the ultimate meaning of heart of darkness, 1963 (nineteenth-century fiction, 10p)

8/12/2019 The Ultimate Meaning of Heart of Darkness, 1963 (Nineteenth-Century Fiction, 10p)

1/12


2/12

The UltimateMeaningof "Heart f Darkness"FLORENCE H. RIDLEY

T E MEANING of Joseph onrad's "Heart ofDarkness,"asmost critics would readily agree, is "suspected rather than seen."'Marlow tells this story, and what is said of his attitude towardexperience suggestshis method of narration:to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel butoutside, nveloping he tale whichbrought t out only as a glow bringsout a haze, in the likenessof one of these mistyhalos thatsometimesare made visible by the spectral llumination of moonshine.2At times we are left feeling that the glow is very mistyand themoonshine very dim. Here more consistently than in his otherwork Conrad uses a method of communicating which both in-creases the significanceof his comment and renders it more diffi-cult of precise restatement.As F. R. Leavis points out, he is usingthe "objective correlative" defined by T. S. Eliot.3 The authordoes not explain, he communicates over a bridge of emotionalresponse to a given object, a response which he foresees and con-trols. The river which fascinatesMarlow as a snake does a sillylittle bird, the human heads which ornament Kurtz's stockade,theblack figurewhichmoves across theglow of a jungle fire, igure

Florence H. Ridley is an assistant professor f English at the University f Cali-fornia, Los Angeles.I Leo Hamalian and Edmond L. Volpe, Ten Modern Short Novels (New York,1958), p. 194. The "suspectors" of the story'smeaning are legion; see R. W. Stall-man, "Conrad CriticismToday," Sewanee Review, LXVII (1949), 135-145,KennethA. Lohf and Eugene P. Sheehy,JosephConrad at Mid-Century:Editions and Studies1895-1955 (Minneapolis, 1947). The criticism s so extensivethat, rather than pre-sent a conventionalsurveyof all the varying points of view, I shall referonly tothose which by agreementor disagreement hed light upon my own interpretationof the novel.2"Heart ofDarkness" and "The SecretSharer,"ed. AlbertJ. Guerard (New York,1958), p. 59. Subsequent quotations from Heart of Darkness" are fromthis edition.3F. R. Leavis, The Great Tradition (New York, 1948), p. 174.

[43]


3/12

44 Nineteenth-Century ictionwith hornson itshead; a heap ofdrainagepipes,all broken;thegroveofdeathfilledwithbrokenblack men-to these and manyother bjects the readerreacts nd as he does so, gradually ttainscomprehensionf Conrad's centralmeaning,which n large parthe may feel before he understands. onrad himself ffered nexplanation f his method,Fictionappeals to temperament. nd . . it must be . . . the appeal ofone temperament o all the other innumerable temperaments hose. . . powerendows passing eventswith theirtrue meaning, nd createsthe moral,the emotional atmosphere f the place and time. Such anappeal to be effectivemust be an impression onveyedthrough thesenses; and, in fact, t cannot be made in anyotherway, because tem-perament . . is not amenable to persuasion.All art,therefore,ppealsprimarily o thesenses, nd the artistic im whenexpressingn writtenwordsmust also make its appeal through hesenses, f itshighdesireis to reachthesecret pringofresponsive motions.4

In the lightof this credo Leavis's statement hatConrad "isintent n making virtue ut of notknowingwhathemeans" (p.180), seemsa littleharsh.However the elusiveness, s well asevocativeness,f such expositiondoes make it essentialthatininterpretinghe story ne take nto considerationll of its parts;foronlyby fittingll of themtogether an one reachunderstand-ing of the darknesswhichengulfsKurtzand threatensMarlow,and of the peculiar relationship etweenthe two men. Thus itseems o me thatDouglas Hewittmisinterpretshe novel becausewhilehe sees thesignificancef thedarkness, e takesno noticeof the ight.The darkness s indeedspokenof as triumphant,utthefinal"inconceivable riumph"belongsto a symbolof light.JeromeThale disregardshesharpcontrast etweenMarlow andKurtz; FrederickR. Karl overlooksKurtz'shollowness;ThomasMoser,Marlow's ntenselyeltneed toprotect heworld f llusionat all cost. Harold R. Collins seesclearly noughtheresemblancebetween Kurtz and the nativehelmsman,his contrastwith thecannibalcrew,but fails to considerthe significancef Marlow'srole. Even AlbertGuerard,whomR. W. Stallman raises s havingwritten the bestand mostcomprehensiveritical urvey n thewholefieldof Conrad criticism,"misses fundamental oint of"Heart ofDarkness" argely ecausehedoes not givedue emphasis4 The Nigger of the Narcissus (London, 1950), p. ix.


4/12

UltimateMeaning of "Heart ofDarkness" 45to thesignificancef eachpart,for nstance, f the minorcharac-ters, he native rew, he nativehelmsman,heRussianharlequinwithhis treatise n navigation, he boiler repairmanwho is aconnoisseur fpigeonflying,nd perhapsmost mportant, urtz'swomen.5There can be littledoubtthat n both"Heart ofDarkness" nd"The Secret Sharer" Conrad is concernedwith the processofacquiringunderstandingfself.6n the second ofthesenovels heworks,s Guerard xplains (Introduction, . 11), n terms fdualpersonality: eggatt s thehidden selfoftheyoung aptain, selfwhichmustbe recoginzed.But "Heart ofDarkness"was writtentenyears arlier, nd in itConrad did notuse thesametight ym-bol of identification.he relationof Kurtzto Marlowdoes notseemto be thatofa mirrormage, double. He is notso much asecond, hidden selfas an example fromwhich Marlow learns.There is sufficentinshipbetween hetwomenfor thisrelation-ship;theresno suchcompletedentifications thatwhichConradembodied in "The SecretSharer."The tie and the similaritybetweenthemhas, of course,been recognized What has not, Ibelieve, been sufficientlytressed s theirdissimilarity. urtz isMarlow'soppositerather hanhis double.Marlow wants to findout about himself. n workit is "thechanceto findyourself. our own reality,"which he likes,andit is just suchknowledgewhichKurtzin part communicates o

sDouglas Hewitt,Conrad: A Reassessment (Cambridge,England, 1952),pp. 24-26;JeromeThale, "Marlowe's Quest," Universityof Toronto Quarterly,XXIV (July,1955), 351-358; FrederickR. Karl, Joseph Conrad (New York, 1960), pp. 134-139;Thomas Moser,JosephConrad: Achievement nd Decline (Cambridge,Mass., 1957),p. 79; Harold R. Collins, "Kurtz, the Cannibals, and the Second-Rate Helmsman,"WesternHumanities Review,VIII (Autumn,1954),307-310.For Guerard's discussionof this novel see "Introduction to the Signet Edition," "Heart of Darkness" and"The SecretSharer,"pp. 12-15; Conrad the Novelist (Cambridge,Mass., 1958),pp.33-44; "Psychological Explorations," Joseph Conrad (New York: New Directions,1947),pp. 30-52.6Guerard's reading of these two novels as representing he journey into the un-consciousis, as Stallman says (p. 142), likelyto become the classic reading. See alsoV. S. Pritchett, Review of Douglas Hewitt, Conrad: A Reassessment,"New States-man, XLIII (May 10, 1952),561, "Leggatt is the hidden transgressorn the uncon-scious, an embodimentof the fear 'that there are parts of himselfwhich he hasnot yet brought into the light of day'"; and MortonD. Zabel, "Editor's Introduc-tion," The Portable Conrad (New York, 1947), p. 26, who speaks of "Conrad's con-tributionto modernfictionalmethod: his impositionof the processesand structuresof the moral experience (particularlythe experience of recognition)on the formoftheplot."7See forexample Thale, p. 351 ff.,Hewitt,pp. 108-110,Moser, p. 81.


5/12

46 Nineteenth-Century ictionhim. Ofall Kurtz's ifts heability o talk toodout pre-eminently.He talks ll night o the harlequin; at his first ppearance n thenovel he is addressinghe natives;he is eloquenceitself,A voicea voice t rangdeepto theveryast." He is a voice which speaks"and tells Marlow not only about himself, ut about all humanbeings,tells him in what way the ever-threateningarkness antriumph,nd whatthe resultof such triumph an be. Yet Kurtzdoes not convey this knowledgedirectly, or by serving s adouble,but by serving s an object lesson.

Bothmen are subjectedto a moral test;by meansof their re-actiontheresemblancend thebasic differenceetween hem remade clear.Forcedby the wildernesso recognitionf his kinshipwithprimitiveman,and grantedthe opportunityo gratify isprimitiveuststo their bsolutefull, Kurtzsuccumbs ompletely.Forced to the samerecognition,what thrilledyou was just thethoughtf theirhumanity-like ours-the hought f yourremotekinshipwiththiswildand passionateuproar," nd granted ome-thing fthe ame opportunity, arlowdoesprecisely heopposite,does not succumb,does not "go ashorefor a dance and a howl."When he findsKurtzfled wayfrom heboat, gone to rejointhenative rgies, e feels "moral hock . as ifsomethingltogethermonstrous,ntolerable o thought nd odious to soul, had beenthrust pon me unexpectedly." he intensityf Marlow'srevul-sionin this cenemaywell be the resultofrecognizinghe over-whelmingpull of savagery-which ould pull him into similarexcesses-forn Kurtz's ctionhe sees whatis possible.There is,however,ittleto suggest hathe feels s Guerard thinks, a partof himselfhas vanished."8 eeling the same temptation, nder-standingKurtz's ctions,Marlowdeliberatelyhooses a differentcourse, An appeal tome in thisfiendish ow-is there?Verywell;I hear; I admit,but I have a voice, too,and forgoodor evil mineis thespeechthat annotbe silenced." n thisdifference,aterem-phasizedby the two men'sreactionto Kurtz's ntended, ies theheart fthe novel.Guerard akes heevil whichConradhereevokes o be primarilyapathyor passivity,9ut surelywhenMarlowdragshim back totheriverboat, t isfrom rgynot from pathy hatKurtz s saved.Indeed,throughoutHeart ofDarkness" vil,forwhiteman and

8 Conrad the Novelist, p. 41.9 7bid.,pp. 37,47.


6/12

Ultimate Meaning of "Heart of Darkness" 47forblack, s ack ofrestraint; ot apathy rpassivity,nd nottemp-tation tself, utthesuccumbinghereto. he paralleling fKurtzbyMarlow'snativehelmsman elpstomakethis lear.The helms-man, whobringshis own death, s explicitlykin to Kurtz, Hehad no restraint, o restraint-justike Kurtz-a treeswayedbythe wind"; and like Kurtz, t themoment f deathhe seemstosee intothehorror fhiscondition, . . . in thevery astmoment,as though n responseto some signwe could not see, to somewhisperwe could not hear, he frownedheavily, nd thatfrowngaveto his blackdeath maskan inconceivablyombre, rooding,and menacing xpression."Collins (p. 6) finds heexplanation or hehelmsman's ehaviorin thefact hathe is a "detribalized" ative,deprived f the tradi-tional beliefsand standards f conduct of his old social order,supports s yetremaining o the nativecrew.This starvinganni-bal crewhave a restraintwhose sourceforthe civilizedMarlowis a mystery. hy,he wonders, on't theygofor s . . . and have goodtuck nfor nce . . was tsuperstition,disgust,atience,ear-or omekindof primitiveonor? . . yousawthatsomethingestraining,ne of thosehumansecrets hat baffleprobability,adcome ntoplay . . therewasthefact acingme-thefact azzling,obe seen, ike thefoam n thedepths f the ea....A mystery;nd yetthe terms f light n whichhe speaksof itrelatethisqualityto the dealismand faith mbodied n a figurewhois herself coreof ight,Kurtz's ntended.That lackof restraintrisesfrom he lack of an innercore offaithemerges romConrad'scontinual inkingof evil withhol-lowness and of goodnesswith devotion to or belief in some-thing.The inhumanbookkeeper t the First Station,gently n-noyedby the groansof dyingmen all aroundhim is introducedin terms f his appearancealone. Marlow does not see a humanbeingbut"a high tarchedollar,white uffs, light lpaca jacket,snowy rousers, clearnecktie, nd varnished oots." The book-keeper s merely boiled shirtfront.he corruptmanager f theCentralStation, Perhaps has]nothingwithinhim,"a manwith-out entrails;his assistant, papiermacheMephistopholes,if Itried could poke myforefingerhroughhim,and would findnothing nside but a little oose dirt,maybe."Kurtzhimself,hemostmagnificentacade fall,isa "hollowsham,"whosuccumbed


7/12

48 Nineteenth-Century ictionto savagerybecause he had nothing nside, "the whisperhadprovedirresistiblyascinating.t echoed loudly withinhim be-cause he was hollowat the core." Such grouping f characterss,I think,basic to themeaningof this novel. Moser (p. 80) says" . . . theAfricannatives . . alone are fullofvitality; he whitesare but hollowmen."But his classificationswrong. ignificantlysomeof the whitemen,someof the black,are hollow; others renot.In contrasto the hollowmen are thosewhohavesomekind ofinner strength,f faith n something: he harlequin (modeledapparently n Mungo Park,for Conrad an idealisticfigure, tonce adventurousnd devoted)," uledbythespirit fadventure,"a modest ndclearflame.t seemed ohave consumed ll thoughtofself . . completely"; he boilermakerwithhisdevotion o hiswork,hischildren-andhispigeons;Towson,author f thedreary"Inquiry nto SomePointsofSeamanship."Conradseemsto haveattachedgreat ignificanceo work. n The Mirrorof the Sea hespeaksof "something . . embracing onesty nd graceand rulein an elevated nd clear sentiment . . which may be called thehonourof labour."'" n "Heart ofDarkness,"whentherestraints,ofcivilization regone,workcan constitute savinggrace.Tow-son's book,reflectings it does a man's absorptionn his trade,can fora momentdefendMarlow from hedarkness,at the first lance you could see therea singlenessof intention, nhonestconcernfortherightway of goingto work,which made thesehumble pages . . . luminouswith another than a professional ight. . . The simpleold sailor,with his talkofchains and purchases,mademe forgethe ungle and thepilgrimsn a delicioussensation fhavingcomeupon something nmistakably eal.For Marlow there s his own workas well. He turnsfromtheempty orruption f the companybrickmaker o his steamship.To do so was "a greatcomfort . . No influential riendwouldhave servedmebetter." t is largelyworkwhichholdshimsteady.He does not join thenativeorgies.Why?"Fine sentiments ousay?Fine sentimentse hanged had no time." He has to mendthe eakypipes,watch he teering,ircumventhesnags, omehowsail thesteamboat, et t along byhookor bycrookup the river.

10Conrad, "Geographyand Some Explorers,"Last Essays (New York, 1926),p. 15.11(London,1946), p. 24.


8/12

UltimateMeaning of "Heart of Darkness" 49"There was .. truth nough n these hings o save a wiserman."What Conrad was primarily oncernedwith ayingn hisnovelseems obe embodied n thesevariousfigures.When theexternalcontrols re removed nd you must ive withevil and staggeringtemptation,breathe eadhippo, o to speak, nd not be contaminated. . theredon'tyou ee?your trengthomes n, thefaithn your bility or hedigging f unostentatiousoles to bury hestuffn-your powerofdevotion, ot to yourself,ut to an obscure, ackbreakingusiness . .youmust all backupon your wn nnate trength,pon yourowncapacityorfaithfulness.Restraint, risingfrom ust such faithfulnessr from ome de-liberatebelief, s ofcourse acking n Kurtz.The story s built upon the balance of opposites, core of faithversushollowness, estraint ersus ts lack,civilization ersus av-agery, ightversusdarkness.Not onlythe antithetical atureofKurtz's elation o Marlow,but the centralmeaningof the wholeismadeclear by the balanced symbolism fKurtz'swomen.As isthe case withthe two men, the womenare akin, but they re notthe same (as MIoser,whose nterpretations couchedin terms fthebattle fthe sexes,would have us believe).Theyare in a senseopposites;one the embodiment f primitive arkness:savage nd superb,wild-eyednd magnificent;herewas somethingominous ndstatelynherdeliberaterogress. . the mmense ilder-ness .. seemed o lookather . . as thought had been ooking tthe mage f ts own tenebrousnd passionateoul. . Suddenly heopenedherbared rms nd threw hem p rigid boveherhead ...and at the ame time he wift hadows arted ut on the earth . .gatheringhe teamerntoa shadow mbrace . . the barbarousndsuperbwoman .. stretchedragicallyerbarearms fter s over hesomberndglitteringiver.The other, he embodiment flight:all the ad light f the cloudy vening ad taken efuge n her fore-head. This fairhair, this pale visage, his purebrow, eemed ur-rounded y an ashyhalo . . her fairhair seemed o catch ll there-maining ight n a glimmerfgold. . . She put out her arms ..stretchinghemback and with laspedpale hands across hefadingand narrowheen fthewindow . resemblingnthis esturenother


9/12

50 Nineteenth-Century ictionone, tragic lso ... stretchingare brown armsover theglitter f theinfernal tream, hestreamof darkness.Justas the fact thatonlyself-restraintrisingfromdevotion tosome deal can hold back the"darkness," o the imilarity-coupledwiththe significantifference-betweenhesewomen is too im-portant o be left o suggestion. onradmakes t explicit.FordMadox Ford felt hatfewmen had morepowerthanCon-rad "to seevividly he opposing ides of humancharacters.""2hetwowomenrepresent he opposingforceswhich controlKurtz.The one is savagerytself,wildand dark,magnificentnd threat-ening;the other s faith, lowing, air, ymbol f ust such"powerof devotion"as in Marlow'swords, s necessarywhen all outerrestraints avebeen removed. She seemedready o listenwithoutmentalreservation, ithout uspicion,without thought orher-self. . . She had a maturecapacityforfidelity,or belief." In adarkening oom, onlyherforehead,mooth ndwhite, emainedilluminedbythe unextinguishableightofbelief and love,"andMarlow bowshis head, "before he faiththatwas in her,beforethatgreat nd saving llusionthat shone withan unearthly lowin the darkness."In thisnovel avagerytselfs not evil,for he cannibalcrewmenare depictedas dignified, dmirablefellows, estrained y somecode oftheir wn,and thesuperbnativewomanhas bothmajestyandpathos.Kurtz's nrestraineduccumbingo savagery, owever,is evil. Surrendering imself ompletely, urtz turns wayfromtheBelgiangirl. Throughoutshe is nevergiven a name but isalwayshis "Intended," ymbol f all he hadmeant o do, onewiththenoble planshe carriedout to Africa,his paintingof a figurebearing ight,his reportfor the Suppression f Savage Customs.Buttheplanswereneverfulfilled,he figure e paintedwasblind-folded, he report nds in a scrawl, Exterminate ll the brutes "He struggleso remain t the nner Station, rders n attackupontheshipcome to take him away,crawlsto get back to his nativeworshippers. is lastwords re not her name,but like thesoundthenativehelmsman ears this death, a whisper t some mage,at some vision,"recognition f the final nd of temptation,esireand surrender ithout estraint.Marlow,on the contrary,oes remainfaithfulo the Intended,

"2"Conrad and the Sea," Portraits fromLife (Cambridge, Mass., 1937), p. 66.


10/12

Ultimate Meaning of "Heart ofDarkness" 51protects er from, ather han subjectsher to, the darkness ntowhich Kurtz would have plunged her. We have Conrad's owntestimonys to thesignificanceor he whole novel of its conclud-ing scene betweenMarlow and the Belgian girl:in the light of the final ncident, he whole story n all its descriptivedetail shall fall into its place-acquire its value and its significance.... the astpages of Heart ofDarknesswhere the nterview f themanand the girl locks in-as it were-the whole 30,000 words of narrativedescription nto one suggestive iew of a whole phase of ife, nd makesofthatstory omething uite on anotherplane thanan anecdote of aman who wentmad in the Centre ofAfrica.1sIn Brussels as Marlow approaches her house, the threateningshadowofKurtz ccompanieshim,a shadow nsatiable . . offrightfulealities; shadow darker hantheshadowof thenight. . . It was a momentof triumph orthewilder-ness,an invading and vengeful ush which, t seemed to me, I wouldhave to keep back alone forthe salvation of another oul.

He findshimself ngulfed in the triumphant arknessfromwhich I could not have defendedher," and hears Kurtz'slastwords, The Dusk wasrepeating hem n a persistent hisper llaroundus, n a whisper hat eemed o swellmenacingly." ad sheheard those ame words, thesumming p whisper f his eternalcondemnation,"s faith, s belief n any deal,shecould nothavesurvived.The lightembodied in her would have been extin-guished. Before,the darknesshas been triumphant; ut whenMarlow says, The last wordhe pronouncedwas-your name,"hefends ff rom he girlwho is significantlyairthedarknesswhichKurtz's hadow has brought nto the room and givesto her "in-conceivable riumph."For Marlowa lie has the taste of deathabout it, makeshim"miserable nd sick, ikebiting omething ottenwould do." Whythenwillhe go to the ength f ying oprotectKurtz's ntended?There have been a number of explanations, ut the one whichseemsto followmostplausiblyfrom he novel as a whole is thathoweverdivorcedfromreality nd in thatsense even false our'3"Conrad to WilliamBlackwood,31 May 1902,"JosephConrad: Lettersto WilliamBlackwood and David S. Meldrum, ed. William Blackburn (Durham, N.C., 1958),p. 154.


11/12

52 Nineteenth-Century ictionideals maybe, theymustbe protected.Marlow ays f the dealisticworld ofwomen,. . . therehad never been anything ike it, and never can be. It is toobeautiful ltogether, nd if theywere to set t up itwould go to piecesbefore he first unset. ome confounded actwe men have been livingcontentedlywith ever since the day of creationwould startup andknock the whole thingover.Even though the world of illusion is unreal, would indeed beshattered y contactwithreality, t mustbe protected, lest," asMarlow ater ays, ours getsworse."Guerardbelieves hat, Onlyin the atonementof his lie to Kurtz's Intended' back in thesepulchral itydoes theexperience ome truly o an end.' " Butthe ie does not seem to be an atonement; t is rather he bulwarknecessary o protect he saving llusion; and for Marlow the ex-periencenever omes o an end,"I shall see this loquent phantomas long as I live . . the foundations f our intimacywere . . laid-to endure-toendure-evento the end-even beyond."

Atthevery eginning f his tale, Marlowhas suggested hatthe"darkness"which nveloped he Roman civilizers f savageBritainis the amewhich hreatens im, verwhelms urtz. f all the partsof this tale be duly considered, heyproduce the ultimatecom-ment thatwhatever he conditionof a given civilization, ts pro-ponents reconstantlyhreatened y the temptation o forsaketscode, its ideals, whateverthey may be, and thus become de-civilized nd in the process essthanhuman. Onlyfaithor devo-tion to something an provide the restraintnecessarynot tobecomelike Kurtz. Only the preservation f her faith n Kurtzcan protect he Belgian girl.If there s irony n the fact that all Marlow has left s theIntended'sfaith n illusion, that "her faith remained the onlylight,'15t was forConrad the rony f the universalhuman condi-tion.We live surroundedby darkness, s Marlow says,"in theflicker . . oflightningn the clouds." Yet Conrad had elsewherewritten f "thesubtlebut invincible onviction f . . . solidarityin dreams . . in aspirations,n illusions, n hope . . . whichbindstogetherll humanity . ."; and further

14Conrad theNovelist, p. 42.' Karl, p. 139. Leavis (p. 181) feels that the irony mplicit in the final scene liesin the associationof the Intended's "innocentnobility,her purityof idealized faith,wvith he unspeakable corruptionof Kurtz...."


12/12

Ultimate Meaning of "Heart of Darkness" 53when the ast blade of grass shall] have died upon a dying arth,man,indomitableby his training n resistance o misery nd pain, shall setthis undiminished ight of his eyes against the feeble glow of thesun.... I am inclinedto think hatthe ast utterancewill formulate, trangeas it may appear, some hope now to us utterly nconceivable.'6From such illusions alone comes light which can be opposed tothe world's darkness.In view of the story's nd the little light of faith would scarcelyseem to be sufficient,the tranquil waterway eading to the utter-most ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky-seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness."And Mar-low had felt that he could not defend the girl, the "soul as trans-lucently pure as a cliff f crystal," from the triumphant darkness.Yet inconceivably he does. Which perhaps explains Conrad'sotherwise puzzling remark to William Blackwood, "The title I amthinking of is 'The Heart of Darkness,' but the narrative is notgloomy.'

"IThe Nigger of the Narcissus, p. viii; "Henry James: An Appreciation,"NorthAmericanReview,CLXXX (1905), 104.17JosephConrad: Lettersto William Blackwood . . . , p. 37.

the ultimate meaning of heart of darkness, 1963 (nineteenth-century fiction, 10p)

Documents