This study of Joseph Conrad's fiction addresses a major theme neglected in previous studies: the protagonist's struggle to find (or keep) his place in a world of men. Structured around Conrad's use and subsequent abandonment of Oedipal compromise, the book provides a Freudian and post-Freudian analysis of father/son relationships in Conrad's work. Defining the father as any older male with power and influence over a younger one, Rising examines wide thematic variations that show Conrad's obsessive concern with paternity--as an object either of fear and hatred or of longing.