Luke Henderson
Tle S2 OIB
English
Close Reading
Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, is set during the 19th century. It takes place during a time when European powers are spreading their control over the entire globe, notably over Africa. The main character, Marlow is hired as a steamboat captain to go up the Congo River to an isolated Ivory trading outpost under the control of the mysteriously horrifying and awe-inspiringly eloquent Kurtz. This passage comes at a time where the seriously ill Kurtz has been put aboard the steamer to be brought back out of the Congo. The evening before the departure, as Marlow and settlers are on the boat’s deck, watching over the dying Kurtz, a native woman makes her appearance on the shore. Her appearance is unexplained yet powerful. In this passage, we discover the Solemn and Ominous character which is often inexplicably referred to as Kurtz’s lover; her mixed feelings of fear of the colonizers and admiration for Kurtz as well as her inferred affinity, makes her an ideal representation of Kurtz’s relation to the tribes of the Congo.
The character that makes her first appearance in this passage only makes two apparitions in the whole novel. However, her solemn, proud and ominous aspect makes her a memorable character to the reader and the settlers, as well as raises questions about her relation to Kurtz. The character’s aspect is shown both through her description and through her actions. Indeed, she is described as “treading the earth proudly” in “measured steps”, making “deliberate” progress. She is described as having an “ominous and stately” appearance. All these adjectives underline a sense of self confidence which is not found in the behavior of any other native in the book. The striking contrast between her native state and her behavior is also put forward by the oppositions and almost-oxymoron; “She was savage and superb” and “[she was] wild-eyed and magnificent”.
This solemn pride and ominous look is also present in her actions; according to Marlow, she “carried her head high” and “stood still”, “without a stir”. Within this pride, lurks something foreboding, as she has a “tragic and fierce aspect”. These actions also contradict the actions of the other natives seen before her in the novel. For this reason, her aspect makes us dubious about her relation with the natives on one side and her seemingly apparent connection with the Europeans on the other. Kurtz being the reason for her appearance, one can only guess that she had special ties to him.
These doubts about her relation to Kurtz have earned her the title of Kurtz’s lover even though no explicit acknowledgment of that fact is made in the book. The clues to this relation, in this passage, lie in her attitude and attire. The very first clue of a special relationship between her and Kurtz is her mere presence. Indeed, up to now in the novel, natives have been avoiding the Europeans and especially the ship like the plague. The fact that she braves this fear to come up to the ship alone is a clue that she has some attachment to Kurtz. According to Marlow, she also has a look of “wild sorrow and dumb pain” which, in this situation, would be hard not to attribute to acute grief at the idea of Kurtz’s departure. Finally, as she throws her arms in the air, their shadow spread across the river around the steamer. This, Marlow describes as a “shadowy embrace” of the steamer on which Kurtz is embarked. The use of the term “embrace” infers the presence of passion. Once again, this strongly indicates that she has a passionate admiration for Kurtz. However, her attire brings clues that indicate that Kurtz had likely also a certain “passionate admiration” for her and that she was not, to him, just like any other native that worshipped him.
Her clothing is lengthily described in this passage; “she had brass leggings to the knee, brass wire gauntlets to the elbow, a crimson spot on her tawny cheek, innumerable necklaces of glass beads on her neck; bizarre things, charms, gifts of witch-men, that hung about her, glittered and trembled at every step.” This description brings to mind an excess of exotic luxury by repeating the term “brass”, enumerating the items, evoking plurality; “innumerable”, “things”, “gifts” and mentioning all the body parts covered by this “glitter[ing]” luxury; “knee”, “elbow”, “cheek” and “neck”. More importantly, her attire is described as having “the value of several elephant tusks”. This comparison not only reinforces the sense of luxury that emanates from her attire but also serves to give us a hint as to where it all came from. Indeed, it is know that in this part of the Congo, any Ivory belongs to Kurtz who has been hunting, finding and stealing it like no other in Africa. Therefore, the fact that she possesses goods that are the value of Ivory indicate that Kurtz has allowed “several elephant tusks” of Ivory to be lost into the attire of this woman. Knowing how many people Kurtz has killed for the slightest hint of Ivory; it is hard to see any other explanation to the woman’s attire than a special place in Kurtz’s dark heart... if indeed he has one. If it could be said that in the outer-reaches of the Congo, Kurtz is king then we might have found a Queen.
Despite her strong attachment to Kurtz and therefore her relative lack of fear of the steam boat and the settlers, fear remains present in her contact with the Europeans in this scene. This is first scene in her stance, despite having some degree of self-confidence, it is also noted that she walks with “measured steps” at first and then approaches with even more caution; “A whole minute passed, and then she made a step forward”. Her cautioned approach is also marked by her alert and observant attitude; “She stood looking at us without a stir”, “She looked at us all” and “her eyes gleamed back at us”. Her hesitance towards the settlers is also betrayed by her “aspect of […] fear of some struggling, half-shaped resolve”. We can infer that this struggling, half-shaped resolve is a result of her moral balance swinging between her attachment to Kurtz and her fear of the foreigners that hold him; they thus do inspire fear to her. Finally Marlow at one point says that “she stopped as if her heart had failed her”. This could be interpreted as being caused by her grief in relation to Kurtz’s imminent departure but is more likely caused by the tense atmosphere which exists at that moment between her and the steam boat crew. Therefore, despite her relative confidence and her attachment to Kurtz, “Kurtz’s lover” still has a stark fear of the Europeans and the steamboat.
Therefore, we have established that this native woman, whose appearance and attitude make her stand out from other natives seen in the book, is both strongly attached to the great Kurtz yet fearful of the Europeans and their steamer; for this reason, she can be seen as a symbolical representation of the relation between Kurtz and the native people of the Congo. This relation can be separated into two parts, the first containing the admiration, the veneration and the loyalty, the second containing the abhorrence, the fear and the abomination.
As seen, this woman apparently has a strong personal relation with Kurtz; she is ready to risk her life by approaching the steamer for him. In that same way, we have seen that the local tribes from which Kurtz has been stealing have come back to Kurtz and venerate him. We have also seen that they have braved their fear of the steamer during the attack to try and prevent the steam boat crew from taking back Kurtz. Inversely, she has also an instinctive fear and distrust towards the Europeans in the same way that the natives fled as soon as they heard the steam whistle blow during the attack and similarly, their panicked scatter after the death of Fresleven for fear of retributions. There is therefore a great resemblance in the inferred relation between Kurtz and the woman and that between Kurtz and the native population.
This link between this solemn and ominous woman and the native population is reinforced by the link between her and the Congo. Indeed, in this relatively short passage she is compared to and described with the physical Congo a couple of times. In the description, she is “treading the earth proudly” which marks the link between her and this earth (the Congo). Even more explicitly, the text reveals that “the whole sorrowful land, the immense wilderness, the colossal body of the fecund and mysterious life seemed to look at her, pensive, as though it had been looking at the image of its own tenebrous and passionate soul.” This personification clearly relates her to the soul of the Congo and thus to the native people to which she returns in the end; “She turned away slowly, walked on, […] and passed into the bushes”. This woman is therefore a symbol of the native people, not because of similarities between her and other natives but by her relation to Kurtz which matches that of Kurtz to the people of the Congo as well as by her embodiment of the “soul” of the Congo.
Hence, the powerful woman figure which appears before Kurtz’s departure is, by virtue of her relation to Kurtz and other Europeans, a symbol of Kurtz’s relation to the native people of Congo. It is a relation of veneration for the man that Kurtz is, but stained by the blood of the horrors committed in the Congo by Kurtz’s men and other Europeans. It is however important to precise that her exact relation to Kurtz is nowhere precisely stated. Her situation and her symbolical representation can thus be interpreted in other ways. For example, under a less glorious light it could be said that Kurtz’s relationship with this native woman is a symbol of how he has raped the Congo of his resources to his own end. Finally, she could also be interpreted not as a lover coming to give goodbyes but as a powerful member of the tribes coming to give Kurtz one last blessing, or is it curse?
English OIB – Ms Hollow
Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad
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Close Reading: passage #2
This passage is situated on page 32 of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. At this point in Marlow’s journey, the protagonist’s steamboat has been wrecked and he reflects on one of his fellow sailors who was so sure people lived on Mars he was ready to fight with anyone to prove it. Here, Marlow goes on to explain how he would not go so far as to fight for Kurtz, even though he similarly strongly believes in him, yet concedes he would agree to lie for him. Through the tone of the passage and through the use of specific language, Marlow conveys a sense of ambiguity in his attitude that is recurrent throughout the novel and that echoes his ambiguous stance regarding the question of colonialism.
The tone of the passage is somewhat arrogant, almost dismissive and condescending. In fact, Marlow here explains his point of view on people who lie, and stresses his utter disgust for lies in general. First, the repetitive use of the pronoun “I” and “me” makes it impossible for the reader not to focus on Marlowe’s character, and see he seems to be somewhat self-absorbed and preoccupied by certain principles. This gives a certain a status, a superior position towards Kurtz as well as the reader.
On the other hand however, Marlowe depicts himself as suffering, as a martyr. He states things happen to him, that he is not directly active, but rather that he endures the horrible things of the world that surround him. For example, he says: “it appalls me”, “it makes me miserable”, “it seems to me”. It is as if, in contrast with the distance and superiority he establishes through tone, he also implies he is a victim, which contributes to the idea of ambiguity in his personality.
Moreover, Marlowe’s narrative is made of very short sentences, punctuated by many commas, which suggests he is thinking rapidly, in a disorderly and confused manner. The passage even concludes by him stating it is hard to explain how one lives, or how one dreams, because the sensations experienced are so unique.
The author also uses many repetitions “hate”, “detest” as well as enumerations: “absurdity, surprise and bewilderment”. These devices allow to highlight the idea that Marlowe is not only reflecting on an issue that seems important to him as they bring out many different emotions, but also how sudden this shift in emotion is. In fact, in just a couple of lines, the narrator evokes hatred, disgust, as well as confusion and surprise. This makes Marlowe seem unstable, quickly jumping from one idea to the other, and being able to completely dismiss certain ideas or events. In a similar way, Marlowe here says that Kurtz is “just a word”, whereas Kurtz ultimately becomes his sole obsession, the figure he will follow into the darkness of the Congo. Again, this idea of ambiguity and conflict appear in Marlowe’s words.
Throughout the novel, Marlowe occupies this same ambiguous or unclear stance regarding many issues, but more importantly regarding that of colonialism. In fact, in the very beginning of Heart of Darkness, he insists on differentiating colonizers who came to the Congo for a reason, from the ones who come simply to annihilate and destroy the region without purpose. Again, it is ambiguous here whether Marlowe trusts colonialism because he believes it has a purpose, or if he is highly critical of it. It is left up to the reader to decide on this issue, although later events in the book suggest Marlowe may be supportive of the mission he has become a part of. As he journeys up the river, the narrator becomes all the more immersed and conscious of the situation around him, yet this ambiguity remains until the very end of the novel.
This type of conflict, or fact of leaving the reader up to himself to debate and think about issues such as Marlowe’s confusing thoughts about colonialism reminded me of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In fact, the character also wrestles between two drastically opposed positions which is eventually due to ambition and the desire for power. In Shakespeare’s play, the protagonist is clearly guilt-ridden, yet alternates between the fragile and remorseful Macbeth and the fearless, cold-blooded murderer. In this way, both Marlowe and Macbeth are quite similar: they are attracted to their objective in a passionate way, but don’t clearly express their position on the ethical and moral codes that are at stake in both cases.
To conclude, in this passage of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the personality of Marlowe truly comes out through tone and diction. His choice of words and way of expressing himself lead to a certain atmosphere of ambiguity and uncertainty that seems to be present throughout the book, and reflects his confusing and unclear stance regarding the colonialism question. While at times he seems to believe in the system, he can also be very ironic in his narration. Similarly, Kurtz is here described almost as “a detail”, someone he just knows the name of. In reality, Kurtz will become an idol for Marlowe, who will push him to strive and be his best. Marlowe is therefore a very mysterious character, almost impossible to decipher completely, as we discover later in the novel.
