Heart of

Darkness

The Title: Heart of Darkness

3-fold metaphor1) The center of the African jungle, end of the

river2) A diabolically evil person (Kurtz)3) Institution of imperialism

Diction/connotation: “heart” & “darkness”Both densely charged with physical and moral suggestions

Layers of narration 5 dudes on a boat Narrator is “the 5th guy”

› He is listening to Marlow’s story› One layer of narrative isolation – creates

distance b/w the reader and main goal, Kurtz

› Readers must work through the layers to understand the truth about Kurtz

Opening scene Juxtaposition of

light and “brooding gloom” creates a sense of conflict

Haze and mist creates a mysterious and ominous atmosphere

“whited sepulchre” (1:21) (3:45)

Biblical allusion: Matthew 23:27-28 Death inside  27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

“Two women… knitting black wool” (1:22)“these two, guarding the door of Darkness, knitting black wool” (1:24)

Greek mythological allusion to the Fates

The Fates

Otherwise known as the Moirae (Greek for “parts”), these timeless old hags weave the threads of destiny that control your life.

They are: CLOTHO who spins the Thread of Life LACHESIS who allots the length of the yarn and measures it ATROPOS who does the final snip

All the good and evil that befalls you is woven into your destiny and cannot be altered even one jot. The FATES control the destinies of all. Even the Gods are subject to their decisions.

• Some myths say that the Fates sat at the door to the Underworld. The underworld is hidden in the earth. It is the kingdom of the dead and ruled over by Hades. • For most, life in the underworld is not particularly pleasant. It is rather like a miserable dream, full of shadows, without sunlight or hope. A joyless place where the dead slowly fade into nothingness. • Geographically, the underworld is surrounded by a series of rivers: The Acheron (river of woe), The Cocytus (river of lamentation), The Phlegethon (river of fire), The Styx (river of unbreakable oath by which the gods swear), and The Lethe (river of forgetfulness). Once across the rivers an adamantine gate, guarded by Cerberus, forms the entrance to the kingdom.

The aunt Idealistic and UNrealistic view of the

world (2:28) Appollonian world of light

Theme: Women should be kept in their beautiful, idealized world.

Motif: Futility Marlow observes a French war ship firing at

nothing at the coastline for unclear reasons (1:30)

Foreshadows the inability of the Europeans to deal effectively with the wilderness and its inhabitants

Absurdity: mindless blowing up of cliff-face, no change

Also, guy with “a hole in the bottom of his pail” = futility (1:55)

The rivet situation (1:64)› “It’s like 10,000 spoons when

all you need is a knife”

ExistentialismIn a nutshell: A philosophy that considers life meaningless unless we create our own meaning. It is up to each individual to find their own meaning, and then devote their entire being to that meaning.

“I asked myself sometimes what it all meant.” (1:54)

“I don’t like to work—no man does—but I like what is in the work—the chance to find yourself. Your own reality—for yourself—not for others—what no other man can ever know.” (1:65)

pilgrims

“pilgrim” implies a religious journey Only religion here is IVORY and

GREED.

irony=

1:54: “faithless pilgrims… The word ‘ivory’ rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it.

Allusion: El Dorado (1:69) El Dorado Exploring Expedition = no foresight or

practical intentions Contrast to Marlow – crappy boat, but clear

purpose El Dorado = allusion to City of Gold European explorers spent lots of time and

energy and crew’s lives searching for it (futility) Conrad is suggesting that the mercenary motives of the EEE will lead them to ruin.

2:28

Psychoanalytical lens – id and superegoThe wilderness changed Kurtz“Original Kurtz” = educated, eloquentNow Kurtz = primal, ultimate evil, heads on sticks, no consequencesEnd of report shows change: “Exterminate all the brutes!” – even his handwriting changes

3.1Literally: he has gone so far up the river and so far from civilization that he doesn’t know how to get back.

‘I went a little bit farther,’ he said, ‘then still a little farther—till I had gone so far that I

don’t know how I’ll ever get back.’

Symbolically: he has experienced too much of the extremities of life and he can never adjust back to “normal” civilized behavior again. Too far into the id to go back to superego – just like Kurtz!

Heads on sticks(3:4) Symbol of powerDemonstrates that Kurtz has lost all morality and restraint in the wildernessCompletely given in to the id

• Marlow believes Kurtz’s soul has gone mad due to his length of time in the wilderness with no external restraints on his behavior• The wilderness has awakened brutal instincts and primitive passions that had been hidden under Kurtz’s civilized and moral behavior

3: 28-29

The horror! The horror! Kurtz’s recognition of what he has

become in the wilderness. He is a bad man.

Kurtz’s final revelation of what the universe is really like – every person is inherently evil

Kurtz describing his oncoming death (looking death in the face)

More…

Famous last words

The horror! The horror! May reflect Kurtz’s realization that there is

no hope of redemption for a person like him. He may be realizing that his goals were vain, that there is no purpose or higher point of life (futility).

Kurtz may be finally recognizing the depth of darkness in the human heart, that even the most well-mannered and educated human – when isolated from the behavioral restraints of civilization, becomes a savage, evil.

Famous last words

The Intended (3:46-end) Believes Kurtz was a good, moral man

that inspired others to be good as well, appealing to their better natures.

Both the Intended and the savage women put up their arms in an expression for the loss of Kurtz Major black and white imagery!

› Refer to Jeremy Hawthorn’s essay “The Women of Heart of Darkness”

Why Marlow lies to the Intended

Marlow lies b/c he knows it will be comforting to the woman & he knows that he could never explain the real truth to her & have her understand it.

Let her go on thinking Kurtz was good.

Marlow becomes part of the lie. By lying, he perpetuates the cycle of lies that fuels imperialism. He becomes part of the machine of imperialism corruption.

THE ENDAs Kurtz delves into his own dark and primitive nature, he learns—to his horror—that even the civilized sailors are not really different from the savages they attempt to “save”Absolute power corrupts absolutely.