Heart of Darkness

Theme of Imperialism in “Heart of Darkness”

“Heart of Darkness” abounds in several themes. It has the theme of self-restraint, of the working of the subconscious mind, of the exploration, of barbarism and primitivism and the theme of imperialism. Conrad's handling of white imperialism was influenced by his own visit to Congo and his rendering of Marlow’s conscious and sub-conscious thoughts was also based upon his own reactions to what he himself witnessed in Congo.

The keynote of the theme of imperialism is struck at the very outset of Marlow’s narration of the ancient Roman conquest of Britain. Their conquest was “robbery with violence” and murder on a large scale. Marlow says that conquest can be excused only if the conquerors perform some constructive work in the conquered country. The white man certainly has a duty to whom he subdues and if he fails in this duty, his government of the backward countries cannot be justified. “Power corrupts man and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

The white man had failed to perform his functions in Congo. Instead of civilizing the savages, they became exploiters. The Belgian trading companies sent their agents into the Congo for trading purposes. The chief commodity which these Belgians found was ivory, useless for the natives, while the white men collected ivory and sent it to Europe. Ivory dominates the thoughts of the manger, of the brick-maker, of the several white agents whom Marlow gives the name of “faithless pilgrims”. Ivory not only dominates the thoughts of Mr. Kurtz but has become his obsession. He collects more ivory than all the other agents taken together. Ivory symbolizes the white man’s greed and their commercial mentality. The greater the ivory collected by an agent, the greater is his achievement and the higher is the promotion which he can expect. Nowhere do we find any service being rendered by these white men in Congo.

The sights seen by Marlow in Congo are very gloomy, depicting the misery of the natives, and the futility of the white man’s seemingly useful work. He sees a lot of naked black people moving about like ants. ‘A lot of people, mostly black and naked, moved about like ants.”

He sees half a dozen men chained to one another and each wearing an iron collar on his neck. These men are criminals who have violated the laws and are being punished. Marlow feels deeply upset at this sight. “I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck,
and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them, rhythmically clinking.”

He sees black figures crouching under the trees, leaning against the trunks, and clinging to the earth, dying slowly. ‘They were dying slowly – it was very clear.' They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now - nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom. Here Marlow feels as if he has entered into the gloomy circle of some inferno. It is obvious that the white man’s indifference and his unconcern are responsible for this state of affairs. 

Few other sights also indicate the hypocrisy of the white men wasting time and effort. Marlow sees that a rock is being blasted though it does not stand in the way of the railway line being laid. He sees some pieces of decaying machinery, a large heap of rusty rails and a boiler lying unused in the grass. Marlow had seen a warship firing its guns into the forest aimlessly. He found a touch of insanity in it. This waste of effort and the unused machinery offer a sharp contrast to the starving natives. 

The futility of the white man’s actions becomes more evident when we meet certain employers of the trading Company. The manager of the Central Station could inspire neither respect not love nor fear but only uneasiness. Marlow found nothing within this man. His mind is full of fear lest he should be superseded by Mr. Kurtz. The brick-maker is equally satirical and critical. The brick maker is described as a “papier-mâché Mephistopheles” for his cunning. He makes no bricks but acts as a spy for the manager. The men, loitering around the Central Station, are idlers. They only gossip, speak ill of one another and hatch intrigues. Conrad conveys his strong disapproval and disapprobation of these white men most effectively. 

The cannibal crew of Marlow’s steamer is most efficient, hardworking and strong who deserve encouragement but the way in which they are treated is disgusting. Without this crew the steamer could not have gone ahead and yet the white bosses do not bother whether or not these men are properly fed. The cannibal crew themselves are exercising self-restraint and are not attacking the white men to eat their flesh. Thus the white men are totally unconcerned about the welfare on whose labour and toil they depend. 

Mr. Kurtz, who held that the white man should confer huge benefits upon the backward people, has done nothing for the uplift of the natives. Rather, he has himself become a savage in their company. ”Where there is no check on a man, the worst of him may come out.”

He failed to exercise any self-restraint, and begun to satisfy his various lusts without any limit. Even in his prime of life he had written down the following words conveying an opposite message: “Exterminate all the brutes.”

“Heart of Darkness” conveys to us the deceit, robberies, arson, murder, slave-trading, and cruelty in the Congo. There is an incident of fire, and there is the long trek during which the natives have to carry a heavy load on their heads. The chief accountant can afford to dress perfectly when the natives around are disease-stricken and starving. In this novel, indeed, the brutal futility of the Belgian imperialist rule is memorably captured in image after image.

Conrad not only exposes the futility and the failing of the Belgian imperialism over the Congo but also reminds us of British imperialism in various countries of his time. Today white imperialism has crumbled and most of the counties have become independent. Conrad's accusation of imperialist rule in Congo had a valuable message for both the exploiters and the exploited. In the business of exploration, both exploiter and exploited are corrupted. Today this message has only a historical interest. The evil imperialist rile has ended, but other evils have come into existence.

Significance of the Title of the Novel

The phrase “Heart of Darkness” has two meanings. Literally, the title refers to the dark continent of Africa known as the Congo. “Heart of Darkness” is an appropriate title for the novel because Marlow describes his experiences of the interior region of the continent which was known as Congo. The events at the beginning and at the close of the novel occur outside Congo but the major and the most significant events of the story take place in the Congo and on the river Congo. The savages really belong to the heart of darkness.

There are other features of the novel too, justifying the title “Heart of Darkness”. One such feature is the description of the wild scenery of the thick, impenetrable jungle, and the suggestive picture of the natives not fully visible to the white men sailing over the river Congo. At one point in the novel Marlow says that sailing up the river Congo was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world. He then refers to the great silence of the impenetrable forests where the air was warm, thick, heavy and sluggish. Marlow perceived no joy in the brilliance of the sunshine in that region. The long stretches of the water-way ran on into a mob of wooded islands. One could lose one’s way on that river as one might lose one’s way in a desert. The stillness prevailing there was not the stillness of peace but of a relentless force brooding over some mysterious purpose. Now, a description of this kind occurs later when Marlow tells us that the night came suddenly and seemed to strike him blind. Then, about three in the morning, Marlow heard a loud splash as though a gun had been fired. When the sun rose, there was a white fog, very warm and damp, and more blinding than the night. The fog remained there like something solid. A little later in the morning the fog lifted as a shutter lifts. Marlow then had a glimpse of the towering multitude of trees, of the immense jungle, and of the blazing little ball of the sun hanging over it, all perfectly still. And then the white fog came down again. There are other descriptive passages of the same kind in the book, too.

The barbarism of the natives reinforces the effect of these descriptive passages and intensifies the atmosphere of mystery and fear. Reading about the natives, we get an even stronger impression that we are in the midst of darkness. On one occasion, the natives, seeing Marlow’s steamer sailing up the river, draw near the river-bank in order to launch an attack upon the intruders. Marlow on this occasion hears a muffled rattle, then a very loud cry, as of infinite desolation. This cry gives rise to a feeling of terror in the hearts of all the white men. Then the attack by the natives actually begins. The white men then hit back by firing their rifles. In the fighting, the helmsman of the steamer is killed with a spear hurled at him by a native. It is the backwardness and the ignorance of the natives which creates the effect of darkness. The natives have merely attacked the steamer because they have received instructions to do so from their supremo, Mr. Kurtz. The personality of Mr. Kurtz is very important because it is he who sums up the whole essence of the barbarism and the savagery of the natives. Marlow has conveyed to us the demonic character of Mr. Kurtz by the use of highly suggestive phrases. Instead of civilizing the natives, Mr. Kurtz has himself become barbarian. Mr. Kurtz has begun to identify himself with the savages. He has been presiding over their midnight dances which always end with “unspeakable rites”. In Marlow’s opinion, Mr. Kurtz has taken a high place among the devils of the land. He has been experiencing “abominable satisfaction”, and he has been gratifying without restraint his “various lust”. In short, Mr. Kurtz has become part of the darkness of the Congo.

The phrase “Heart of Darkness” has yet another meaning. It also stands for an exploration of the depths of Marlow’s own mind or soul. The human mind may also be regarded as a kind of Dark Continent whose exploration is even more difficult than the exploration of Congo. The book called “Heart of Darkness” may be treated as a journey by Marlow into his own sub-conscious mind or into the sub-conscious mind of all mankind. Marlow’s journey into the Congo is metaphorically a psychological and anthropological might-journey. The book called“Heart of Darkness” is symbolically the story of an essentially solitary journey involving a profound spiritual change in the voyager. Marlow prepares us for such a journey at the very outset. But it is, at the same time, a psychological and mystical journey. Marlow also tells us indirectly that, by paying close attention to the surface reality of the story and its external details, we would be able to arrive at an inner meaning. Thus Conrad is here able to blend morality and adventure in a unique manner, as he has done in some of his other novels as well.

There are many passages in the course of Marlow’s narration in which he gives us glimpses of his own mind. At one point he tells us in explicit terms that he has always hated and detested lies because he has always found a taint of death and a flavour of mortality in lies. In the same context, Marlow also says that it is not possible for any man to convey to others the life-sensation of any period of all existence. He says:“We live, as we dream – alone.”

At another point Marlow says that the mind of man is capable of anything because everything is in it. In order to endure the stark realities of human life, a man should possess an inner strength. What a man needs is a deliberate belief, at yet another point in the novel, Marlow tells us of the effect on his own mind of the savage sight of human skulls hanging from the tops of the posts fixed to the ground outside Mr. Kurtz's residence. Later, Marlow tells us of the effect on his mind of Mr. Kurtz’s arguments defending his action in slipping away from the ship’s cabin into the jungle. Towards the end of the novel, Marlow tells us the working of his own mind when several persons come to him, one after the other, claiming the packet or papers and the photograph which, Mr. Kurtz had given him for safe custody; and he also reveals to us the working of his mind when he goes the meet Mr. Kurtz’s Intended. In all these cases, Marlow tells us not about his conscious thoughts but also tries to probe his sub-conscious mind. This subconscious mind is also the heart of darkness which Marlow or Conrad tries to explore.

A critic, commenting upon the title of the novel, says that the “darkness” here is many things: it is the unknown; it is the subconscious; it is also a moral darkness; it is evil which swallows up Mr. Kurtz and it is the spiritual emptiness which he sees at the centre of existence; but above all it is mystery itself, the mysteriousness of man’s spiritual life.

Character of Kurtz in Heart of Darkness

 Kurtz, "a universal genius", is a musician by profession. He also wrote for newspapers. Physically Kurtz "looked at least seven feet long." He had a family; his mother and his fiance. Kurtz wanted to earn money for his family. Therefore, he decided to join the Company and went to Africa. Marlow feels for Kurtz that he was poor enough to go out into that dark wilderness: "He had given me some reason to infer that it was his impatience of comparative poverty that drove him out there". Once in Africa, Kurtz had realized the importance of making money through ivory and it was not possible without savagery, a practice of the "torchbearers of Europe" that wanted to "exterminate all the brutes" for snatching ivory and making them work as slaves.

Kurtz is also a symbol of European plundering and loot in the heart of Africa, Congo. Kurtz roamed about and discovered villages and a lake "but mostly his expeditions had been for ivory". Kurtz had a "good lot of cartridges" and "he raided the country" and "Kurtz got the tribe to follow him" and "they adored him". Kurtz came to the natives "with thunder and lightning, you know-and they had never seen anything like it-and very terrible. He could be very terrible". The Russian tells that Kurtz had power and such a strong influence in the town that he could get anything that he liked. He was a king without crown: "there was nothing on earth to prevent him killing whom he jolly well pleased".

Kurtz is also represents the lust of wealth and the madness of European civilization which didn't spare its brotherly human races from its devilish plans. The Russian that nursed and served Kurtz during his illness was also not spared by him. The Russian reminds Marlow that "you can't judge Mr. Kurtz as you would an ordinary man". He tells him an instance of Kurtz' lust for ivory: "I had a small lot of ivory the chief of that village near my house gave me. You see I used to shoot game for them. Well, he wanted it, and wouldn't hear reason. He declared he would shoot me unless I gave him the ivory and then cleared out of the country".

Kurtz is a victim of the clash between the new and the old. The "wilderness had found him out early, and had taken on him a terrible vengeance for the fantastic invasion". He further told Marlow that it seemed that the wilderness whispered to Kurtz and "the whisper had proved irresistibly fascinating. It echoed loudly within him because he was hollow at the core". Kurtz could not distinguish the difference between truth and reality. He went after ivory, the shadow, and forgot of the real happiness of life which existed merely in living peacefully with nature. So, if Kurtz was caught by lust of his inner darkness, he was also captured by the gloomy revenge of the outer wilderness.

Kurtz is the truth of which is discovered by Marlow while Kurtz was unable to ascertain the reality of his own being; he seemed to have understood it very late though. The truth forced Kurtz to go back into the village by leaving the rescue boat of Marlow. His attempt failed because Marlow followed him in this savage and dreadful night: "I tried to break the spell-the heavy, mute spell of the wilderness-that seemed to draw him to its pitiless breast by the awakening of forgotten and brutal instincts, by the memory of gratified and monstrous passions". Marlow brought him back but he could not bring back his soul, his yearning and his will of staying back in the dark of Congo: "You are interrupting my plans now... I will return. I...."

The Europeans' expeditions and enlargement of their empires led to colonization of the weaker and vaster nations. Once under the influence of the advanced Europeans, the natives of these backward lands began suffering in the clutches of imperialism which undoubtedly brought some mechanization and industry to the occupied areas but it also treated real owners of the land as mere "brutes" and "savages". They were yoked and used like animals as Marlow witnesses them "moving like ants". The author shows the cruel practices used for extraction of valuable raw materials. 

Character Sketch of Marlow

The character of Marlow has a deep significance in the novel, "Heart of Darkness" because it is him that brings out the truth of European civilizations in Africa and the harsh facts of imperialistic forces are revealed to the audience. This character, though a persona to the novelist, does have certain characteristics which deserve appreciation though he does not claim his nobility at any stage of the novel. He seems to have been an honest narrator of a tale of horror, pain and agony of human existence. He unveils the dark practices carried out in the name of trade and welfare: "The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much".

Marlow, a seaman, was out of job for a certain period. He needed a ship but got none. A childhood desire to visit the African river which resembled "an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea" invited his thirst of wandering and he approached establishment for his appointment out there. He got appointed quite smoothly owing to two things: his aunt's relations in the higher administration and the murder of one of the ship captains of the company in Congo. So, they hired Marlow. However, he relates that while his stay in the company office in England, he found "something ominous in the atmosphere" and "something not quite right". The most noticeable thing was two women knitting wool that he remembers as: "Often far away there I thought of these two, guarding the door of Darkness, knitting black wool as for a warm pall".

His reporting of the wilderness of Africa:

Marlow reports that the landscape "seemed to beckon with a dishonouring flourish before the sunlit face of the land a treacherous appeal to the lurking death, to the hidden evil, to the profound darkness of its heart". Marlow calls the land of Congo "prehistoric" and he considered himself among "the first of men taking possession of an accursed inheritance, to be subdued at the cost of profound anguish and of excessive toil". Soon they reached land. He observed some natives with gestures: "The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us-who could tell"? Marlow refers to the practices of dark ages with the deeds of Europeans in Congo: "we were travelling in the night of first ages, of those ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign-and no memories".

We are made aware of the two-way misery of African natives: they were being eaten up by their poverty and hunger as well as by the unstirred anger of the white men that killed them without any resort. The blacks were escaping the invading whites and in doing so, they were being slaughtered either by hunger or they were being caught by the "civilized" white man that yoked them for drudgery. The natives are also enemies of each other. There is tribal system and utterly divided Africa which lured was engulfed in darkness and invited a rather graver darkness of greed and lust from outside its heart. The Europeans did come to rescue "ivory" in the name of humanity which never existed in their hearts.

On his way to Africa, jointly conquered by the British and the French, Marlow observed a new world. This world was full of agonies and pangs of mankind yet unheard in the rather straightforward civilized world from where he had hailed. He observed a French warship firing in the woods while "nothing could happen" there but they still believed that "there was a camp of natives...enemies". Marlow feels that "there was a touch of insanity in the proceeding". On reaching the Company office in the country, Marlow observes the misery of the natives that were set to work by the company: "I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them, rhythmically clinking." By seeing these black men, he understands that "these men could by no stretch of imagination be called enemies."

People were dying of fever amid the dancing season of death and gloom. Still they continued the dark trade in the heart of Africa, Congo. Marlow declares Africa "prehistoric" because he finds no development or progress except natural wilderness engulfing man. There were either thick forests or rivers. Life seemed to have been in the very beginnings there. The rotten and damned place was by no means worth living but white men were "being held there captive by a spell...of course you may be too much of a fool to go wrong-too dull even to know you are being assaulted by the powers of darkness". Marlow tells during all the voyages there was silence and wilderness and the "word ivory would ring in the air for a while-and on we went again into the silence". The white men were dying but they were not willing to leave the spot either owing to their greed or the spell of the dark place of Africa. 

Journey to Sub-consciousness

The novel “Heart of Darkness” clearly shows the influence of psychology and psychiatry which were emerging as developed sciences in Conrad’s time. “Heart of Darkness” gives us vivid descriptions of Marlow’s outward experiences in the Congo and of the thoughts and ideas which crossed the mind during his stay in Congo. 

Marlow appears not only as a man of action but also as a thinker who reflects upon everything that he observes. He is a meditative man who always keeps examining his own thoughts arising in his mind. Thus the book is to be treated as Marlow’s exploration of his conscious and sub-conscious mind. The phrase “Heart of Darkness” means the interior of the Congo and also the inmost depths of the human mind.

The novel gives us the internals and the externals. The externals are the scenes, incidents and the persons with whom Marlow meets while the internals are Marlow own thoughts which rise in his sub-conscious. In the beginning, Marlow is described sitting in the pose of a Buddha. He tells that the city of Brussels made him think of a “whited sepulchre”. When speaking about his encounter with the two knitting-women, he also describes his mental reaction to them: “Hail, old knitter of black wool. Those who are about to die salute you!”

After seeing the knitting-women and after meeting his aunt, Marlow feels as if, instead of going to the centre of a continent, he is starting for the centre of the earth. He describes his reactions to the doctor who examines him that during his travels through the Congo he really became a subject for a psychiatrist.

'The old doctor felt my pulse, evidently thinking of something else the while. "Good, good for there,"
he mumbled, and then with a certain eagerness asked me whether I would let him measure my head.

Being a passenger on a steamer, Marlow had no duties to perform and he felt his isolation among the members of the crew. Then on seeing a warship firing into the forest aimlessly, he finds the action of the warship unintelligible and feels a touch of insanity in it. Later, he sees half a dozen black men linked together with a chain. This sight produces a deep effect on Marlow, giving rise to awful thoughts in his mind. ”I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them, rhythmically clinking.”

Marlow’s encounter with the manager of the Central Station and the brick-maker also gives rise to many thoughts in his mind. The manager seems to be a man with nothing inside him, while the brick-maker appears to be cunning. He makes no bricks but acts as a spy for the manager. He further says that no man can convey to others a dream-sensation or the life-sensation of his existence. Marlow then adds: “We live, as we dream – alone.”

Marlow continues to meditate upon whatever he sees and overhears. At the very outset he says that, in performing the daily duties, a man comes to know the surface reality of life. In command of a steamer on river Congo, Marlow feels like a blind-folded man driving a motor-van over a bad road. Then Marlow describes his reactions to the scenery which he witnesses. He says: “We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness.”

Marlow discovers a book on the subject of seamanship in the deserted hut. Such a book being found in that hut was something wonderful, says Marlow; but still more surprising were the notes written in pencil in the margin. The notes seemed to be in cipher. Later, Marlow learns that the notes were written not in cipher but in the Russian language. Here Marlow also observes that no man in this world is safe from trouble at any stage in his life.

Marlow’s reflections upon his cannibal crew are also noteworthy. Marlow feels amazed to find that, in spite of their gnawing hunger, they did not kill the white men on board. Marlow looks at these cannibals with great curiosity. He asks whether it was superstition, patience, fear, or some kind of primitive honour, which prevented those cannibals from attacking the white men. Marlow says: “It takes a man all his inborn strength to fight hunger properly.”

Then Marlow gives reflections upon the helmsman killed by a native. The gloomy and scary expression in the dead helmsman’s eyes haunts Marlow. He says that the helmsman had been lacking self-restraint. There are also Marlow’s reflections upon Mr. Kurtz. He has been told that Mr. Kurtz had collected, more ivory than all the other agents taken together. Mr. Kurtz was gifted with eloquence. 

Marlow also gives his own intriguing reactions in telling the facts about Mr. Kurtz. Mr. Kurtz has now become an embodiment of evil. To Marlow it seems that Mr. Kurtz has taken a high seat among the devils of the land. Mr. Kurtz's repute has begun to cast upon Marlow’s mind. Marlow later became a devoted friend of Mr. Kurtz and begins to admire him despite his demonic character. Mr. Kurtz was “the nightmare of his choice”. When Mr. Kurtz has slipped away from the ship into the forest, Marlow shows his loyalty by bringing him back. When Mr. Kurtz fiancée asks him what Mr. Kurtz's last words before death had been, Marlow tells her a lie and says: "The last word he pronounced was – your name."

As Mr. Kurtz had done no favour to Marlow, this loyalty can only be taken as Marlow’s own response to the primitivism and barbarism. If Marlow had stayed for some time longer in the Congo, he too would have followed the same path which Mr. Kurtz had begun to tread. It is here that we really find Marlow’s subconscious mind working. Marlow has been able to convey to us indirectly and subtly the influence of Mr. Kurtz’s primitivism upon himself. In the last one-third of the novel Marlow tires to lay bare his sub-conscious mind.

Racism in Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad develops themes of personal power, individual responsibility, and social justice in his novel Heart of Darkness. His book has all the trappings of the conventional adventure tale – mystery, exotic setting, escape, suspense, unexpected attack. Chinua Achebe concluded, “Conrad, on the other hand, is undoubtedly one of the great stylists of modern fiction and a good story-teller into the bargain”. Yet, despite Conrad’s great story telling, he has also been viewed as a racist by some of his critics. Achebe, Singh, and Sarvan, although their criticisms differ, are a few to name. Normal readers usually are good at detecting racism in a book. Achebe acknowledges Conrad camouflaged racism remarks, saying, “But Conrad chose his subject well – one which was guaranteed not to put him in conflict with psychological pre- disposition…” Rereading of Heart of Darkness, with a curious eye, suggests some racism Conrad felt toward the natives that one does not spot usually. Racism is portrayed in Conrad’s book, but one must acknowledge that back in the eighteen hundreds society conformed to it. Conrad probably would have been criticized as being soft hearted rather than a racist back in his time. Conrad constantly referred to the natives, in his book, as black savages, niggers, brutes, and “them”, displaying ignorance toward the African history and racism towards the African people. Conrad wrote, “Black figures strolled out listlessly… the beaten nigger groaned somewhere”.

“They passed me with six inches, without a glance, with the complete, deathlike indifference of unhappy savages. Achebe, also, detected Conrad’s frequent use of unorthodox name calling, “Certainly Conrad had a problem with niggers. His in ordinate love of that word itself should be of interest to psychoanalysts” Conrad uses Marlow, the main character in the book, as a narrator so he himself can enter the story and tells it through his own philosophical mind. Conrad used “double speak” throughout his book. Upon arriving at the first station, Marlow commented what he observed. “They were dying slowly – it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now, nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation lying confusedly in the greenish gloom”. Marlow felt pity toward the natives, yet when he met the station’s book keeper he changed his views of the natives. “Moreover I respected the fellow. Yes. I respected his collars, his vast cuffs, his brushed hair. His appearance was certainly great demoralization of the land he kept up his appearance”. Marlow praised the book keeper as if he felt it’s the natives’ fault for living in such waste. The bureaucracy only cared about how he looked and felt. The bookeeper did not care for the natives who were suffering less than fifty feet from him. He stated the natives weren’t criminals but were being treated as if they were, but at the same time he respected the book keeper on his looks instead of despising him for his indifference. Conrad considered the Africans inferior and doomed people. Frances B. Singh, author of ‘The Colonialistic Bias of Heart of Darkness’ said “The African natives, victims of Belgian exploitation, are described as ‘shapes,’ ‘shadows,’ and ‘bundles of acute angles,’ so as to show the dehumanizing effect of colonialist rule on the ruled”. Another similar incident of “double speak” appeared on the death of Marlow’s helmsman. Marlow respected the helmsman, yet when the native’s blood poured into Marlow’s shoes, “To tell you the truth, I was morbidity anxious to change my shoes and socks”. How can someone respect yet feel disgusted towards someone? Singh looks into this question by stating, “The reason of course, is because he (Marlow) never completely grants them (natives) human status: at the best they are a species of superior hyena”. As I have mentioned before, Conrad was not only racist but also ignorant. He would often mix ignorance with racism when he described the natives. “They howled and leaped and spun and made horrid faces, but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity – like yours – the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar. Ugly. “The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us – who could tell?”

The end result of Conrad’s ignorance of not knowing the behavior of African people concluded his division of the social world into two separate categories: “us,” the Europeans, and “them,” the Africans. Achebe concludes Conrad’s ignorance towards the natives by stating, “Heart of Darkness projects the image of Africa as ‘the other world,’… a place where man’s vaunted intelligence and ferment are finally mocked by triumphant bestiality”. “Heart of Darkness was written, consciously or unconsciously, from a colonialistic point of view”. Conrad didn’t write his book to the extreme of racism. Overall, the natives appeared better humans than the Europeans in Heart of Darkness. Conrad’s ignorance led to his conformity to racism. His ignorance of not completely “granting the natives human status” leads him to social categorization. C. P. Sarvan wrote in his criticism, quoting Achebe, “Racism and the Heart of Darkness,” “Conrad sets up Africa ‘as a foil to Europe, a place of negations… in comparison with which Europe’s own state of spiritual grace will be manifest.’ Africa is ‘the other world…” 

Theme of Self Restraint in Heart of Darkness

Self-restraint is certainly one of the themes of the novel “Heart of Darkness”. Self-restraint is only a subsidiary or secondary theme. This theme has been handled by Conrad very skillfully, and almost subtly, so that it does not project itself on our attention or undermine the other themes.

The white men who have gone to the Congo for trade show no self-restraint but unlimited greed. They are all there to collect ivory; and ivory has begun to dominate their thoughts. Ivory has become their obsession. The manager has begun to feel jealous of Mr. Kurtz because Mr. Kurtz collects more ivory than all the other agents put together. The desire of these men for ivory knows no bounds.

Then, all these men seek power and authority; and they show no self-restraint in this aim. The most striking example of greed and self-aggrandizement is to be found in Mr. Kurtz who knows no self-restraint at all. Mr. Kurtz becomes the embodiment of the passion for ivory and for power. Many times he was heard saying: “my ivory, my station, my intended, my career, my …”

Indeed, Mr. Kurtz has become a devil seeking wealth in the form of ivory and seeking power in the form of control over the natives. He has collected all the ivory in the Congo. On one occasion he got ready even to kill his friend, the Russian, because he was having a small quantity of ivory which he did not wish to part with and which Mr. Kurtz had demanded from him. Mr. Kurtz's passion for power also knows no bounds. He has been acquiring more and more power over the savages till he has become in their eyes a god. If any native rebels against his authority, Mr. Kurtz has him executed. The time comes when nothing on earth can prevent him from killing whomsoever he wants to kill. And he still has more plans for his self-aggrandizement. 

Nor does Mr. Kurtz show any self-restraint in the satisfaction of his primitive instincts which have begun to dominate him. Mr. Kurtz has become an active sharer in the demonic practices of the savages. He presides over their midnight dances which always end with “unspeakable rites” includIing sex-orgies, sadistic and masochistic practices, human sacrifice and other obnoxious acts. He indulgence in all such proceedings has assumed vast scope and has begun enjoying “abominable satisfactions”. He now gives a free outlet to his “monstrous passions” in the company of the savages.

Mr. Kurtz shows no self-restraint even in his desire for possessing things and for owning things. Indeed, his sense of ownership and proprietorship has assumed abnormal proportions. He has developed a feeling that everything belongs to him. And yet there is emptiness in his soul. His mind is by no means insane, but his soul has certainly gone mad. He is “hollow at the core”, as Marlow puts it. And yet this man is able to stir feelings of friendship and respect in Marlow. Here we are faced with a paradox.

There is also a lack of self-restraint in the Russian who has developed an attitude of worship towards Mr. Kurtz. The Russian, a highly intelligent and well-educated man, begins to adore Mr. Kurtz. According to the Russian, Kurt’s has taught him many things and has enabled him to look into the essence of things. The Russian regards Mr. Kurtz as one of the immortals. Surprisingly Marlow himself develops an attitude of respect towards Mr. Kurtz. He has discovered that Kurtz is hollow at the core and has taken a high place among the devils of the land. And yet Marlow himself falls under Mr. Kurtz's influence. When Mr. Kurtz has slipped away from the ship’s cabin into the forest, Marlow follows him to bring him back. Marlow writes: “I did not betray Mr. Kurtz – it was ordained. I should never betray him – it was written I should be loyal to the nightmare of my choice.”

Marlow also says that Mr. Kurtz had conquered his soul which is totally untainted by selfishness. Marlow interpret Mr. Kurtz's last words as indicative of Mr. Kurtz's victory over the evil within him. Thus we can safely affirm that even Marlow shows a lack of self-restraint in his feelings of admiration and regard for Mr. Kurtz.

This theme of self-restraint finds expression also in the manner in which Marlow has depicted the cannibal crew on his steamer. These cannibals were very hungry, and they could easily have killed some of the white men on board the steamer and consumed their flesh but they showed self-restraint. This self-restraint on the part of the cannibals is quite puzzling and highly commendable, though surprising. In respect of self-restraint the cannibals score a point over the civilized white men. Even the white manager of the Central Station shows restraint in his mental make-up. He refrains from giving orders to Marlow and says that Marlow has the right to decide whether he should continue the voyage to the Inner Station or stop for a few hours to find out whether the savages would attack the steamer.

According to an eminent critic, restraint or self-restraint is a major theme in “Heart of Darkness”.Mr. Kurtz has no restraint because he has no urgent work to do and has no belief. Mr. Kurtz's extremism and faith are the opposite of true belief which is needed to tackle darkness. On account of this lack of moral equipment and his greed of money and power, Mr. Kurtz is unable to cope with the forces of savagery and evil within him. Mr. Kurtz's only defence is his eloquence but this is not enough. These heads, stuck to the poles show that Mr. Kurtz lacked restraint in the gratification of his various lusts. The native helmsman, steering Marlow’s steamer, also showed a lack of restraint which results in his murder.

“In fact nobody in the story has any real restraint except the most savage of all men, the half-starved cannibals on board the steamer who amaze Marlow by the fact that they restrained themselves from tucking into the pilgrims.”

This true restraint on the part of the cannibals is incomprehensible to Marlow. Our critic further says that Marlow’s failure to solve this mystery and many other mysteries in the story is linked to a lack of restraint in the language which Marlow uses. Marlow occasionally employs excessive rhetoric, thus showing his lack of restraint in the use of language also.

Significance of the Congo River

For Marlow, the journey on the Congo River is one of the most difficult and ominous journeys he will ever take. The fact that it takes him around and not completely into the jungle is significant of Marlow's psychological journey as well. He never really goes on land but watches the shore from the outside. The only time he goes on shore he finds a wasteland. For Marlow the jungle of the Congo is representative of evil that man is capable of. In Heart of Darkness, it seems that the further Marlow travels into the jungle, the deeper he looks into himself. All this time is spent on the Congo River as he looks from the outside. This is symbolic as he is looking at his soul from the outside but never really sees himself until he goes on land to get Kurtz. When he arrives on land is symbolic of when he looks the deepest into himself. He goes to find Kurtz on his deathbed and is given the choice to take over for him as a god among an African tribe. Marlow is faced with the ultimate choice between good and evil. For a moment it is uncertain what choice Marlow will make. But, unlike Kurtz, Marlow picks the good over evil, as he rescues Kurtz back to the steamer. The fact that Marlow sailed along the Congo River, around the jungle, and not actually into the jungle is an important symbol also. Marlow never walks the path that Kurtz did to self-destruction. He went around the jungle to avoid getting captured by evil. Kurtz was a decent Englishman until he gave into the desires of his heart of darkness. Kurtz spent all his time in the jungle and eventually forgot all of his self-control, manners, and upbringing. He truly looked in the deepest part of himself and found that his evil desires would reign. This is symbolic because he was deep inside the jungle. In this respect Conrad uses to men to show the reader both the good and bad of humankind. He shows the true evil and good that man is capable of If proper restraints had been there would Kurtz have done things differently? The fact that no one was around to keep Kurtz in check helped him succeed in becoming capable of the immense evil he became. Marlow had his shipmates there to keep him responsible. When he left the steamboat there wasn't anyone to restrain Marlow. He was face to face with himself and his human desires, but as he looked at Kurtz and what the evil had done to him he saw the consequences of choosing evil. If Marlow hadn't seen the consequences would he have acted differently? In the beginning of the novel, Marlow talks of things as if they are happening far away from him and not actually happening close by which represents that he is on the outside looking in. He also talks about a fog that settles over the river. This fog represents a distortion of what lies ahead. As he makes his decisions based on what he thinks is right but really he has no idea of what will happen to him or his crew. As the novel progresses the reader will start to understand all of these themes and symbols that the Congo River represents. It represents the shedding of layers of the soul and taking a look into the desires of the heart. By the end it seams as though the reader has taken a look into their own soul to find out what ultimately dominates them. Will they find themselves to be a Marlow; a person who exercises their capacity for good, or will they find themselves to be a Kurtz; a person capable of an immense heart of darkness?

Symbolism in ‘Heart of Darkness’

The complexity with profundity of most of the modern writers leads them to fill their wirings with greater significance than we find on the surface. Symbolism means a deeper meaning in what has been written than meets the eye. “Heart of Darkness” is replete with symbols. Every person and everything means more than what we find on a superficial view. The novel is based on the facts of history as well as on the facts of Conrad's own life; but Conrad has tried to convey the evasive and elusive truth underlying both the historical facts and his personal experiences.

Almost every character in “Heart of Darkness” has some symbolic significance. The central figure Mr. Kurtz, firstly, symbolizes the greed and the commercial and corrupt mentality of the western countries. Secondly, he symbolizes the white man’s love for power. “Power corrupts man and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Thirdly, the change, which comes over him during his stay among the savages, symbolizes the influence of barbarism upon a civilized man. It also symbolizes the irresistible influences of barbarism upon a civilized man cut off from civilized society. “Where there is no check on a man, the worst of him may come out.”

Finally, Mr. Kurtz symbolizes the repentant sinner. Mr. Kurtz's desire to collect the maximum quantity of ivory conveys the exploitation of the backward people of Congo by the white colonizers.

Marlow too has a symbolic role in the novel. Firstly, he symbolizes the spirit of adventure and a love of knowledge. Secondly, he symbolizes the thoughtful observer of human life and the thoughtful student of human nature. He also symbolizes a philosophical approach to human life by constantly meditating upon what he observes. To some extent, he too symbolizes the influence of savagery because his own primitive instincts have been awakened when he heard a lot about Mr. Kurtz’s way of life and then by his close personal contact with that man.

The subsidiary characters too possess symbolic significance. There is the manager of the Central Station. It is wrong to say that he symbolizes inefficiency. If he had been inefficient, he would not have been able to continue at his post. He symbolizes spiritual emptiness. If he is unable to inspire respect or love or fear, it is because he is spiritually barren and hasno originality and no solid ideas in his head, though he can do his manager’s work like a machine.

The brick-maker acts as a “papier-mâché Mephistopheles” and symbolizes cunning and trickery. There are numerous white agents or traders loitering around the Central Station because they are idle. These men are described by Marlow as “faithful pilgrims”.

The cannibal crew on Marlow’s steamer really symbolizes efficiency because they do not shirk work. More than efficiency, they symbolize self-restraint because they do not try to satisfy their hunger by killing and eating white men’s flesh.

The knitting women in the beginning of the story symbolize the Fates who determine the future of every human being on the earth. These knitting women symbolize the danger which lies in store for Marlow. In the outer room the two women knitted black wool, feverishly.

The majestic-looking native woman, who appears on the riverbank when Mr. Kurtz is being taken away, symbolizes a woman’s strong devotion and steadfast loyalty to her lord and lover.

Mr. Kurtz's fiancée also symbolizes loyalty but her loyalty is that of an innocent, inexperienced woman who is deluded by false appearances and does not know the ways of the world. The fiancée symbolizes the hold of an illusion upon a woman’s mind.

The Russian symbolizes inquisitiveness or the desire to learn. But he also symbolizes loyalty and fidelity, the two virtue which Marlow also symbolizes.

Many sights seen by Marlow also possess symbolic significance. The French warship firing aimlessly into the forest, and the rock being blasted with gun powder but without any purpose symbolize the sense of futility and an aimless endeavor. Ivory symbolizes the white men’s greed.

Then there is the sight of one over-worked and starved native labourers dying slowly of disease and starvation. The condition of these men symbolizes the sufferings of the natives who do not receive any sympathy from the white colonizers. “They were dying slowly … They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now, - nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation.’

The chain-gang with half a dozen native men chained to one another, and each wearing an iron collar round his neck, symbolize the white man’s sway over the ignorant backward people without any concern for their welfare.“… the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, and all
were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them, rhythmically clinking.

The description of the natural scenery also serves a symbolic purpose. The scenery is wild and awe-inspiring. The silence of the woods and the abundance of trees symbolizes mystery and horror. Marlow has given us many pictures of the thick, dense, matted forests. “And the river was there – fascinating – deadly – like a snake.”

The city of Brussels symbolizes the inner corruption and degeneracy of white man’s civilization. Brussels seems to Marlow to be the white sepulcher – something outwardly pleasant and holy but inwardly rotten.

Finally, Marlow’s whole journey into the Congo has symbolic significance besides its literal meaning. It may be regarded as a journey into subconscious mind of Marlow in particular and of mankind in general. “Heart of Darkness” is the story of a journey involving spiritual change in the voyager. Symbolically, Marlow’s journey into the Congo is an arduous physical activity or adventure. The literal meaning of ‘heart of darkness’ is the inmost region of Congo; but symbolically this phrase means the inmost region of man’s mind or soul. As Marlow stands for Conrad, the novel becomes a kind of Conrad’s exploration of his own mind during his visit to the Congo in 1890. “In the business of exploration, both exploiter and exploited are corrupted.’

In short, the imperial exploitation of the Congo has effectively been conveyed through a symbolic description of numerous scenes and situations.

Feminist Perspective of Heart of Darkness

In Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness, Marlow’s view of women embodies the typical 19th century view of women as the inferior sex. There are only three relatively minor female characters in Heart of Darkness: Marlow’s aunt, Kurtz’s mistress, and Kurtz’s "Intended." Marlow mentions these female characters in order to give the literal aspect of his tale more substance. While they definitely play specific roles in the story, they do not relate with the primary theme of the story.  The primary theme focuses more on how Marlow’s journey into the heart of darkness contrasts the "white" souls of the black people and the "black" souls of the whites who exploit them, and how it led to Marlow’s self-discovery. 

In the beginning of Marlow’s story, he tells how he, "Charlie Marlow, set the women to work--to get a job." He tells this in the context that he was so desperate to travel in the trade industry that he did what was unthinkable in those times: he asked a woman for financial assistance. The woman, his aunt, also transcended the traditional role of women in those times by telling Marlow that she would be delighted to help him and to ask her for help whenever he needed it. This incident did not have much to do with the symbolic theme of the story; it simply served to tell the reader how Marlow managed to be able to travel to the Congo. On a higher level, it was intended by Conrad to illustrate Marlow’s opinion of women’s inferior role in society, which embodied traditional 19th century society. 

The two other female characters are not mentioned until much later in the story, after Marlow has arrived at the Inner Station. When Marlow reaches this point in his tale, he jumps ahead and tells a little bit about The Intended, Kurtz’s fianceé who was to marry Kurtz when he returned. The Intended woman does not appear until the very end of the novelette, in which Marlow visits her and lies to her about Kurtz’s dying words. The Intended had a more significant role in the story than Marlow’s aunt; however, her role as a whole was somewhat limited and did not affect the main theme of the story. 

The third female character, Kurtz’s African mistress, is briefly mentioned two times near the end of the novel. She appears while Marlow is talking to the Russian, and the Russian growls at her and says she makes mischief. She appears a bit later on when Marlow and Kurtz depart on the steamboat, and is not scared off when Marlow blows the whistle. She stretches her arms out towards the steamer, and that is the last time she is seen. 

The limited depiction of female characters in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and the way in which the three female characters are referred to by Marlow reflect Marlows view of women as inferior. Marlow’s opinion of women manifests the typical 19th century views of women. While the women do play key roles in the plot of the story, they do not influence the main theme of the story, which is of Marlow’s exploration of the darkness which is inherent in the human soul. This darkness is evident in the savage blacks, but more so in the savage treatment of blacks by whites who call themselves civilized. 

Narrative Technique in Heart of Darkness

The final years of 19th century saw a change not only in theme but also in the technique of narration. The change in the narrative technique was twofold – the distancing of the author from the text and a scrambling up of the narrative in terms of chronology. Heart of Darkness, utilizes both these techniques and its narrative technique is in perfect harmony with the theme of psychological degeneration depicted in the book In other to prevent Kurtz’s moral fall from lapsing into obtrusive judgment of the author, Conrad presented Kurtz through the eye of at least one other character whom we can guess and from an opinion about. The story opens as a nameless narrator aboard the cruising yawl Nellie, anchored in the Thames River in England, begins to relate secondhand the story of Charlie Marlow's river voyage in the Belgian Congo.

The story in Heart of Darkness is narrated by Marlow, the first person narrator. The ‘care’ of the story is almost primitive in its simplicity. Kutrz, an ivory trader from a European country, ventures into Congo which lies in the heart of the ‘dark continent’ Africa. He soon becomes a very efficient agent but in his bid for exploiting the natures and gradually adopts their savagery, totems and taboos. He wields more power over them that he refuses to leave their company even when he is fill and needs life-saving medicines. But ultimately under compulsion by the European he boards their boat only to die with the words ‘horror’, ‘horror’ on his lips.

The entire tale is narrated by Marlow who is also the narrator in other Conradian novels like Chance, Lord Jim, and Youth. Initially Marlow, too had been awed by the success of Kurtz no longer remains the ‘disembodied voice’ of a genius but a human being to be judged and commented upon. Marlow had his own system of values and judgment predominant among them being human discipline__ restraint. Thus while speaking of the Negro who jumps up when their boat is attacked by tribal and is killed. Marlow comments on Kurtz: He had no restraint, no restraint__ just like Kurtz___ a tree swayed by the wind.

Again the rituals Kurtz participates in are ‘unspeakable rites’. Marlow makes his own exploration of what he feels is the moral fall of Kurtz: “The thing is was to know what he belonged to how man Powers of darkness claimed him for their own.”

If Marlow is the first narrator the second narrator a sailor who hears the tale of Kurtz from Marlow and provides his own perspective on both Kurtz and Marlow and even describes his personal reactions. Initially, like Marlow he too, sees everything merged into one colour but gradually with the unraveling of Marlow’s tale, the truth becomes clear. He is, in a way, the audience whom the author is trying to convince.

The verbal nature of Marlow’s tale makes for yet another narration device- the disjunction in the true sequence. Although Conrad’s departure from accepted time sequence is not as radical as that of Joyce, Faulkner and Woolf, it is nevertheless a determined step in that direction. The second narrator’s account is not immediate and current but refracted by the memory of a past and distant time. This reconstruction of the past is not linear for there are stray comments about things yet to be realized such as Marlow’s future visit of Kurtz’s ‘Intended’.

Thus we find that the narrative technique in Heart of Darkness involves not only a dislocation of time but also two narrators__ an immediate witness and a frame narrator who recounts the heard tale. This serves to give the tale authenticity distances it from any obtrusive authorial design and provides multiple perspectives on the same phenomenon or character.