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Sheila Mulrooney
1000921817
ENG328
Professor O’Connor
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Conrad once said that Heart of Darkness is ‘something on quite another plane than an
anecdote of a man who went mad in the Centre of Africa’. Discuss with specific reference to the text.
Joseph Conrad once said that Heart of Darkness is “something on quite another
plane than an anecdote of a man who went mad in the Centre of Africa”. He was quite
correct. Much more than a simple anecdote of a specific instant, Conrad’s Heart of
Darkness is a profound commentary on man’s eternal struggle with the evil of his own
soul. By figuring Kurtz as the culmination of European civilization, and even mankind; by
linking the inhumanity of Africa with a tradition of dark events in mankind’s history; by
depicting the African wilderness as an atemporal agent revealing truths to Kurtz; and by
designing a narrative that forces the reader’s participation, Conrad ensures that Heart of
Darkness will endure as long as humanity battles with itself.
Throughout Heart of Darkness, it becomes clear Kurtz is not just a singular man.
Conrad places Kurtz in a series of men who fall from innocence, thus implying Kurtz’s
fall is not unique: he is one in a series of many. Kurtz comes to replace Fresleven, who
has fallen from “the gentlest, quietest creature” to “whack[ing] an old nigger mercilessly”
(Conrad 10). After Fresleven dies, Marlow finds him with “the grass growing through his
ribs” (Conrad 10). Thus, Fresleven has fallen from European ‘civilization’ to savagery the forest and the darkness consume him, as it literally grows through his body. Kurtz,
Fresleven’s successor, falls next, going over the edge of darkness, until he cannot see
any light. Although in the direct glow of a candle, Kurtz exclaims “I am lying here in the
darkness waiting for death,” (Conrad 86). Kurtz’s inability to see light indicates his complete fall into darkness. Marlow follows Kurtz in the series of falls, as the memory of
Kurtz consumes him. He says “I can’t choose. He won’t be forgotten,” (Conrad 62), im-
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plying Marlow no longer makes his own choices, but is haunted by the darkness. Finally,
the outside narrator, the listener on the Nellie, falls. He begins the narrative by describing the sky as “a benign immensity of unstained light” (Conrad 4), but finishes it with “an
overcast sky - [the waterway] seemed to lead into the heart of an immense
darkness,” (Conrad 96). This stark change of a hopeful to despairing narrative tone indicates the outside narrator has suffered his own fall into darkness after hearing Marlow’s
tale. By placing Kurtz’s fall in this succession of falls, Conrad refuses to let his reader
consider Kurtz as a unique case. Necessarily, Kurtz’s story pertains to many parties, as
he was not the first to fall to darkness, nor was he the last.
Not only does Conrad insist on linking Kurtz’s fall to other characters in the work he also makes Kurtz’s identity malleable enough that any reader of Heart of Darkness
could identify with Kurtz. Thus, Conrad makes Kurtz’s fall universal. Marlow says “To
this day, I am unable to say what was Kurtz’s profession…even the cousins could not
tell me what he had been - exactly,” (Conrad 90). Because Kurtz lacks a defined profession, anyone reading the book can naturally supply their own. Kurtz’s ambiguity makes
him more identifiable, and therefore more universal, since he is a product of the reader’s
imagination. Thus, Conrad makes Kurtz a kind of ‘every man’: not a singular person, but
an all encompassing figure of the human condition.
Kurtz further acts as the embodiment of European civilization. Marlow states explicitly that “All of Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz…”, for Kurtz received his
education in England, with an English mother and French father (Conrad 61). It was the
International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs that asked Kurtz to report
on Africa (Conrad 61). Therefore, Kurtz is Europe’s spokesperson in Africa: he embod-
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ies European ideals in the African world. In the beginning of his report, Kurtz represents
Europe by introducing notions of “a power of good practically unbounded” (Conrad 61).
Quickly, this deteriorates to the harsh mantra “Exterminate all the brutes!” (Conrad 62).
Thus, Kurtz falls from controlled, intentioned change to savage cries for murder. Because he is Europe’s spokesperson, his fall is also that of Europe’s. Thus, Kurtz does
not function as a singular man, but the embodiment of a supposedly civilized world.
Therefore, his fall from grace carries much more weight than that of a singular man.
Moreover, in making Kurtz the spokesperson of Europe in Africa, Conrad also
explores tensions between an allegedly ‘civilized’ Europe and a ‘savage’ Africa.
Throughout the narrative, it is Europeans who cause Marlow the most despair, while
Africans demonstrate ‘surprising’ humanity. Kurtz’s predecessor, Fresleven, identified as
“a Dane” and “the gentlest, quietest creature”, died while he “whacked the old nigger
mercilessly,” (Conrad 10) - a clear act of brutality. Similarly, the Company’s headquarters is centred in Europe, specifically in Brussels (Conrad 10). On coming to Africa, Marlow discovers this company is responsible for working African natives to death (he describes the native, saying “They were dying slowly…they were nothing earthly
now…” (Conrad 20)). With this knowledge, a European in Kurtzs’ district makes the
claim that “each station should be like a beacon on the road toward better things…humanising, improving, instructing,” which adds a horrible irony to the Company’s actions
because their practices are so inhumane (Conrad 40). Thus, the company responsible
for the brutal death of Africans - a clear breach of ‘civilized’ behaviour - is representative
of the European way. It is the inhumanity of Europeans that causes Marlow the most
despair. As Marlow speaks to a young Russian, he says “…never, never before, did this
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land…this very arch of this blazing sky appear to me so hopeless and so dark, so impenetrable to human thought, so pitiless to human weakness,” (Conrad 69). This European, appearing “hopeless”, causes Marlow to despair - his own ‘civilized’ kinsmen have
abandoned their humanity. Their behaviour in Africa forces Marlow to see ‘culture’ and
‘civilization’ as mere veneers, covering the savagery of men.
In contrast, Marlow only encounters ‘civilized’ behaviour from alleged savages.
With admiration, Marlow describes the cannibals on his ship, saying, “Why in the name
of all the gnawing devils of hunger they didn’t go for us…amazes me now when I think
of it,” (Conrad 50). This almost superhuman restraint of the cannibals acts as a sharp
foil to Kurtz, whose downfall results from lack of restraint. Marlow wonders: “Did he
[Kurtz] live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that
supreme moment of complete knowledge?” (Conrad 86). Kurtz surrenders to temptation: he goes over the edge into the darkness, which destroys him. Conversely, the cannibals exercise restraint, evoking admiration. Thus, Conrad sets up foils between alleged civilized men of Europe and alleged savages of Africa.
Thus, by addressing the controversial topic of racial tensions, Conrad ensures
Heart of Darkness is not a simple anecdote about Kurtz, but a work with multiple meanings. Further, because Kurtz’s fall is one of many, functioning not as one man, but an
‘every man’, and as the spokesperson of Europe in Africa, Heart of Darkness cannot
simply be an anecdote about Kurtz.
If Kurtz is not a only singular man, but representative of all of Europe, and
mankind itself, the setting cannot be unique to Africa. Logically, mankind cannot only fall
in one place, but wherever mankind is found. By lining up Europe’s invasion of Africa
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with other historic conquests, Conrad ensures that his reader knows that the atrocities
occurring in Africa with Kurtz have occurred in the past, and will occur in the future. The
darkness Marlow finds is not limited to Africa: it is a continuous phenomenon.
From Marlow’s first breath, the darkness in Africa is portrayed as one of many
dark places. Marlow begins his tale saying, “And this also has been one of the dark
places on earth”, (Conrad 5) directly referencing the Psalm 74 of the Old Testament,
which begins “Why have you rejected us forever, O God?”. Because the sentence begins with ‘and’, Marlow introduces his listener to an ongoing conversation. This ‘dark
place’ is not a specific instance, but part of an eternal dialogue. Africa plays but one part
in the conversation. Moreover, Marlow’s reference to the Psalms recalls the Jewish tradition enslavement in Egypt, a blatant example of inhumanity and darkness. Thus, Marlow defines the darkness of his tale by recalling the darkness of the past, necessarily
relating it to history. The setting of Africa is but one of many places of darkness, contradicting the idea it is the only setting.
Conrad expands his setting further by recounting Rome’s invasion of London.
Marlow calls the Romans “men enough to face the darkness”, and claims one Roman
might “feel the savagery, the utter savagery had closed around him…” (Conrad 7). This
image of one civilized man invading a dark, allegedly savage place clearly parallels the
invasion of Africa. Thus, this invasion cannot be seen as a unique instance of evil: it has
been seen before. Marlow begins his narrative by recalling places where the exact
same invasion happened, years before. As a result, the invasion of Africa must be taken
as one in a series of historical occurrences, and the darkness found there must be taken as one instance in a history of darkness.
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Further expanding Heart of Darkness’ setting as one of many including Africa,
Conrad specifically links Kurtz’s figure with those Roman soldiers invading London.
Marlow says of the invasion of London it was “aggravated murder on a great scale, and
men going at it blind - as is very proper for those who tackle the darkness,” (Conrad 7).
The mention of blind men attacking darkness foreshadows Kurtz’s painting, in which a
woman, “draped and blindfolded”, carries a lit torch into the darkness (Conrad 30).
Thousands of years ago, men attacked the darkness blind; in Marlow’s narrative, Kurtz
envisions someone attacking the darkness blind. The two incidents are connected - an
attack on darkness has not only happened in Africa, but in London too. By connecting
the events in Africa to an entire tradition of darkness, Conrad ensures Africa is not the
only setting of the work, but one instance of many.
Conrad moves one step further in his narrative, disregarding historic notions of
time and place completely. By associating darkness and the African forest with imagery
of silence and stillness, Conrad creates an Aristotelian notion of atemporality. This complete removal from time suggests the evil does not just reoccur throughout history, but
supersedes the limitations of time, and therefore, is ever present in our temporal world.
Aristotle considers time fundamentally linked to change and movement. “Every
alteration and all that changes is time,” he says. “Not only do we measure change by
time, but time by change, because they are defined by one another” (Physics, 220b, 1415). In order to have any concept of time, there must be movement. Sound can also be
considered movement, for sound waves move. Without this movement, time does not
exist: they are inextricably linked.
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Conrad’s dominant description of the forest is that of an impenetrable silence, a
few examples being:
“We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness. It was very quiet
there,” (Conrad 43).
“Going up the river, travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, on an empty
stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest..in another existence,” (Conrad 41).
“It was not sleep - it seemed unnatural, like a state of trance. Not the faintest sound
could be heard - all perfectly still,” (Conrad 48).
In all descriptions, there is silence (“very quiet”, “a great silence”, “not the faintest
sound”), contributing the overwhelming notion that the setting exists outside of time. Unlike all temporal creatures, it is not touched by sound. Moreover, the multitude of trees
are “perfectly still”, fulfilling Aristotle’s definition of atemporality to the letter. Because
Conrad places the African woods and their darkness outside of time, the setting cannot
only be Africa. The African forest and its darkness supersedes this world’s limitations of
time. Therefore, it is not limited to specific incidents in history: it is above time itself.
Conrad not only associates the woods with darkness and atemporality - he gives
them a kind of agency and knowledge. He describes them, saying, “The woods were
unmoved, like a mask - they looked with the air of hidden knowledge, of patient expectation, of unapproachable silence,” (Conrad 71). Again, the forest is described as ‘unmoved’, abiding by Aristotle’s definition of atemporality. In personifying this atemporal
forest (“they looked”), Conrad creates a living being in his narrative - a being with ‘hidden knowledge’. Even more powerfully, Conrad foregrounds the African wilderness as
“something great and invincible, like evil or truth…” (Conrad 27). Because the wilderness is somehow related to truth, one who wanders in the wilderness would not discover anything deceitful, false or insane, but something true.
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It is Kurtz who wanders into this forest, beginning a relationship with this atemporal being. This unique relationship enables Kurtz to know the forest’s hidden knowledge,
condemning the idea Kurtz goes insane. Marlow says, “[the wilderness] had whispered
things to him about himself…” (Conrad 72). It is important to note the forest tells Kurtz
the truth about himself. This truth about his own soul destroys Kurtz, not his fall to insanity. “[the mute spell of the wilderness] seemed to draw him [Kurtz] to its pitiless
breast by the awakening of forgotten and brutal instincts…this alone had beguiled his
unlawful soul beyond the permitted bounds of aspirations” Marlow says (Conrad 82). By
telling Kurtz these secrets, the wilderness pushes Kurtz beyond ‘permitted aspirations’:
it forces Kurtz to recognize his ‘forgotten and brutal instincts’. In short, it is the evil of
man (or truth, as Conrad casually equates them) that Kurtz learns from the forest. His
destruction does not arise from a medical insanity, but rather, because the forest has
whispered him secrets about himself (and mankind) that no one should know.
Marlow assures us of Kurtz’s mental capacity to reason, further condemning the
argument that Kurtz suffers from insanity. Marlow says, “I wasn’t arguing with a lunatic
either. His intelligence was perfectly clear…But his soul was mad. Being alone in the
wilderness, it had looked within itself, and I tell you, it had gone mad,” (Conrad 83). The
wilderness has not driven Kurtz insane, but revealed to Kurtz the depth of his own soul,
his ‘heart of darkness’. Unable to deal with ‘the horror’, Kurtz is destroyed by this
knowledge.
Thus, Conrad creates an atemporal agent of truth, the forest. By making the forest atemporal, Conrad places his setting outside of time, and therefore not only in
Africa. This forest knows unspeakable truths about men. Because the forest is atempo-
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ral, what it reveals about Kurtz, it reveals about all men - time does not bind these secrets of the forest. Hearing the forest’s secrets, Kurtz is destroyed by this knowledge.
He did not go mad, but suffered from the weight of too great a secret.
This weight of truth destroyed not only Kurtz, but those who came before him
(Fresleven) and those who came after him (Marlow, outside narrator). Because of its
destructive nature, Conrad introduces the question of women, and whether or not they
should be introduced to such powerful knowledge. By including this commentary, Conrad further ensures Heart of Darkness is not limited to a simple anecdote of Kurtz and
insanity.
Early in the narrative, Marlow offers his opinion of women, saying
“It’s queer how out of touch with truth women are! They live in a world of their own, and there
had never been anything like it, and never can be. It is too beautiful altogether, and if they were
to set it up it would go to pieces before the first sunset” (Conrad 14).
Here, Marlow states blatantly that men should not reveal truth to women. He reduces women to delusional idealists, saying they ‘live in a world of their own’, ‘too beautiful altogether’. Such a strong, contentious opinion from Conrad’s main narrator introduces a new tension in the narrative: is Marlow correct in his classification of women or
unjust? Conrad increases this tension, as Marlow says “We [men] must help them stay
in that beautiful world of their own, lest ours get worse” (Conrad 59). Here, Marlow asserts that women must remain in ignorance so all men and women can have a beautiful
world. He depends on their delusion for his own light.
When he meets with Kurtz’s intended, Marlow actualizes this notion that women’s
ignorance is necessary in an ever dark world. Conrad connects these two events using
the imagery of sunsets. Marlow says women’s world would “go to pieces before the first
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sunset” (Conrad 14), and it is at sunset that he goes and sees Kurtz’s fiancée (Conrad
92). As Marlow speaks to her, he discovers the Intended is delusional about Kurtz, insisting on his virtue and admirability (Conrad 93). Marlow describes her, saying “With
every word spoken, the room was growing darker, and only her forehead, smooth and
white, remained illumined by the inextinguishable light of belief and love” (Conrad 93).
The only light from the room comes from the Intended’s forehead, implying in an ever
dark world, only women’s thoughts bring light. Her romantic (and deluded) notions about
Kurtz bring light for Marlow. Because the Intended is not specifically named, Conrad
makes her more universal. A name does not limit her: she could be any women.
When Marlow lies to the Intended, telling her Kurtz’s last words were her name,
not “The horror! The horror!”, he lies to a representation of all European women. By lying to the Intended, Marlow acts on his notion that women are the sole light in a dark
world, and cannot be introduced to the truth of the darkness. Thus, Conrad speculates
on the contentious opinion that women live in a world of delusions, in which they must
remain.
From this, it is clear that Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is not only about Kurtz’s fall
to insanity. An atemporal agent that whispering truths, not inanities, to Kurtz leads to his
destruction. Moreover, Conrad includes a tense conversation about the nature of
women, thereby including a wide range of topics in his novel. Thus, Heart of Darkness
considers truth, time, men, women and the darkness of this earth. It cannot simply be
about Kurtz’s fall into madness in the Centre of Africa, nor can it be a simple anecdote
or ‘a short amusing tale about a specific place or incident. The very structure of Heart of
Darkness demands the reader’s direct participation in the narrative, thus making it eter-
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nally relevant. Conrad forces this participation through his many layers of narrators. As
one narrator after another falls to darkness, the reader watches, until eventually, it is the
reader’s turn to experience the fall.
Marlow first shows the impact of Kurtz on his life by compulsively telling Kurtz’s
story again. The idea of Kurtz’s destruction dominates him - it has changed him permanently. Explicitly, Marlow says “I can’t chose. He won’t be forgotten” (Conrad 62). Here,
Marlow admits that he is no longer in control of his mind: the idea of Kurtz consumes
him. Moreover, Marlow knows the story is ambiguous and inconclusive. He says “I am
not trying to excuse or even explain. I am trying to account to myself for - for - Mr. Kurtz
- for the shade of Mr. Kurtz” (Conrad 61). For the majority of the narrative, Marlow has
been the source of authority, the teller of the story. His uncertainty about his own tale
shakes the reader to the core. The story does not have a limited past: currently, it affects Marlow on the Nellie far after it’s finished. Clearly, the story of Kurtz cannot be an
amusing anecdote - it has changed Marlow for life.
This change is further seen by Marlow’s behaviour after he returns to Europe. “I
found myself back in the sepulchral city,” he says. “They [Europeans] were intruders
whose knowledge of life was an irritable pretence, because I felt so sure they could not
possibly know what I knew…” (Conrad 88). After meeting Kurtz, Marlow has permanently crossed a threshold. The civilized world no longer charms him - he cannot suffer the
presence of ‘civilized’ people, since they do not know the darkness he does.
Because of Kurtz’s story, Marlow has suffered a drastic change, one which robs him of a
normal, pleasurable life. Through this radical change, the reader sees the fall of its main
narrator, just like the reader saw the fall of Kurtz. From both these falls, the reader un-
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derstands that the tale of Kurtz has much more profundity and impact than an anecdote
ever could.
The external, anonymous narrator is the immediate recipient of Marlow’s tale,
and faces the same uncertainty and in-conclusion as Marlow. Because this outside narrator is irrevocably changed by the narrative, Conrad’s narrative moves through two
layer of narrators, doubling the effect on the readers. This anonymous narrator opens
Conrad’s tale, saying “The water shown pacifically; the sky, without a speck, was a benign immensity of unsustained light” (Conrad 4). With an admiring and optimistic tone
about his surroundings, the anonymous narrator presents himself as almost naive. He
faces the lights of London, apparently with no conception of the darkness surrounding
him. However, after hearing Marlow’s tale, the narrator presents a different picture: “The
offing was barred by blank black clouds, waterways leading to the uttermost ends of the
earth - leading into the heart of darkness” (Conrad 96). Such dark imagery (‘black
clouds’, ‘heart of darkness’) contrasts sharply with the opening ‘unsustained light’. This
description of darkness makes sense - as Marlow told his story, the Nellie shifted 180
degrees, now facing the Thames rather than the lights of London. The Nellie’s movement from light to darkness parallels both Marlow, Kurtz and the narrator’s cross into
darkness. Thus, Conrad ensures that the very setting of his story reflects his overarching theme. The two narrators of the work have been irrevocably changed by the story of
Kurtz - a tale with such profound repercussions must be more than a ‘short or amusing
story’.
Although the casual reader of Heart of Darkness engages Kurtz’s story through
these two narrators, the reader also suffers the same fall. In one way, the reader suffers
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this fall by watching each narrator change irrevocably due to the story. Moreover, Conrad forces his readers to feel this change, by reminding them that they too are part of
Marlow’s world. Most notably this occurs when Marlow addresses his listeners on the
Nellie. He says “This is the worst of trying to tell [Kurtz’s story]…here you are all, each
moored with two addresses, excellent appetites, temperature normal…And you say, Absurd!” (Conrad 58, 59). Only a little while after, he says “You can’t understand. How
could you? - with solid pavement under your feet, surrounded by kind neighbours - how
can you imagine?” (Conrad 60). By including these outbursts from Marlow, Conrad reminds his readers that Marlow’s world is their own. Most likely, the casual reader of
Heart of Darkness has an ‘excellent appetite’ and a ‘temperature normal’, with ‘solid
pavement’ under their feet. Not only are Marlow’s outbursts directed at his immediate
listeners: Conrad directs them at his reader. It is important to note that Marlow’s immediate listeners on the Nellie do not respond to these outbursts. Uninterrupted, Marlow
continues with his narration. Since no one responds or acknowledges Marlow’s critique,
the reader is forced to supply an answer. Through this, Conrad demands the reader participate directly. To Conrad, it is essential that every reader know Marlow’s world is their
own, and the story of Kurtz affects them. With such a goal for his narrative, Conrad ensures Heart of Darkness cannot be considered a simple anecdote. It is a story which
bears eternal relevant to the lives of its readers, not a tale to amuse or to charm.
The claim that Heart of Darkness is no more than an amusing anecdote about
one man’s degradation to insanity is utter nonsense. Through the story of Kurtz, Conrad
has constructed a narrative which forces men to face their capacity for horrible deeds,
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to recognize their nature as human beings, and to understand the evil in their own
soul’s.
Work Cited:
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. London: Penguin Group, 2007. Print.
Aristotle. Physics. Trans. Hippocrates G. Apostle. Don Mills, Ontario: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, 1969. Print.