In Joseph Conrad s tales, representations of women and of "feminine" generic forms like the romance are often present in fugitive ways. Conrad s use of allegorical feminine imagery, fleet or deferred introductions of female characters, and hybrid generic structures that combine features of "masculine" tales of adventure and intrigue and "feminine" dramas of love or domesticity are among the subjects of this literary study. Many of Conrad s critics have argued that Conrad s fictions are aesthetically flawed by the inclusion of women and love plots; thus Thomas Moser has questioned why...