Figure the first mate is beset by contradictions (5)
I believe the answer is:
seven
'figure' is the definition.
(seven is a number)
'first mate is beset by contradictions' is the wordplay.
'first mate' becomes 'eve' (I've seen this in another clue).
'is beset by' is an insertion indicator ('beset' could historically mean 'cover').
'contradictions' becomes 'sn' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'eve' put within 'sn' is 'SEVEN'.
'the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for seven that I've seen before include "So many ages of man (AYLI)" , "Cube root of 343" , "Prime number" , "number of swans aswimming" , "Number of sins, seas or dwarves" .)