Metaphors of Darkness in Joseph Conrad's Novella Heart of Darkness
Ipatia Apostolides
Sept. 2, 2020
Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella “Heart of Darkness” is a story of horror, greed, and lack of morality. The main character, Marlow, goes into the Congo with his steamboat searching for Kurtz who has lived there a long time and is involved in procuring ivory from the natives. Conrad uses metaphors to depict darkness in his story. During this journey down the Congo river, the word “darkness” is often repeated in varying nuances; darkness is seen in the dark forest; the darkness observed in the black savages; darkness as in the decaying machinery; darkness as in Marlow’s observing the death of his helmsman and the fear of dying; and darkness representing evil, as in the oppression of the savages by the white imperialists. In addition, darkness can be felt in isolation and silence. This is seen in the passage: “the silence of the land went home to one’s heart…the amazing reality of its concealed life” (Conrad, p. 41). This darkness is not only observed externally, but internally. It is all encompassing.
The more Marlow travelled, the deeper he entered this darkness, witnessing a continuum, like the ongoing river, of death, black savages, decay, and absence of civilization. He observed the black helpers that became diseased, “some of the helpers had withdrawn to die…nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation (Conrad, p. 32). This inhuman treatment or indifference to the helpers and their lives evokes a feeling of moral decay and would cause an outcry in Europe. The cannibals that came along on the trip, after eating their hippo-meat, may have also provided a darkness or foreboding death to him and his crew. The only time that darkness seemed to disappear momentarily is when Marlow witnessed all the ivory that Kurtz had collected. Ivory is not black. It is almost white. Yet it too, was tainted by the greed of the imperialists who collected it to trade internationally.
Finally, another metaphor for darkness was seen in the following passage: “There is a taint of death, a flavour of deathlike indifference of unhappy savages” (Conrad, p.42). This “deathlike” indifference of unhappy savages suggests an absence of feeling or emotion, a hopelessness, or lack of joy.
Kurtz, an ivory trader, had become a madman by the time Marlow found him. He had heard about him from others; Kurtz collected ivory and had been wandering alone in the woods, and the young Russian man helped nurse him twice. According to the Russian, the tribe followed Kurtz because he had shot game for them. When Marlow discovered the shrunken heads on the posts, he was disgusted. This was Kurtz’s doing and the Russian explained that they were “rebels.” Then the Russian confided that Kurtz also told him he would shoot him for his ivory, “and there was nothing on earth to prevent him killing whom he jolly well pleased” (Conrad, p. 72). Another example of his madness, in the 17-page pamphlet about imperialism that he handed to Marlow, Kurtz had also written “Exterminate all these brutes!” which showed his real feelings about the savages. His evil spirit revealed itself through his killing the savages or threatening to kill the Russian. Marlow described Kurtz as having “the barren darkness of his heart” (p. 85). This metaphor can actually apply to Marlow's heart.
When Marlow returns to the “sepulchral city” (p.88), and he realizes how petty the people’s lives are, going to and from their jobs, and their insignificant actions, he is bothered, and he shudders. They are clueless as to what is happening in their world, which is also a sort of jungle, comparable to the Congo. There is darkness there too, but it is concealed. The sepulcher is a tomb, and in the Bible represents a whitewashed tomb that is pure and white on the outside but filthy on the inside. A sepulcher represents death and darkness. What secrets are held in this "sepulchral city?”
References
Conrad, J. (1996). Heart of Darkness. New York, NY: St Martin’s Press. (Originally published 1899) https://archive.org/details/heartofdarkness00conr/page/n3/mode/2up
No comments:
Post a Comment