaded him to participate in some enterprise on the coasts of Spain—some kind of contraband!  He invested 1,000 fr[ancs] in it and made over 400, which pleased them greatly, so... on the second occasion he put in all he had—and lost the lot. ... Duteil... then went off to [[Buenos Aires]]. ... Konrad was left behind, unable to sign on for a ship—poor as a church mouse and, moreover, heavily in debt—for while speculating he had lived on credit... [H]e borrows 800 fr[ancs] from his [German] friend [Richard] Fecht and sets off for... Villefranche, where an American squadron was anchored,... inten[ding to] join... the American service. He achieves nothing there and, wishing to improve his finances, tries his luck in [[Monte Carlo]] and loses the 800 fr[ancs] he had borrowed. Having managed his affairs so excellently, he returns to Marseilles and one fine evening invites his friend the creditor [Fecht] to tea, for an appointed hour, and before his arrival attempts to take his life with a revolver. (Let this detail remain between us, as I have been telling everyone that he was wounded in a duel....) The bullet goes... through... near his heart without damaging any vital organ. Luckily, all his addresses were left on top of his things so that this worthy Mr. Fecht could instantly let me know...

... Apart from the 3,000 fr[ancs] which [Konrad] had lost, I had to pay as much again to settle his debts. Had he been my own son, I wouldn't have done it, but... in the case of my beloved sister's son, I had the weakness to act against [my] principles... Nevertheless, I swore that even if I knew that he would shoot himself a second time—there would be no repetition of the same weakness on my part. To some extent, also, I was influenced by considerations of our national honor, so that it should not be said that one of us had exploited the affection, which Konrad undoubtedly enjoyed, of all those with whom he came into contact....

My study of the Individual has convinced me that he is not a bad boy, only one who is extremely sensitive, conceited, reserved, and in addition excitable. In short, I found in him all the defects of the ''Nałęcz'' family. He is able and eloquent—he has forgotten nothing of his Polish although, since he left [Kraków], I was the first person he conversed with in his native tongue. He appears to know his profession well and to like it. [He declined Bobrowski's suggestion that he return to Poland, maintaining that he loved his profession.]..."{{sfnp|Najder|2007|p=65}}}} To what extent the suicide attempt had been made in earnest likely will never be known, but it is suggestive of a situational depression.{{sfnp|Najder|2007|pp=65–67}}